Gateway to the West
Leg 3 - Bloomington, IL - Collinsville, IL - St. Louis, MO - Times Beach, MO - stop in Branson, MO
What the heck is in these random stopping places - you might ask. Well, Collinsville was a great place to stop and gas up just before St. Louis - and we took some pics of the world’s largest catsup bottle! Yes, it was very exciting.
In St. Louis we stopped and took the tram up into the Gateway Arch. We took lots of pics from both the bottom and top. The little trams were all “futuristic” - you could totally tell they were built in the ’60’s. The things were tiny, Kris could barely fit in, and then at the top of the Arch, the ceiling was just barely 2 inches above his head.
Times Beach has quite a sordid history - there was a huge toxic waste clean-up that took place in the 1980’s, and now it’s the Route 66 State Park. We stopped to switch drivers (Kris drove through the city) and look around for a few minutes.
Onward to Branson - the longest drive for the evening. I was apprehensive on the long drive in the tremendously hilly terrain of both Missouri and then actually in Branson - Mom, why didn’t you warn us of this??? We stopped in our hotel to check in and freshen up before we went to dinner and our first show at 8pm - “Swing, Swing, Swing.” The show was a lot of fun, our seats were great. This places looks as if a spaceship landed and dropped it off in the middle of nowhere (insert Kris’s sound effect here). It’s such a random place to have all these Broadway-worthy shows and theaters, but that’s where they are. I’m looking forward to the shows we’re going to tomorrow. 
