Hey everyone! I am back!!! We got back Wednesday morning at 2:00. We had SO much fun!!!! :) I am going to write what we did each day, but it will be Really long, so stay with me!!! (After you read this post look below for part 2 and 3.)

Okay here I go...

Friday~ We packed up the our rental Silver van (Which was SO cool!) and headed out at about 7:00 Pm or 8:00. We ran a couple errands, got money, and then went somewhere to eat. Then after all of those things we traveled for 3 hours and stayed in a hotel in Evansville, Indiana.

Saturday~ We got up, ate breakfast, took showers, ect. Then we went packed up the van again, checked out of the hotel, and headed out. We drove for about 3 hours and then we saw the Gateway Arch from a distance! We were There!!!! We drove through St. Louis and found a place to park at a parking garage. Then we walked through a Beautiful park to get to the Gateway arch musuem. The museum was underground right under the arch which was Neat!! We had to go through a metal detector and put all of our technological devices (including cameras.) in a bucket to go on a conveyor belt to go through another metal detector. (or something like that.) Anyway, they were Really strict, they should be though because it is a historical landmark. They even had Hope and I take off our belts. lol They had metal on them.

After we got searched and went through the metal detector we were in the main lobby of the museum. My dad bought tickets to go up into the Arch and see a little movie/video of how they made the Gateway Arch. While we were waiting for the time to go to the movie we went through a museum they had of the Gateway to the west. It talked about the Louisiana Purchase and of Lewis and Clark. It was Cool! :) Then after we went through the museum it was time for our video/movie. It was Really cool to see how they made the arch! They used Stainless steel metal to make the outer part of it, and to put all of the pieces together to form the arch the made the pieces into triangles. I know that sounds strange, but that is how they did it. They had to make and put each piece together seperatly and when it got to high they had to use machines elevators to make them go higher!!! The Gateway arch is 630 Feet high!!!

After we watched the Video/movie it was time to go up into the arch!!! :) We got a type of ticket to tell us what Tram Capsulewe got to go up in. We were 3 blue. :) We waited in line and then finally went up some stairs. We had to wait a little longer but they had some things to look at while we were waiting. :) Then they started calling tickets, and they finally called ours! :) We went down some steps and found the tram capsule that we were going in. They made us watch another little video of the Gateway arch before we got to go in the tram capsule. (Really it was because the Tram Capsule wasn't there yet, they were waiting for it to come down.) So, we watched the video and when it was over, it was time to go up to the arch!!!! ;) 

We waited for the other people to get out, and then we went in! It was Really cool. It a little type of elevator with 5 seats and the whole thing was white with bright white lights! It looked like something you would see in a movie. :) We went up a whole 630 feet and we were there! :) We got out of our Tram Capsule and climbed some stairs. We were at the top!!! It was so cool! They had small windows that you could see out of. We were really high up! I had a lot of fun! After about 20 minutes or 30 we went back down the tram capsule. :) We left the musuem and went out to the park again! My dad, Hope, and I all took Really good pictures!!! :) We then went back to the van and traveled another 5 hours or so. (I know a lot of driving!) After those 5 hours we got to our motel and slept. :)

Sunday~ We got up and took showers, ect. We were going to eat out for a large breakfast  so we wouldn't have to eat lunch. (Because we were going to the Seed festival and we didn't  know what they would have.) So, we went to the van and began driving to find a restaurant. We soon found out that there are not many restaurants in Missouri. (Or in the part we were staying in.) We saw a couple fast food places but we wanted to find a sit-down type place. This might sound crazy but we traveled 2 hours just to find a sit-down restaurant!!! Unfortunatly, when we found that restaurant (Which was Applebee's) it was lunch time. So we had to eat lunch! After we ate we drove 2 hours back and went to the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Festival! It was really fun! They had a lot of music, a music contest, a costume contest, and lots of booths of seeds, plants, and hand-made crafts! :) I enjoyed it! :)

We left the festival at around 6:00 there time. (7:00 our time, 1 hour difference.) We then went out to eat dinner. We ate at a place called Lambert's and it is a very popular place! :) It is "The home of the throwed rolls" and we soon found out why! When you are eating a man shouts "Hot rolls!" and if you want a roll you raise your hand, and he throws you one! It was silly, but really fun too! :) They also have pass arounds. What pass arounds are, is people go around to tables and ask you if you want the thing they have, and they put some on your plate. You could also get more of what you ordered, though we didn't really do that because they give you A lot! :) It was A LOT of fun!!! :) They had a Gift shop too, so Hope and I got a roll stress ball! lol :)

After we ate we left and traveled about an hour and a half to get to our motel. (Before we got there we went to a Wal-mart close by our motel to get some breakfast food.)  When we got there we went into our room and slept. :)

I hope you have been enjoying reading about our trip! Look below for part 2 and 3!