An Alton Safari

We were starting to run low on parks that were anywhere near St. Louis. This one was closed but I had developed an obsession of getting a picture with all of their signs so here we are.

Edward “Ted” and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park sits where the Missouri River joins with the Mississippi River in West Alton, MO. The Lewis and Clark Expedition began at the confluence in 1804.

I still wanted to do some walking and we were already pretty close to real Alton so we hopped the border.

All of this outdoorsy activity of late, plus being pandemic homebound, awakened a hobby from my childhood: ant keeping. I'm kind of excited because I now how the power and resources of an adult, plus the knowledge of the internet. As a kid digging up ants in the backyard I did not know what the heck I was doing and they always ended up dying.

I'd been on the lookout for a queen to start a colony of my own at home. I spotted one and grabbed it but it escaped before I could get it back to the car. So close!

As soon as I'm a billionaire I'm going to buy a bunch of small town theatres and restore them to their former glory.

I roasted some artichoke hearts that I got for free. I'm easily amused.

A Little Fun in Metro East

Lydia had been cooped up all day with her mysterious illness, so I figured she probably needed some fresh air. And where is the air fresher than East St. Louis?

During our drive I exclaim "wait a tic, I do believe there's something on our St. Louis Magazine's "101 Things Every St. Louisan Must Do" list nearby!" And there was.

Many many times I've taken I-55 to Edwardsville, or Springfield, or wherehaveyou. I've noticed a couple of awesome buildings in East Saint that I always thought were awesome but I'd never seen up close. Turns out they look better far away, but they are still pretty badass.

I've wondered many a time what type of church this was. Turns out it's Lithuanian Roman Catholic, which doesn't make any sense to me. My guess was some sort of Eastern Orthodox.

On my dream list is to dig this building up, move it someplace awesome, and make it into a theater that plays only Bill Murray movies.

We finally arrived at the Mississippi River Overlook. It's pretty new, and pretty fancy. It's kind of in the middle of nowhere, and the road to it is pretty rough, so I don't think I'll be making a second trip.

The view was very nice though.

We enjoyed a meaty dinner at Fast Eddie's.

 We stopped by Alton's Argosy casino and then went on back home.