I See The Arch!

I have heard that the St. Louis Arch is the Gateway to the West. That might be true for those passing through town desperate to get to Colorado, California or perhaps even just to Kansas. But for my family, the Arch is our signal that we are almost home. Eight mind-numbing hours after leaving Chattanooga, TN, suddenly a scream splits the monotonous hum of tires hitting the highway--"I see the Arch!" It happens somewhere near the exit that marks the last Illinois McDonald's along I-64. The scream is invariably followed by at least one declaration from someone else that he or she saw the Arch first, but were too polite to say anything. Yea, right. Polite after a full day of riding together--not our family. Eventually, closer to the Mississippi River, the screams settle. On a lucky day, we cruise across the Poplar Street Bridge without a traffic snarl. We admire the magnificent Arch close-up and also the brick house that is Busch Stadium. Then, we zip pass the St. Louis Zoo, the Science Center and the Galleria. Quicker than it seems possible, we are home again--glad that our Arch is our welcome mat and not a marker to somewhere else.