Missouri, part three (June 2018)

And now, the conclusion of a journey that started here.

I used to work with a feller who had lived in St. Louis for some years, and I remembered him raving about the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), so I decided to check it out as part of my Missouri trip. I was not disappointed. First off, the place is huge – 79 acres according to their web site. They actually run a tram, so you can ride around from one area to another. But that’s optional; I found the place to be entirely walkable. The MBG is not one big, contiguous garden; it’s comprised of several gardens, each of which has a different focus and/or style. For instance, there’s an herb garden, a rose garden, English woodlawn garden, Japanese garden, and many more. I was drawn to the Japanese garden…

Yeah I know, mallards are North American, not Japanese. But this guy…

After the botanical garden, I had to get a quick Art Deco fix, so I headed for Chase Park Plaza…

TRAVEL TIP: So there’s this TV show called “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” that has been on the air for something like 15 years. I’ve never watched it, but I find their web site very useful when I’m planning travel. That is, I find my bookmark to their page useful. I seem to recall that I had a little difficulty in finding the specific page I wanted on their site. Nevertheless (well, maybe sometimestheless), Saint Louis’s own Shaved Duck was the first restaurant that I tried based on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives“. Yes, that’s the restaurant’s real name. I have included photographic proof below. I also included a photograph of another interestingly named business just across the street from Shaved Duck.

I must say, The Shaved Duck was fantastic! I had a two-meat platter featuring burnt ends and pulled pork; both meats were delectable! Great side dishes, too! So the Travel Tip is, if you’re looking for good eats, check here before you travel.

TRAVEL TIP regarding the above TRAVEL TIP: Before heading out to a restaurant, do a little bit of Googlin’ to make sure it’s actually open. Like I said, the show has been on the air for 15 years; many local restaurants don’t survive that long. There have been a couple times I’ve arrived at a restaurant only to find that it’s gone out of business, or that it’s not open on Thursdays.

I spent the next day at the National Museum of Transportation. I could have spent two days here! The bulk of what they have is railroad-related, but in case you’re not a rail fan, they have enough automobile and miscellaneous transportation stuff to keep just about anybody interested for a few hours. Here’s a sampling of the items that attracted my attention…

I started this trip with Kansas City’s fabled Union Station, and ended it with the fabled Union Station in Saint Louis. In my opinion, the one in KC is more impressive, in terms of its sheer size. But the Saint Louis station is the more amazing, in terms of architectural decor. Let’s start with some exterior shots…