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WE'RE BACK!!!

Total Mileage: 7844

License Plate Total: 50

Sorry for the delayed last post. My computer decided to stop having a working backlight so I have been without my laptop. Also Rachel and I wanted a break from blogging for a few days when we got home. 

We woke up early Sunday morning to see the Kentucky sunrise. The 10 hour drive home went faster than expected. There really was nothing to exciting about the day. We didn't hit much traffic until the afternoon when we got to Maryland. We then reached my house around 5pm and were greeted by and excited Bodie...and family. 

After sharing stories of our journey we decided that a good final blog post or two would be a list of each of our favorites/dislikes/must-see's etc. As promised in the start I will write about the packing and planning part of the trip. 

While this isn't our last post we just want to thank all of our readers for checking out our blog. Once our other posts are done we'll most likely take a break from blogging until our next adventure together. On the trip we did discuss places we wanted to come back to and other places we want to see. Since we're both Olympics fans, we also discussed how it would be cool to see the Olympics in Rio in 2016.....but we'll definitely have to save our pennies for a trip like that. 

-Cassie

(After about 10 mins on the road and thinking we were the only ones we got stuck in this road blockade. We were crawling for a few miles before they decided to just let us loose. At least there was a pretty sunrise for us to look at)

(Later in the morning a heavy fog set in and stuck with us for most of the morning)

(Driving through West Virginia and Kentucky with views like this made us think of Katniss)

(We were really excited to see these signs, especially since it was only 90 mins from home)

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 Total Mileage: TBD

License Plate Total: 50 (we finally saw Delaware in Kentucky!)

Today was our last sightseeing day as we begin the final leg of our trip, the drive home. We packed up the car and checked out of the hotel and went to Benton Cafe for breakfast since it was near the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. After breakfast we went on a free brewery tour. Our guides walked us through the Clydesdale stables where we saw a few horses and two dalmatians. Then we were taken through the brewing process where we saw mash tanks, brew kettles, barrels where the beer becomes naturally carbonated and on to the bottling process. Today they were bottling and canning Bud Light. At the end of the tour we were taken to the hospitality room where everyone over 21 was given two samples of beer. Cassie and I both sampled Shock Top Lemon Shandy. We didn't take advantage of the second sample since we couldnt afford to be tired or intoxicated for the days driving.

After the brewery tour we went to the Goodwill Outlet. It was was HOT MESS! Everything was in bins that you have to rummage through. It was a collection of all the things other Goodwills didn't sell so it was an eclectic mix of items to say the least. Nothing has a price tag because you pay by weight. Glass and books are 39 cents a pound and all other items are 79 cents a pound. I wanted to find either a chain belt or a bag with a chain strap that I can use on the bag I found in Dallas since the strap it has is too short. I did find a bag with a chain strap. It's not the ideal gold tone but for 47 cents I figured it could work for the time being.

The Goodwill was our last stop before heading to Lexington, Kentucky for the night. We have 10 more hours between now and home tomorrow. Tonight is bittersweet.

-Rachel

(Our ticket, each tour time is a different beer)

(Clydesdales)

(The retired Dalmatian)

(The mom and puppy! They made us miss our dogs)

(The famous clock tower, it's the second most photographed landmark in St. Louis after the Arch) 

(All the pipes have beer in them!)

(Mash center) 

(Product packaging)

(Inside the Goodwill....)

(Louisville, KY)

(Louisville, KY) 

(The name of this KFC YUM! Center made us laugh) 

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Total Mileage: approx. 6600

License Plate Total: 49 

Today was our last full day of sightseeing on our road trip(It’s a little sad to write that). We got to the Gateway Arch by 10am after reading that the lines become really long. They weren’t kidding! While we didn’t have to wait long but by the time we were up in the Arch the lines were really long outside. To get up to the top you ride in a little capsule that is so tiny the door into it is four feet high and you can’t sit up straight inside. Thankfully it’s only a 4-minute trip up. The views from the top are amazing and it was crazy to think that we were not only inside the Arch but also at the top. Afterwards we headed down the block to Chili Mac's Diner for breakfast. It was a cute little place and the employees are really nice.

Our next stop was City Museum aka the coolest place ever! Traveling around the city we used the Downtown Trolley, which is $2 for a 1-day pass. It’s a great deal considering how many stops they make and it’s really easy to use. The City Museum is the coolest place because it’s a huge indoor/outdoor jungle gym. Outside there are so many places to climb around on including old airplanes. There is also a huge ball pit outside to play in. Besides the outdoor jungle gym there are also a ton of places to climb around. They have a slide that goes from the 3^rd floor to the 1^st. On the 3^rd floor there is an indoor skate park but without the skateboards to run around on and slide on. Besides all the awesome stuff inside and outside there is also a rooftop area too. Up there they have more slides and a Ferris wheel. They have a bus that is cantilevering over the edge of the building that you can climb in. We spent a lot of time up there because it had a nice breeze in the hot weather but also watching people ride down the one slide was really entertaining.

After we finished at the City Museum we drove over to Treasure Aisle Antique Market that was in my Graphic USA book. It was a great place to root around in, but don’t be put off by the words “antique,” a lot of things were definitely not antiques especially not the Target coffee mug I saw. We also check out Big Bend Antique Gallery, which is across the parking lot. It didn’t have as good of finds but that could have been our lack of energy from the building not having AC on a 100-degree day. Afterwards we headed to dinner at Pappy's Smokehouse. Pappy’s food was ok. I had a pulled pork sandwich which fried corn on the cob and sweet potato fries. The meat was good but the corn was too soft and the fries were too sweet. We ate dinner a little early so that we could make it back to the hotel in time to see the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. 

Go Team USA!

-Cassie

(Old City Hall view from the top)

(Busch Stadium)

(It was really hard getting a picture of the  full Arch without being really far away)

(The bus hanging off the City Museum)

(One of the airplanes we climbed in)

(Ball Pit)

(The slide where we sat and watched people  burn and bruise their rumps)

(The outdoor area looked like such a jumbled web of metal)

(Rachel driving off the edge of the building)

(St. Louis from the top of the Ferris Wheel)

(St. Louis from the top of the Ferris Wheel)

(Treasure Aisle Antique Mall)

(LOVE this color) 

(Oktoberfest stein that's close to my birthday)

(This booth was filled with stuff, it was an avalanche waiting to happen)

(A cute set of glasses)

(Weirdest mannequin demoing the weight loss machine) 

(A cute set of mugs that made me think of Philly)

(These bookends are similar to our clear ones at home) 

(I loved this set of minty green fiesta wear)

(Map tabletop- diy idea)

(We really liked this screen and thought the chair would be  great upholstered in a  modern fabric)

(We also loved this cabinet but it would have be a fight over who would get it and how Americus would bring it back)