From Gumbo in Ohio to the Arches in St. Louis

We just did a whirlwind drive from New York to Colorado stopping in Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, where we stayed at the Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch
Kansas City, Missouri and also on the Kansas side.

We ate at the Flatiron Bar & Diner — think fried oyster po’ boy and gumbo with beer after a ten hour drive.

Later at the Hilton in St. Louis (above).

As I mentioned before, the Arch was only a couple blocks from our hotel, so we just had to head out at night to catch it all lit up.

And it did not disappoint!

We grabbed drinks at the Hyatt….We purchased tickets online the night before and headed out (in the frigid cold, I might add) the next morning to head up the Arch and see the sites. It really was a pretty fun experience, but be warned clustrophobes … this is maybe NOT the activity for you! I wouldn’t consider myself to be claustrophobic, but even so, the tiny little vessels that carry you to the top of the Arch had my heart racing — and Chris and I were in there alone! (On the way up we were alone at least … we shared with two people on the way down.) I can’t imagine how it would have been if the intended six people were squished together in there!

But the views are pretty spectacular, so you kind of forget about the ride up (and down) once you’re up there.

This is the Old Courthouse, where the slave Dred Scott sued for his and his wife’s freedom in 1846. This statue stands as a monument to the couple — and everything that historic case stood for — outside of the courthouse today.

For lunch we headed to Schlafly Brewery.

After days of driving and 1,836 miles covered (plus lots of McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and Subway for lunch), we had made it to Colorado, my friends, and our final destination — Denver — was in site.  

Cheryl Lock

Cheryl Lock is a former magazine, newspaper and website editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has worked on staff at the Daytona Beach News-Journal, More and Parents magazines, as well as for Learnvest, the leading women's financial website. Her work has also appeared in Newsweek, Forbes, Ladies' Home Journal, the Huffington Post, AOL Travel and more.

Cheryl was born in Nuremberg, Germany and grew up moving around every few years as an Army brat. The urge to travel has been with her her whole life. While she calls New York City home, Cheryl makes it a priority to travel as much as possible throughout the year. Some of her favorite places include Iceland, the Great Barrier Beef, Cabo, Rome, Calabria and Munich, although she hopes to never stop exploring. Cheryl blogs about her travel adventures (and what's happening in and around New York City) at Weary Wanderer.