So we left Indy....another cold morning! Good thing for those full-face helmets! My helmet, along with my gloves, chaps, and a couple sweatshirts under my leather kept me comfy! The one bad thing about the full-face? I can't hear my music! Everything sounds like it's underwater...muffled and amplified. It sucks! Even my bike sounds funny. So I haven't even turned on my iPod yet. I saw "The Weight" by The Band scrolling across my screen as we were leaving Indy so I turned that one up waaaaay loud so I could hear it! I love that one!
So the trip from Indy to St Louis was uneventful! I like uneventful! We stopped about 20 miles outside of St. Louis to lose the chaps, gloves, and some other layers. It was getting warm and the thought of getting stuck in city city traffic wearing all that garb is no bueno! Luckily we were arriving mid-afternoon. Traffic was light....but our exit was closed so we had to improvise and detour! Lots of one-way streets in St Louis. It kinda reminded me of a cross between Pittsburgh and Denver. It's funny how places remind me of other places! When we were exiting the highway in Indy for the Browns Backer bar, it reminded me of the exit in Hermitage, TN where the Middle Tennessee Browns Backers used to meet at the Box Seat. Riding through Missouri today reminded me of West Virginia & Virginia in spots!
But I digress....
So we got to St Louis plenty early! Upon our arrival at the Embassy Suites we were greeted by the valets and Ronald the bellhop. Everyone was super friendly! Ronald was exceptionally super friendly! We couldn't shake him! He kept talking and talking....delivered our bags to our room...kept talking some more.....good grief, Ronald...we're gonna tip you, don't worry! Just get the Hell out of our room!
The suite we were in was really impressive! A living room, dining room, bar area, then the bathroom & bedroom with a 20-foot ceiling! There was a giant pillar in the middle of the living room. Kind of strange!
We were thinking that it was an old converted warehouse, but there was an old picture in the bathroom of a Department store. In the picture were those pillars! There's the answer!
Anyhow, we were blown away by the fanciness of their suite. Until I went to take a shower. It was a handicap suite. No biggie. The shower had no tub, just a drain in the shower floor. Still no biggie. But then I noticed a drain in the floor directly in front of the sink. Hmmmm. This can't be good. So I showered. And the water got ALL over the floor in front of the sink! The shower curtain isn't long enough! I point the shower head toward the wall...it's still a mess. Bah. No bueno.
Then I realized they only gave us 2 towels! What the....?!?! Don't they know I need a hair towel AND a body towel? What is Tom gonna use? Fancy-Shmancy hotel can't spare an extra towel?
Oh well.....
We had plans to meet a friend for dinner at 7, but it was only 3 and we were hungry, so we aimed for a light linner...how 'bout sushi? Yes! So we got on the Yelp and found a well-recommended sushi joint not far from our room! Sushi Ai! Hooray! Good call! This place had some of the best yellowtail I've ever eaten!
After sushi we went back to the bikes to retrieve my umbrella because it was drizzling. Bah. There goes my hair! Damn frizzies! From there we headed for the arch! I've only been to St Louis once before and never saw the arch up close, so this was pretty cool! It's hard to get a photo op up close because this thing is so huge! But we managed! I REALLY had to use the facilities so we headed toward the underground area. There's a museum, gift shop, coffee shop, etc.. There are even tours that take you to the top of the arch in little tiny elevators! (NO THANKS!). Well, the entrance to the underground stuff was under heavy security. Like an airport. X-Ray scanners for your bags....metal detectors. Tom was packin'. Tom opted to wait outside while I went in and used it! Lol!
We got some pretty cool shots....
After seeing all there was to see of the arch, we still had some time to kill before dinner, so we decided to have a snack at an Irish pub! A pint of Guiness with a shot of Red Breast....neat, of course!
So dinner plans were with Maria Sinito, a fellow Solon grad who now lives in St Louis! We met at Rosalita's cantina for some most awesome Mexican grub!
After catching up with each other and filling our bellies, we said farewell, and Tom & I headed back to the hotel...
And I promptly fell asleep!
This morning we woke bright and early! We headed down for the complimentary breakfast....made to order omelets, fresh fruit, juices, French toast. And Caca instant coffee! Ick. That creamy, gritty crap. Bah. I only drank half a cup. I figured the coffee in the room might be better, so we finished breakfast and headed back to the room. Well, the coffee offerings in the room consisted of one packet of regular and one packet of decaf! What is with this place? So much for fancy shmancy! Chincy with towels...crappy shower....intstant coffee...only one packet of regular in the room! The Embassy Suites look all decadent on the outside but if you scratch the surface you'll find a Days Inn!
So I drank my coffee while we finished packing, chatted with the valets while we loaded our bikes, and headed out into a cool but sunny St Louis morning! Again with the full-face helmets, chaps, etc...
About 30 miles down the road it started to drizzle...foggy, grey...pissy drizzle. Bah. 
I noticed quite a few wineries & vineyards in Missouri! Strange, I never associated Wine with Missouri!
There were some great smells today! I could've sworn I smelled the grapes as we were passing the vineyards! And there were some crews mowing the grass along the interstate....the grass smells different here than it does in Ohio! Sweeter! I love all the smells when riding! (Except for the road kill. I can do without THAT smell!)
We passed an alpcaca farm, too. Nothing odd about that. What WAS odd was the big ass Emu standing amongst the alpacas! I almost gave myself whiplash looking at that!
I wish I could've taken some pix along the way but gloves do not allow it!
We ended up wearing all our cold-weather garb all the way to Tulsa. We could've shed some of it just past the Oklahoma line but we opted to hammer on...
We arrived at the Tulsa Hills Hampton Inn, safe & sound! There's a big shopping plaza across the street so we took a walk, ate at Chili's, bought some tequila from the liquor store, and now we sit in the hotel lobby, drinking and blogging!
Tomorrow should be an easy ride to Dallas! WITHOUT the helmet and chaps! HOOORAY!
PS: There are LOTS of sunflowers next to our hotel! I love it!
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