Monday, September 21, 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009







We were at the motel at 8:00 am to gather up Mom and Dad for a trip to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Maureen was the only one who hadn’t been inside the facility and Gale was interested in buying a small souvenir commemorating our visit. The park and monument were certainly not very handicap accessible as we had to push each of the folks up a 3-block long path that was not very smooth. Gale pushed Mary up first and Maureen and Gale, Sr. started up the walk with Dad using the walker. He got a short ways up the hill and decided he’d rather wait for Gale to come back with the wheelchair. The whole thing was quite a process especially with the added treat from Homeland Security of having to pass through a metal detector, get our bags/purses searched, and have both parents “frisked” with the handheld wand.

Once we were in the facility, things were much more relaxed. We were able to get another wheelchair to use on the grounds. Maureen took the trip to the top of the arch to see the view and get the entire experience. Gale spent his time making the folks comfortable and checking out the gift shop. We all thought it had been worth the effort and were back in the vehicle by 11 am for the trip back to the marina. Gale left Maureen with Lucy and headed north to Clear Lake once again.

There were some strong thunderstorms in Alton this evening. Our covered, floating slip handled them nicely and kept us well protected.

1 comment:

Susie said...

Gale, I hate to tell you this, but you parents do look as though they could pose a security risk.