Corvette Road Trip - Fun Fest Or Bust, Part Two

There's an old adage that says, in effect, "Getting there is half the fun." In this instance, getting there (to the 10th Annual Mid America Funfest) was nowhere near as much fun as being at a huge Corvette event and representing VETTE Magazine in our own Corvette. While getting there was fun, we had just three days to traverse the 2,000-plus miles from our home in Southern California to Effingham (about halfway between St. Louis and Indianapolis in south-central Illinois), and the requirement that we average close to 700 miles per day, which limited our eastbound sightseeing to what we could see along the interstates through the windshield and side windows at moderately extra-legal speeds.

We didn't have quite the same time restraints for our return trip. After spending three days and four nights in Effingham (we stayed over an extra day to photograph several cars in the MY Garage collection), we still had at least five full days available for traveling and touring as we headed toward the West Coast.

The trip home would be mostly spontaneous, with only two "mandatories." The first was that we stop over in the Missouri side of Kansas City; the second was that we had to go through Albuquerque so Rob and Elisa could have another evening together. Otherwise, well, whatever looked or sounded interesting was where we'd go.

Tuesday * September 23
After a final round of farewells to our friends at Mid America, we began our homeward trek on Tuesday morning. For most of the 100-or-so-mile run to St. Louis, we retraced the last leg of our eastern drive four days earlier, but in the opposite direction on Interstate 70, through the verdant countryside of southern Illinois. About 15 miles east of the Mississippi River, we exited the 70 and headed southwest on I-55/70, toward the heart of St. Louis. Bob had seen the rightfully famous Gateway Arch several times, from afar and up close. It is a stunning and singular monument, and both identifies and is identified with St. Louis in the same manner as the Statue of Liberty and New York City or the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. Rob had never seen it prior to this trip, and his only glimpse of The Arch was four days earlier, from several miles north as we crossed the Mississippi heading east on I-270. By taking I-55/70, we'd see The Arch on and off for several miles as we neared St. Louis, and we would cross the Mississippi less than a mile south of where The Arch perches on the western bank of the river.

Once we got off the interstate, it took us a few minutes to work our way through the downtown area and back to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National Historical Site (the grandiose name for the park that's home to both the Gateway Arch and the Old Cathedral). The last time Bob had taken the time to go near The Arch was pre-September 11, when you could park along Leonor K. Sullivan Boulvard-the road between the National Historical Site and the river-and walk up to The Arch. Now there are concrete barricades surrounding the site, semi-remote parking garages, armed military personnel, and security checkpoints to pass through to enter the park. Rob wasn't interested enough in getting up close and personal to want to brave the "security" gauntlet, so we drove a couple slow laps around The Arch and snapped a few photos. Then it was time to head onward and westward.