Dear St. Louis, WHERE IS EVERYONE?

Today, we went out exploring St. Louis. First, we had to make a few stops, so we ventured out in search of Target. We needed Mucinex, deodorant, and a fabulous new pair of $5 sweatpants for Kelly. Afterwards, we headed toward the Arch.

The Museum inside describing some American history from 1800-1900, as well as the expedition of Lewis and Clark, was awesome! Then, we took the tram up to the top of the arch, 630 feet! It was probably one of the coolest thing any of us had ever experienced.

After coming down, we decided we needed to walk to the middle of the Mississippi on a pedestrian bridge. It was arctic, and I'm sure the motorists driving by were wondering what four crazy kids were doing. Although, they were pretty much the only people we saw ALL DAY. I'm not sure where everyone is, but this city has a distinct "ghost town" vibe. The most populated area we saw today was Target. Even at the top of the Arch, we composed about a third of the people in any given location. We were the only patrons at the restaurant where we ate lunch, and about the only ones in historic City Hall. It was as if the staff was just begging us to ask them questions.

We also seem to be about the only ones in our hotel. We found out our hotel is only 20% occupied, including some interesting characters. There is a man in our hotel that has caught our eye. Last night, in the midst of using the gym and pool, we saw him wandering around in an all-gray sweatsuit. Today, the color of choice was white. He seems okay, but the staff seems to know him. At this point, we are wondering if he lives here. The staff seems nice, and very happy to have us. We seem to be hot news around here, and it's no surprise to us! In driving around, even at 8:30 pm, many of the stores are closed and dark, as are most of the houses! It is very strange to us, and we are hoping that things soon turn around, or we might forget some of our social skills and manners!