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Tags: Missouri Travel / Memorials / Architecture Travel / National Parks / → All Tags

St. Louis' Gateway Arch Looking To Have Some Work Done Before Turning Fifty

Now that Southwest Airlines has announced that they are all about St. Louis, the city is eager to get to work on their most famous attraction. After all, with an influx of new visitors thanks to cheap flights, the city needs to show off its offerings. Late last week the National Park Service released an almost 300 page set of plans dealing with the future of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial—that’s the Gateway Arch for those less familiar with its full name.

The park service is looking to preserve and maintain the grand lawn area beneath the Arch and wants to add some snazzy new stuff to the north and south ends of the area. The entire memorial is almost 100 acres large, so they have a lot of room to play with. One of the biggest updates would be to expand the park across the Mississippi River. That would provide East St. Louis with a little Arch love, and would allow the Arch to be better connected to the downtown area. Certain blocks downtown could be cleared to allow for new walkways for pedestrians to check things out.

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Tags: Obama-Around-The-World / Presidential Travel / Barack Obama / Baseball / → All Tags

Buy Obama Some Peanuts And Crackerjacks In St. Louis

Whether or not you're planning one of those tour-the-USA's-major-league-ballparks vacations, perhaps you'll want to add St. Louis' Busch Stadium onto your Midwest road-trip now that President Obama has taken the mound.

That's right, last night during the All-Star game, Barack dressed down in jeans and a Chicago White Sox jackets—yay for repping his home team—and threw the ceremonial first pitch to Albert Pujols of the Cardinals. Although he had warmed up on the White House lawn this weekend and was accompanied to St. Louis on Air Force One with Willie Mays, Obama said of his pitch: "Now, there was no clock on it, I don't know how fast it went - but if it exceeded 30 miles per hour, I'd be surprised, but it did clear the plate."

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Tags: Beer Festivals / Beer / Summer Festivals / Missouri Travel / → All Tags

No Busch Light At The St. Louis Brewers Heritage Fest

It’s pretty clear that the folks in St. Louis take their beer pretty seriously. After all, this is the proud home of Budweiser, as long as you just forget about that whole InBev buyout thing. That’s why it’s a pretty safe bet to predict that the 2009 St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival is one of the must-do drinking fests of the year.

There’s three different schedules over the weekend of June 5 and 6 that all take place within Forest Park, but unless you’re hardcore we’d only recommend throwing down for one of them. Tickets start at $30 and cost $35 on the day of the event. It’s a pretty good deal as it grants you access to unlimited sampling of over 60 different beer styles, live music, and a commemorative glass.

Brewmasters will be on hand from some of the nation’s most well known breweries, as well as some smaller ones. We’d head straight to the Trailhead Brewing Company booth, in hopes of downing a few samples of a hoppy ale. Just remember to bring a couple bucks in case you get the beer munchies, as there’ll be quite an assortment of food vendors as well.

Related Stories:
·St. Louis Brewery Heritage Festival [Official Site]
·Beer coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Official Site]

Tags: Rental Cars / Enterprise / Green Travel / → All Tags

Enterprise Adding 5000 Hybrids, But Would You Rent?

Is going green good business? Amid an industry-wide slowdown on car rentals, Enterprise announced it was adding 5000 vehicles to its fleet -- specifically, hybrids.

The company also announced they would create 80 "hybrid locations" or rental desks with a better than usual selection of hybrid cars in highly-trafficked areas. They're not the only company buying (Dollar just announced it signed a deal with troubled manufacturer Ford), but Enterprise is effectively betting that gas prices will rise again -- and their fleet will be uniquely protected from those potential fluctuations.

We think some hybrids like the Prius, above, are pretty cute. But choosing to rent a hybrid drastically limits the pool of cars you could get at any given location -- and what if you get an ugly one? Still, the gas savings could make your trip a much more cost-effective one. Have you rented a hybrid on a trip?

Related Stories:
· Rental car slowdown hurts automakers [AP via San-Jose Mercury News]
· Enterprise Adds 5000 Hybrids To Its Fleet Of Fuel-Efficient Cars[Sustainablog]
· Five Humiliating Rental Cars To Ruin Your Vacation [Jaunted]
· Enterprise's Sweet Weekend Rental Deal [Jaunted]
· Rental Cars coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: geognerd]

Tags: George Clooney's Mustache / George Clooney / Movie Travel / STL / → All Tags

The Soup Strainer Jets To St. Louis

George Clooney has booked Lambert-St. Louis International for his latest project, "Up in the Air," now that filming has wrapped on "Men Who Stare at Goats." The former home of TWA, the airport's now probably best known for its haunting ghost terminal.

While production crews are still figuring out where exactly they'll shoot inside STL, Clooney says the whole city could star in the movie, the story of a corporate downsizer on a mission to bank 1 million frequent flier miles. Jason Reitman of "Juno" fame is directing.

While the city is thrilled to have the production coming to town, Lambert's hosted movie stars before: Matt Damon visited the airport in May for work on Steven Soderbergh's newest, "The Informant."

Related Stories:
· Clooney to Film Movie in St. Louis [AP, via IHT]
· Jaunted on Location coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: The Insider]

Tags: Possible Presidents / Barack Obama / Political Travel / Google Maps / → All Tags

Where Was Obama's 100,000 Person Rally?

Possible president Barack Obama drew 100,000 people to downtown St. Louis today, which doesn't prove he's going to win on November 4 but certainly shows there isn't much else going on in the city. (At least today!)

The rally was held at the Gateway Arch, which is officially part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, a national park created in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt.

Seen in the background of this stunning AP photo is another part of the park that doesn't get nearly as much press as Eero Saarinen's gleaming arch. The Old Courthouse was home to two decisions that precipitated Dred Scott v. Sanford, an important decision on women's suffrage that led to Minor v. Happersett and it's the place that Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis was admitted to the bar.

Related Stories:
· Possible Presidents Map [Jaunted]

Tags: Possible-Presidents-Map / John McCain / Barack Obama / Sarah Palin / Joe Biden / → All Tags

Possible Presidents Travel: Meet Me in St. Louis

Get ready for the big show! Tonight, vice presidential candidates Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin go head to head on campus at Washington University in St. Louis for the only scheduled Veep debate. And the question everyone's asking is, "Can they prove the naysayers wrong?"

Will Palin show a higher level of preparation than she did in news clips released from her interview last week with Katie Couric? Will Biden keep himself from stumbling and accidentally (and repeatedly) inserting his foot in his mouth? We'll just have to find out. Either could happen, even in 90 seconds of answering time.

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Tags: Possible-Presidents-Map / John McCain / Barack Obama / Joe Biden / Sarah Palin / → All Tags

Possible Presidents Travel: Hey! Must Be the Money!

A Harris poll last week found that 54 percent of Americans believe the economy is the most important issue in this election, with health care a distant second at 21 percent. (The war in Iraq took third.) So after Friday's national-security-themed debate, the candidates came out swinging with critiques of how their opponent might clean up this domestic mess in his first term.

Senator Barack Obama suggested to a Westminster, Colorado audience that his opponent's fondness for gambling may lead to a certain recklessness in not pushing for further regulations on the banking and mortgage industries. He heads to La Crosse, Wisconsin tomorrow before flying back to Florida (where he prepped for last week's debate) for two rallies with former President Bill Clinton.

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Tags: Summer Travel / Summer Festivals / Culture Travel / Labor Day Travel / → All Tags

Labor Day Travel: Missouri Japanese Festival

When you think about hotbeds of Japanese-American culture, St. Louis probably doesn't spring to mind. But it should, because the Gateway City is home to one of the largest Japanese gardens in America, the 14-acre expanse at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

And every Labor Day weekend for the last 32 years, the garden has hosted one of the premier Japanese festivals in the US.

The three-day Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Festival, August 30-September 1, features a wide array of Japanese cultural activities, including martial arts demos, Zen enlightenment workshops and everybody's favorite, sumo wrestling. Ten bucks gets you admission to everything.

Related Stories:
· Missouri Botanical Garden Japanese Festival [Official Site]
· Labor Day Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
· Culture Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ryan Rumberger, Missouri Botanical Garden]

Tags: Nude Travel / Biking / → All Tags

Midwest Travel: Surprisingly Racy Race Coming to MO

Still need something to do this weekend? Get to St. Louis pronto--and don't worry about packing anything, since the World Naked Bicycle Ride starts at 9 pm Saturday. The 10-mile ride starts in Tower Grove Park and proceeds to Atomic Cowboy on Manchester, where there will no doubt be lots of slippery nipples.

Race organizer Mariah Pittman says the event doesn't have a thing to do with sex:

There are more ways to transport yourself than a car. This is about getting people to think oil dependency.

That said, the cops will still roll through to make sure riders aren't completely naked. After all, it's the Midwest--not Miami.

Related Stories:
· Ride Organizers Advise Cyclists to Cover up [STL P-D]
· Cyclists to Leave Clothes Behind [STL P-D]
· Nude Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of a ride in London: biig_jee]

Tags: Architecture / Architecture Travel / Eero Saarinen / Memorials / Eero-Saarinen-Travel-Map / → All Tags

Eero Saarinen Travel: Meet Me in St. Louis

After you've seen the exhibit at the National Building Museum, check out these Eero Saarinen masterpieces.

Everyone has seen the Gateway Arch, at least in pictures, but few realize that it's part of the larger Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Designed by Saarinen, the structure raises 630 feet above the ground and is also 630 feet wide at its base. Besides being instantly recognizable, it's also the largest memorial in the United States.

Although Saarinen passed away four years before the arch was completed, it stands today as probably his most famous achievement. After his death, designer Richard Bowser incorporated a tram to take guests to the top of the arch, something that Saarinen felt was important to add. We're glad he did: Without the unique elevators, the only option to get to the top would be 1,000-plus stairs.

Related Stories:
· Jefferson National Expansion Memorial [Official Site]
· Architecture Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

Tags: Midwest Airlines / Airlines / MD-80 / Barack Obama / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Obama Drama!

So that's what Midwest Airlines is doing with those extra planes! Senator Barack Obama was flying to Charlotte, North Carolina when his chartered MD-80 diverted to St. Louis.

Turns out the safety slide in tail of the aircraft deployed in flight and gave pilots some trouble steering. (Guess someone forgot to cross-check!) The plane landed at Lambert International without further incident.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee took the in-air drama in stride:

Anytime a pilot says that something's not working the way its supposed to, then, you know, you make sure you tighten your seat belt. Everything seemed under control, the pilots knew what they were doing.

Related Stories:
· Mechanical Glitch Grounds Obama's Plane [CNN]
· Midwest Charter Makes Unscheduled Stop [WTMJ]
· Obama Jokes with Media after Unscheduled Stop [CBS News]
· Airline Death Watch: Are Midwest's Cookies Endangered? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cubbie_n_Vegas]