4th of July

What a great holiday weekend.  July is shaping up to be a very busy month and it started out with a bang!  We started the weekend by heading to Alton, IL to watch the fireworks with Jenner and Andrew.  It was a nice little drive across the river and the only place with a firework showing on Friday night.  The show was worth the wait and great company.  Here is a random picture from the show.



On Saturday we headed to Pere Marquette Park for some hiking.  We could not have asked for better weather.  We drove up to Grafton, IL and did encounter some flooded roads and took a tour of the town.  By the time we got to Pere Marquette we were ready to hike.  We checked in with the Visitors Center and decided to take the Goat and Dogwood Trails.  They offered the best views stated the woman at the Visitors Center.

[caption id="attachment_479" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Visitor Center"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_480" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Flooded Picnic Grounds"][/caption]

We had to start the trail a little different than normally, the beginning was flooded and after we got start it was all uphill, but it was a lot of fun climbing it.  The hike offered a lot of great views from the top.  Here are a few views from 791 feet above sea level.









After Pere Marquette we headed home to get ready for another night of fireworks.  This time we were going to check out the Webster Groves show.  I had seen the show last year and it was a great show.  So I was expecting a repeat performance.  We got there with plenty of time to people watch.  Once the fireworks started the show was great, it seemed a lot better than the Alton show.  The only downside was that it only lasted 10 minutes.

On July 4th we headed down to Fair St. Louis for the real July 4th Festivities.  I love going down there on the 4th to see the air show and there is usually a fun band to watch before the fireworks start.  Although this year it was the B-52's and I only really know "Love shack" but it would have been a fun show to watch.

We got there in time to get a great seat under the Arch to watch the cover band before the air show and relax a bit.  Then the air show started.  The show started with a C-130 dropping 5 parachuter's through the Arch and onto the grounds.



Then the show was followed by more high flying tricks.  Overall the show was great, until the rain came in.  We decided to try to beat the crowds and ducked out a bit early to the parking garage.



Instead of going back and sitting on the wet lawn we went to the Landing for some food and to avoid the crowds for a bit.  We made some friends while people watching.  around 9 we headed back over to the fair grounds to watch the fireworks under the Arch.  There is nothing like watching the 4th of July fireworks under a national monument.  It really is amazing to see the fireworks glow off the Arch.  It seemed that the people to organized the show this year did a great job of matching the fireworks with the music.

After a quick stop at City Garden we headed to the Metro Station and took a cramped ride home.