Travel

Roadtrip Stops #2 & 3: Louisville and St. Louis

by Charli

Louisville

The adventure continues!

The longest legs of our trip took us from Washington, DC to Louisville, KY to St. Louis, MO.

We got to Louisville pretty late, but we still made pit stops at Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum to snap some quick pics. We grabbed dinner on Whiskey Row where AC enjoyed Louisville’s signature drink (and one of her favorites), an Old Fashioned. For desert, we did some dusky scooting around the riverfront.

AC and Charli outside the gate Churchill Downs arena.
The horse behind us ran fast enough to earn a statue. That’s about as far as my horse-racing knowledge goes.
Facade of the Louisville Science Center
I love the aesthetic of the Louisville Science Center’s facade.
AC and Charli posing with a giant baseball bat outside the Louisville Slugger Museum.
And I thought our attic bat was big!
Beep beep!

Truck Camping

Next, we headed to Cabela’s for our first night of truck camping! The truck camper wasn’t too bad. The “mattress” is a bit firm, but there was plenty of room for both of us. It was a bit warm, but we opened our side windows to let in a little breeze. The only downside is that we didn’t install any curtains so the parking lot lights posed a challenge when facing certain directions. Maybe we’ll throw some makeshift curtains together before our next truck-camping stop.

2-photo collage; top photo is AC waving through the side window of the truck cap. Bottom photo is AC sitting in the truck bed, smiling with arms spread wide.
The first night of truck camping was a success!

Truck Stop Showers

The next day (Wednesday, Aug 9), we started off strong with another first: a truck stop shower. I had low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised by how clean the washroom was. And they provided towels! A not-so-pleasant surprise was the $17 price tag–#inflation–but the staff were nice, the water was hot, there was no wait, and now we know.

Truck stop washroom complete with toilet on the left, shower on the right, and a sink on the right wall in front of the shower.
We might have been spoiled for our first truck-stop shower experience…we’ll report back after our second one.

Pit Stops

Next, we dipped into TN to visit AC’s brother, wife, and new baby. Elias was adorable. Then, en route to St. Louis, we passed signs for “Metropolis, IL: home of Superman” so, obviously, we had to drive through and see the world’s largest Superman statue.

Charli holding baby Elias in the crook of her arm.
Cute little Elias is almost 2 months old.
Tall superman statue next to a sculpture that says "Super City."
Who knew Metropolis was a real place?!

St. Louis

When we finally reached St. Louis, we made a beeline for Gateway Arch National Park and rode a space pod to the top for great views of the city. Really, the “space pod” is a unique style of tram that’s able to navigate the curve of the arch. I liken it to the Wonkavator.

Two-photo collage; left photos is of Charli and AC in front of Gateway Arch. Right photo is Charli and AC making funny faces in a tram car reminiscent of a space ship.
panoramic shot of downtown St. Louis from the top of Gateway Arch.
View from the top of Gateway Arch.
Canvas tent in front of a pond
Our accommodations at Earth, WInd, and Solar Farm

We grabbed some classic St. Louis BBQ to-go and headed to our Hipcamp for the night. (Hipcamp is like Airbnb for campsites on folks’ property.) The Earth, Wind, and Solar Farm spoiled us! They let us use their fancy Alaskan wilderness tent so we didn’t have to set up our tent, and they gave us a dozen farm fresh eggs from their chickens even though we only ordered a half dozen. Our hosts were very hospitable and fun to talk with; I have high expectations for our next Hipcamp!

Until next time,

Charli

2 thoughts on “Roadtrip Stops #2 & 3: Louisville and St. Louis”

  1. LOVE seeing your adventures, AC and Charli! Drive through Louisiana for a detour – we miss y’all. 🙂
    Side note – have you thought about getting Planet Fitness passes for showers? Better price tag and they’re everywhere!
    XO
    Stef

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