After leaving Kansas City, we kept east on 70 towards St. Louis. St. Louis was very nice and we enjoyed our time there. Since we did not stay in the city, we had some time to kill and casinos are EVERYWHERE! Can you guess what we did? Well that did not end as well as the first night so it was a bit sad and the fact that One Republic was playing in this little field right beside us and we missed them! It looked like such a fun time!
We also went to a BBQ joint that has been on one of those restaurant shows and it was very good! When we arrived there was a very long line, but luckily there was a nice woman in front of us who told us it was fast and the turkey was to die for! We had a great time talking to her and getting some other recommendations. She was right! I ordered the turkey and it was delicious! Brandon's BBQ was pretty good too, but I think he liked my turkey!
On Saturday, we spent the day at the Gateway Arch. It was pretty packed and we had a few hours to kill before our time to go up so we were able to explore the museum and get some of those old lemon drop hard candies. My throat by this point was hurting pretty bad and we were both stuffy, so the hard candy helped a bunch! Once it was our time to go up, it really wasn't our time to go up. It was our time to watch a movie, look around another little museum, and then stand in line some more. All worth it though. Brandon and I are pretty good at knowing "worth the wait" as our whole relationship is based on this principle! We got in this little cart that took 4 minutes to get to the top and once we were up top the view was amazing. We got a few pictures and enjoyed the view, but it was a bit crowded and hot, so we didn't stay up there as long as we would had liked. A must though if in St. Louis.
View from the top!
Inside the elevator.
I really liked St. Louis, but this was all before the Ferguson stuff happening. Glad we missed that whole ordeal!
Reaching St. Louis also meant the end of Interstate 70! Such a bittersweet moment! Now we weren't strictly going east, but we went south towards Louisville.
On route to Louisville, we found some caverns that were just a year open and had an underground boat ride. We were all about this and it was a great time to stop. We got there a bit late, but it happened to work out great because it was only us and another couple getting a tour. We had the whole cave to ourselves and it was great! We took our time, and spotted crawfish, salamanders, bones, fossils, stalagmites, stalactites, "bacon", and other cave formations. The boat ride was pretty nice and the reflections were crazy! Wish my camera could had captured them. The history about how Indiana Caverns was discovered was also neat since they are still caving and making the cave system longer. It was a very nice tour, so if ever get the chance, you should check it out!
We got to Louisville around dinnertime so we grabbed something to eat and called it a night. We did not really get to explore the city too much. One of the Man Vs. Food restaurants in Louisville was an ice cream shop and since we weren't near it we didn't get to go, but I looked up the menu and it featured ice cream with Old Forester. I thought that was very neat, since Old Forester is THE Evelyn drink! I really did not know that it was such a popular drink that it could be used with ice cream!! I think it would be quite disgusting!
After Louisville, we headed south to Nashville. We stopped at Mammoth Caves on the way and took a tour. They were amazing and really enjoyed going there and exploring a few trails. If you have never been then you really should go! It is an amazing cave system!
Entering the cave! It was a nice relief from the outside!
In Nashville I was very excited to meet up with my cousins, the Remkes, for dinner. I hadn't seen them in awhile so it was nice to catch up with them at another BBQ place that was very good. Thank you Chris, Amy, Matt, and Meredith for dinner and for the tips! I especially enjoyed talking to Meredith about her summer and gymnastics! :)
Thanks for dinner, Amy!!! :)
We spent the next day near Opryland, but we (I, mostly) decided to shop! There was a nice outlet mall so I thought that it would be a great day to spend our day! I am pretty sure Brandon did not enjoy it very much, but I thought it was good!! Got a few great deals and snagged at 100 dollar dress for 17 dollars! Pretty awesome right?? That dress would be the blue navy one I wore in our engagement pictures!
The next morning we woke up and headed to one of the top water holes in the country, which also happened to be not too far off the interstate and it was probably the best part of our trip! It was GORGEOUS! The hike down was great and we had to go "slogging" through a creek. I had my camera with me so I had to be extra careful and almost fell a few times into the creek. When we got to the water hole it was a magnificent waterfall that flowed onto some rocks and then was a very deep swimming pool to jump into. We watched some young boys climb up about 30 feet, if not more, and then jump into the water. They were pretty brave and it sounded like it really hurt a few of them.
We stayed there for about two hours then decided to take a short cut up, which involved some rock climbing. At first I was pretty scared, but then actually enjoyed it. It was nothing too dangerous, but it looked like it when we were standing at the bottom. It was nice not having to "slog" our way back down the creek once more!
We got back on the road again and then stopped for the evening in Johnson City, TN (Wagon Wheel plays in the back of my head), and then headed home the next morning.
We made great time throughout the trip and it was surely a trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed every second I spent with Brandon and can't wait to make more memories with him. I remember calling his mom and telling her the engagement party was off because we were just sick of each other joking around! I don't know if she believed me or not, hope not, since I couldn't have asked for a better time. Brandon is an amazing man and perfect for me! I am so lucky (he is too ;)) to be able to spend my life with him and make a life with each other. It's a great feeling.
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