Free time in STL

Today is Memorial Day and my first day free in STL. I started with running some errands around the area I knew. I had to get groceries so I could live on my own for once. Before I did that, however, I made the trip down to where I will be spending 40 hours out of my week - they call it "the garage." Not too bad of an area. It is only about 15 miles round trip so I'm pretty excited about that. Now, on to the grocery store. The price tag quickly added up. Kelsey first estimated somewhere between $50-75, but quickly changed her final estimation to $48 after seeing a picture I sent of my cart. My grand total was about $80. So off.

After shopping and eating, I finally mustered up the energy to go out and see the city. I started with a route from google maps to Washington University in St. Louis, my friend Ben's area of expertise. Turns out that I am about nine miles from campus. Sweet! After that, I had this bright idea that I could navigate my way from west STL to downtown. I made my way there alright. The city got old and ghetto very quickly after the WashU campus. The roads followed the same theme. I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that the neighborhoods I went through were a bit scary and there was no sight of downtown at all. I eventually got there and parked not knowing what the game plan was. I started walking around and found nothing of any real interest. It was overcast and dark, which made shooting buildings and the ubiquitous arch difficult. After a few minutes I switched my attention to flowers and landscaping. Lame. I'm in downtown St. Louis and I'm shooting flowers.

That got old, so I got back in the car and started driving around. I found my way down to the river, in a park between the arch and the Mississippi. Shooting opps started to look up. There were a lot of people, many from all walks of life, so I think this area might be fruitful later in the summer. It got me thinking about doing some kind of "Faces of St. Louis" series, but seriously let's not get too ahead of ourselves.

After that, I got back in the car and found a highway... and eventually found my way back. I drove about 50 miles today and had a lot of fun doing it. Getting lost in the ghetto was actually pretty cool. I'll try not to kill myself out here.

There was this park with a fishing pond just west of downtown. This old man, as well as many other older residents, relaxed and watched the water.

This was in a pot in a pavilion area in front of some downtown buildings.

Sights.

Again, a flower in a pot in front of a statue.

Next to a sidewalk.

More pot vegetation.

Pretty greens.

Chain link on the river.

Tourists can rent bikes and other wheeled machines to enjoy the riverside.

Gateway to the West.

Water level seems to be OK. I could be wrong.

Two older dudes use the top step to the arch stairway to relax.

The arch at some angles looked like it was fake.

This horse is one of many that offer carriage rides along the Mississippi. They seemed pretty mild mannered.

The windows atop the arch. I'm sure the view is nicer from up top.

On my way out of downtown, I noticed all of the old industrial buildings. It was probably a mile of nothing but old abandoned buildings similar to this one. I hope to come back to the area and shoot, since all the rust, dirt and layered textures make for some cool photos.

That's it for now.