Chihuly glass exhibit and more in Saint Louis, 2006

I was inspired by Sharon over at The Odd Essay to write a post about an anniversary trip we took in November 2006 to Saint Louis. What prompted it was her photos of an exhibit of Chihuly glass in Seattle. We saw a similar exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Garden, which wasn't on our itinerary but one of those things that you stumble upon unexpectedly that end up making the trip.

Happy 17th Anniversary!

We look so young in that photo! We didn't even have any gray hair 6 years ago! The glass in the garden exhibit was the highlight of our trip, but there were other great things to see. St. Louis' Union Station was brimming with beautiful art and architecture..and had been converted to a mall and hotel. Much of the original impressive architecture remains in the Grand Hall and the exterior still looked as it must have on opening day in 1894. The only train departing from the station was the Hogwarts Express, but I couldn't find the ticket seller so I stayed in St. Louis.

Another surprise was the Old Courthouse which was within walking distance of our hotel.  Part of its unfortunate history includes the auctioning of slaves on its steps, but it is also the site of the Dred Scott case.  He had lived in free territories with his master, including Minnesota and Illinois. These states held that a slaveholder forfeited his rights to property by illegally holding a slave to a state that prohibited the institution and where there was no law to support his controlling the slave. Congress had never before addressed whether slaves were free if they set foot upon free soil. Scott lost the case at first, but a jury voted in his favor upon appeal. In 1852, the Missouri Supreme Court struck down the lower court ruling. Scott was defeated again in federal court, and yet again when his case reached the United States Supreme Court. This decision hastened the start of the Civil War as it inflamed tensions over the issue. Scott and his family eventually gained their freedom when they were returned to a prior owner and that other owner granted them emancipation in 1857.  Scott only lived another 17 months, dying from tuberculosis, but his wife survived another 18 years.

Also interesting was St. Louis' most well known landmark, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  Not very pretty close up, but I got what I thought was an interesting photo by lying on the ground. We didn't feel the need to take a ride to the top, but visited the museum and bought a pack of playing cards that depicts the building of the arch which we used on our last camping trip while playing a game of cribbage.

All this reminiscing has got me thinking maybe we should do something special for our anniversary again.  We'll be married 23 years next month...it might be too late to come up with a plan for this year, but not for next year!