Benton Park Inn
Let's take a road trip 2,593 miles from Chattanooga to the coast of Oregon.
No matter Mert and I are in our mid-70s, and our fellow couple, Zef and Min, have gone through some health issues recently.
No, let's hit the road after lining up an interesting assortment of stops along the way - from Airbnbs, vintage hotels and farm stays to a 1950s style motel and to two nights at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel.
All 4 in a not-huge, but very comfortable, bright red Buick Envision.
We did hit the road Wednesday morning, headed for St. Louis - and made it in spite of a couple of I-55 South misses near the end. Not a problem since we got to experience several of the assorted St. Louis bridges.
Here the Mississippi River is not nearly as huge as when it reaches Memphis. It does get the waters of the Missouri River just north of the St. Louis city center. But the wide Ohio (just bolstered by the Tennessee) does not enter until Cairo on the south.
We reached the Benton Park Inn - our first stop - in late afternoon. It was in a delightful neighborhood of brick townhomes of many varied styles.
Ours dated to 1895 and was built as four apartments our host, Dan, related.
We got a warm greeting at the interesting front door from Rosie, a former scrawny pound dog who is now fattened up and much at home with his frequent visitors.
We took a stroll at Benton Park across the street, part of the outstanding park system that St. Louis is known for. It's a hilly park, but the sidewalks are at a very manageable grade. You'll see some huge trees, including a cottonwood, an oak and a tulip poplar, that definitely have been here before the idea for the park was conceived.
Zef and I ended up down the street getting pizza at a site in one of the townhomes, shared with an arcade. The pizza was good when it finally came, but we spent the time engaging with the crowd. People in St. Louis are very friendly.
On the lengthy dining room table, Zef and Min had a remarkable 38 score to capture Five Crowns.
Mert rebounded to win Skyjo.
Then it was up the stairs (no elevator) to our very comfortable second floor rooms. There are four rooms in all. We ended up switching when Mert insisted that Min (a jetted tub lover) get that amenity. Speaking of amenities, Mert was very impressed by all those offered at the inn.
Dan has had the place 10 years after buying it from a contractor who fixed it up for his daughter, who proceeded to go through a divorce.
Dan prepares a big delicious breakfast for his guests. This one was waffles, bananas Foster, fruit and sausage with multiple tea and juice offerings. There's probably coffee, too, but we never got started on that.
Then it's on to Nebraska City.