A city that peaked at 856,796 people in the 1950's but now finds itself at just over 315,000, St Louis is a rather fascinating place. Downtown felt eerie to me, almost like a fully developed ghost town. Cultural areas such as the Loop provide a lot of the life and colour in the city. There is some great eating and shopping to be done down there so you won't be disappointed and if you run into any university students they will be sure to show you a rockin good time! The gateway arch featured in a lot of the pictures below is truly spectacular and for some the sole purpose for visiting St. Louis. I highly recommend taking the space capsule up to the top, it's very touristy but will make you feel like a kid again :)
The Blues Baby
A genre of music I knew little about before road tripping down the Mississippi river. I quickly came to discover after our first few nights in Chicago, that the blues is not just about the music, it's a way of life. A lot of the dudes and dudettes I saw on stage every night have dedicated their lives to the music in one way or another. Getting up on stage every night to do what they do best. They have been playing for as many as 20, 30, 40 sometimes even 50 years and are still passionate about their chosen craft. You could feel the heart and soul in the music they played and sung, I will never forget it. The photos below are from 2 of the most rockin blues bars in Chi-town. The Kingston Mines with J.W. Williams and Carl Weathersby playing the Monday night set, and Pistol Pete playing at B.L.U.E.S on Wednesday night. I could not have asked for a better introduction to blues music than from these fine gentleman. They all shred! Mad love
