Recently, I travelled to St. Louis, Missouri, for a speech tournament. It's not our first trip flying, but I still enjoyed it. It is our team tradition every year to attend the tournament at Webster University and to do some sight seeing before and after the tournament.
This year, I was the only competitor who attended, so we didn't get to do as much due to most of the traditional activities being more fun for a group. Regardless, I still had fun, despite how cold it was. It was so cool seeing snow flurries after we got off the plane and into town.
This team tradition is significant because the current directors at Webster used to be our directors at McNeese for a few years, before returning to Missouri. Our coach is very close with them. Every year at this tournament, it is definitely like a family reunion.
The day we flew in, we ate at a delicious BBQ restaurant. Then, we checked into the hotel where all tournament participants stayed, which was the fancy Sheraton Westport Chalet. Afterward, we drove downtown for some exploring. We drove past the old courthouse, which is where the Deed Scott decision was made. We then made our way to the Gateway Arch. It was awe-inspiring to see it. It's crazy how engineers were able to build this stainless steel monument. I was really disappointed to see that the tram ride to the top was closed for construction. It was, however, interesting to watch the documentary on how the arch was built. It's 630 feet tall and wide, weighs 17,246 tons, and has 1,076 stairs (600 flights). It took about two years to build it, at it started in February of 1963 and finished in October of 1965. It only sways about an inch in 150 mile-per-hour winds. Needless to say, it's a very stable structure. Concrete and steel rods hold the inside in order to keep it stable. The arch symbolizes the Gateway to the West. In the area where it was built, Lewis and Clark started their westward expedition.
I competed with three events and ended up being triple entered, meaning that all three are going on at the same time. It was a very exhausting weekend with that. After our awards ceremony on Sunday, we went to the St. Louis Science Center. The science museum part is on one side of interstate 64, while the planetarium is on the other side, and there is a skybridge over the highway. Everything was very hands on. There were tectonic plates to push on, a tornado wind machine, and several other activities. We attended a planetarium show, which mapped out the constellations on the dome ceiling and drew out the person or creature that the stars formed. I'm already an astronomy nerd, so this was extremely interesting for me.
I really enjoyed my trip, despite the cold. I knew it would be cold, but I didn't expect it to be in the 20s and 30s during my time there. I enjoyed meeting the directors and their family. Their openness and kindness definitely stays with me. I look forward to repeating this traditional trip next year, and the year after.