What did we do on or first day off of running? Imagine what it would be like to try to crawl your way out of the stomach of a dinosaur, or to crawl through a tunnel of wire suspended 200 feet in the air from an airplane to a fire engine. Sounds like you may be fantasizing or dreaming, but this is what we did on our day off in St. Louis, Missouri.

After a brief visit to the Gateway Arch and Jefferson Expansion Memorial on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, we found ourselves as guests of a children’s circus called Circus Harmony. Jessica Hentoff, a former founder of the Big Apple Circus, invited us to a showing of this version of the Everyday Circus called ‘Circus Harmony’ which incorporates international young talent.

We were thrilled with juggling, balancing, spinning and leaping by children 9 to 15 years of age. Taking place in the City Museum, we were able to mix with the children afterwards and follow them on an exciting tour of this unique spectacle of architectural design and adventure.

Keaton, Kellin, Elliana and Claire, the young performers who kept us on the edge of our seats with their brilliant circus performances, now led us into the mouth of dinosaurs and suspended metal sculptures as part of the interactive museum experience.

Their grandparents, who run a shoelace store in the complex, treated us to custom made shoelaces of various colors and designs made right on the spot.

This was one of the many extraordinary things that made for a very unique and memorable day off.

For over an hour we were swept into a whirlwind of activity by these energetic and talented children. The museum was literally ‘crawling’ with kids of all ages, as we joined them in maneuvering around and through some of the spectacular displays.

After working up quite an appetite they took us to Cummel’s Café and Restaurant where we were treated to a delicious meal. We are extremely grateful to Jenise Henry for this act of generosity and kindness. The service was fantastic, thanks to Liz and others who served us, and so was the food. After the meal we visited the Saint Louis Bread Company in downtown St. Louis, where they kindly treated us to coffee, tea, and freshly made pastries. We certainly had enough great food offered to us today to burn up in the next few days of running.

After a short tour of the spectacular Jefferson Expansion Memorial Museum which is located underground below the Arch, we made our way to Belleville again where we would spend another night at the wonderful ‘Our Lady of the Snows Shrine Hotel’.

Anja and others were delighted to meet Father Clarence Zackman earlier this morning when some of us were sitting in the breakfast hall before heading out to St. Louis. He was of German ancestry and even spoke some German with her.

After exchanging some funny German phrases we told him about the World Harmony Run and he really seemed to love and appreciate what we are doing. Holding the torch and singing some prayerful songs with us made our day much sweeter.

After our adventures and before the night set in though, we were offered a fantastic meal by Tom and Ed Gagan of Castletown Geoghean in Belleville. The food was very fresh and delicious and we were treated very well by all who worked there, especially Natalie, our wonderful waitress. Tom and Ed were very sincere and genuine in their kind offering to us. Anyone who visits Belleville or St. Louis, which is close by, should eat at their superb restaurant.

Back at the Shrine Hotel, we had to get ready for our first day out running again, this time heading directly west once again. Our trek up the Mississippi River has come to an end in St. Louis, but we will cross this mighty river once more in July on our way back east.

We ended our long and very eventful day with a farewell party for Salil, our executive director who has to leave this run for a while as he gets ready to travel to other parts of the world. We are glad that he was able to spend a month with us here on the U.S.A. portion of the World Harmony Run and we hope that he will return before we head back east at the end of June.

Team Harmony

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