Jennifer. J. Chow

Top of the World

Last weekend, I got to experience an emotional high when I visited St. Louis for Cozy Con 2024. The Novel Neighbor and St. Louis County Library hosted a fabulous event. Held at the Clark Family Branch, we authors even got to sneak in through a secret door to go onstage. And there was beautiful attendance, with exactly my kind of people. I recognized a few from social media, but everyone there seemed interested in the mystery writing world, and I had great interactions afterward. Added bonus? I got to do this with some amazing authors: Ellie Alexander, Lee Hollis, Gigi Pandian—it was a mini Ashland Mystery Festival of sorts.

Lee Hollis & I decided to share a table 🙂

I also literally spent time with my people (a.k.a. relatives I haven’t seen in years). We’ve been playing tag at seeing one another, waylaid by storms and sicknesses. When I asked about any St. Louis food specialties I should try, they were happy to help me. In fact, they waited in line so I could check out Pappy’s Smokehouse and Nathaniel Reid Bakery (run by a James Beard-nominated baker). My relatives hosted me in their lovely home and shuttled me around, making sure I got to my must-see item before flying back to L.A.…

That’s right. It was the St. Louis Arch. It’s got some fascinating history, including being first inspired by the arched metal handles on a congresswoman’s purse. Traveling up the tram, I got to relive the Disney+ version of the Percy Jackson series (apologies to my kiddos for experiencing this without them!). Thankfully, there were no monsters waiting for me at the end. Instead, I had a magnificent view of the surrounding area. It literally felt like being on top of the world.

Share some of your top experiences:     

21 thoughts on “Top of the World”

  1. When we have been to Pattaya Beach, Thailand we have gone to the Tower which has a rotating restaurant on top. Such gorgeous views and we even went up on the roof and I am scared to death of heights but it was worth it. Wish I had pictures to share.

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  2. St. Louis is such a cool place, Jen. My favorite place there is the City Museum. On the roof of the museum’s 10 story building is a wonderful playground with an operating Ferris wheel. A definite top of the world experience.

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  4. Jen, what a dream weekend–so happy you had such a lovely time. I was in St. Louis once, back when my oldest daughter was looking at schools. I was sad I didn’t get to see the arch, though, so thank you for sharing your experience! Was it…narrow? Offhand, since there are a lot of view stories here, I loved the rooftop of a beautiful old building in Cartagena when I was there for my son’s wedding. Everything around/below was lit in twinkle lights of different colors; the air was balmy but spotlit flags were whipping in the the breeze and there was music floating everywhere. The building wasn’t that high, but it was memorable. (Also memorable: my trip to the top of the World Trade Towers a zillion years ago. I’m not afraid of heights but something about the place gave me serious creeps and I never returned.)

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    1. It was great to just get away, Lisa. And Cartagena sounds lovely. I once went on my friend’s rooftop here and got to see the twinkling lights of downtown, and it was beautiful. (Never made it to the World Trade Towers, but we did visit the WTC Memorial and Museum the last time we were in NYC. 💔)

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  6. Sounds like a great trip.

    As I said on Instrgram, I finally made it to St. Louis this summer thanks to a friend’s wedding in Southern Illinois. I’ve wanted to go for years, so I was happy. And yes, I made sure I did the arch.

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  9. I was lucky enough to have a best friend that had a husband with AT&T that got transferred everywhere–ST. Louis twice, Mexico City, Morristown, New Jersey, and other places. I visited every one of those places. Went up in the St. Louis Arch, the Empire State Building along with the Statue of Liberty and the Twin Towers before they were brought down in 2001, the Sears Tower in Chicago (I know it has another name now), walked across the Brooklyn Bridge as well as flew over it and took a boat under it and did all of that also with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, driving across the Royal Gorge in Colorado and up Pike’s Peak in a snow storm in July, walking across the Mile high Suspension Bridge at Grandfather’s Mountain with each of our three dogs years apart, maybe other things, but the two best were going to Machu Picchu in Peru along with the Amazon and all of the ruins there, and walking around Stonehenge. Those two places were so full of something beyond this world that I cannot put into words. I have not been to many places, but the places that I have been were stupendous.

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