Many thanks to Devon Ackroyd (grey shirt) and his chiropractor colleagues at MVMT STL in St Louis. Devon kindly offered free treatment to one of our team members who was in need of patching up.
this couple were staying in our hotel.
A local St Louis TV station came out to meet us.
On our way to visit our dear friend Swami Chetanananda at the Vedanta Society.
Swami Chetanananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order and is the Minister of Vedanta Society of St. Louis and Kansas City. He has written over 50 books and has so far given 1436 lectures and 2149 classes on Vedanta scriptures and Ramakrishna. He is a great supporter of The Peace Run and welcomes us every time we come to St Louis!
Swami recently turned 90 so we surprised him with a cake!
Our local Coordinator, Nayana Hein, presented the Swami with some gifts on behalf of Ranjana Ghose and the Sri Chinmoy Centre.
Swami showing the Bengali books he has written.
Swami had prepared some delicious treats for us, which we thoroughly enjoyed eating while listening to him sharing many inspiring, illumining and amusing anecdotes and stories.
Nayana offered a prayer for the continued good health and success of Swami, the Vedanta Society, and our Peace Run.
All our gratitude for a deeply inspiring visit with Swami Chetanananda and the Vedanta Society.
Our next stop was for a special tour and offering of torch at the Old Courthouse, a historically significant place in St Louis, which is part of the Gateway Arch National Park. We met with David Murray, Supervisor of the Gateway Arch National Park.
Our New Jersey Peace Run Coordinators, Srutavinda, on the left, and Subhamaya on the right, with their good friend, Tom, pictured centre. They timed their visit to coincide with the Peace Run in St Louis!
A local TV Station interviewing Salil.
The Old Courthouse was the site of the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850. It was also where Virginia Minor's case for a woman's right to vote came to trial in the 1870s. It was last used as a courthouse in 1930.
From the website: The Old Courthouse’s design merit relates to its Greek Revival architectural style, engineered dome, and interior murals. In 1838, the County of St. Louis St. Louis selected Henry Singleton’s cruciform plan with a central rotunda to replace the existing smaller courthouse. Construction started in 1839 and the public opening took place in 1845. At this time emigrants traveling westward on the Oregon and California trails often stopped and gathered provisions in St. Louis: the “gateway to the west.” Departing emigrants met in the Old Courthouse rotunda. The extant dome, which replaced a smaller dome in 1862, was designed by architect William Rumbold and constituted one of the first of its type.
So beautiful!
The history of this building is fascinating!
The building was recently renovated, with a beautiful view of the arch visible.
It took a long time to build!
A team shot at the spectacular Gateway Arch.
As the nation's tallest monument at 630 feet (192 meters) tall; 630 feet is also the distance from leg to leg at ground level.
St. Louis and the Gateway Arch are both referred to as the "Gateway to the West." The arch is an inspirational, transcendent symbol of Thomas Jefferson’s vision of building a unified continental nation and St. Louis’ role as a confluence and gateway to the American West during the 19th century.
The arch is on the banks of the Mississippi, just downriver from where the Missouri River confluences with the Mississippi. In this picture are the flags of the United Ststes, Missouri and St Louis.
Our next stop was to City Museum to do a presentation of the Peace Run at the Circus Harmony Ring, organised by our dear friend Jessica Hentoff.
After our presentation we were thrilled that we were able to watch the kids doing a run through as part of their preparation for an upcoming performance. On the Peace Run we meet such a diverse range of individuals and organisations who are bringing peace to the world in their own way. Circus Harmony was founded with the vision that "the path to peace is a path of cooperation and communication. Teaching children from different neighborhoods how to stand on each other’s shoulders may seem like a strange way to take this path. But it’s the technique we use! Circus Harmony promotes peace through pyramids, joy through juggling and harmony through handsprings!"
Then it was time to have some fun! The museum is an incredible display of unbelievable creative talent, and so much fun for big and little kids alike!
A Peace Runner cannot pass through St Louis without a visit to Ted Drewes for custard. We were not disappointed!
We were delighted to meet with Doug and his dog Dash. Doug is a good friend of Arpan, and long time supporter of the Peace Run.
Our final stop of the day was for dinner with local residents Anamika, Fasil their children and neighbors. Some years back Anamika joined our team, so we were really happy to reconnect. We showed then the Peace Run video which they seemed fairly captivated by.
We did a small presentation which was a lot of fun with these kids who were full of energy!
They gave us freat entertainment by "running around the world" many times!
Passing the torch brought such soulfulness to the moment.
We were treated to a delicious Indian meal!
Luizas plate of food seemed particularly appealing!
Thank you to all for a sweet and delicious ending to a beautiful day in St Louis!
