Linking up with MetroLink

There are a few things in St. Louis that everyone needs to experience at some point in their lives, like a Cardinals baseball game or a trip to the top of the Arch.

This past weekend I had another one of those "firsts" -- my first MetroLink experience. I'm not one to shoot my hand up at the chance to try something new, but I decided that even though I didn't know what to expect, I should just "roll with the punches" on this one. Taking the MetroLink wasn't a part of the original plan, but our city friends decided it was the best option to get to the concert we were going to downtown. My boyfriend and I hesitantly agreed, thinking they knew exactly what they were doing.

After we ran to get on and packed in like cattle, we realized the city kids knew as much as we did about what stop to get off at. At this point I was a little upset. I am a planner -- I like to know where I'm going and what time I'm going there. So as I stood on this muggy MetroLink, holding on for dear life, I wasn't so sure that we wouldn't end up across the river somewhere.

Luckily we figured out that we weren't the only ones going to the concert on our car, so we just followed the crowd and ended up where we were supposed to be. The concert was fun, but having to take the MetroLink again was still in the back of my mind the entire time.

When the concert was over, we headed back to the station where we got off the MetroLink. The swarm of people was overwhelming. There were three events going on downtown on Friday night: the "Live off the Levee" concert we went to, an American Idol concert at the Scottrade Center and a Cards game. Needless to say, the cars were even more jammed than on the way there. We realized it could be hours before we got on at this station, so we headed down to the Union Station MetroLink instead.

After riding the Link with my face basically stuck in the back of the guy in front of me, we had to switch cars. As the next one approached, it took us a second to realize that its empty seats weren't an illusion and we could actually sit down. There were literal cheers as we made our way to sit down. One of my friends exclaimed, "It's like Christmas!" No holiday could have made me happier at this point.

While it was nice not having to deal with the hassle of parking a car in downtown St. Louis, getting on and off that thing was just as stressful. As adventurous as it was, my trip on the MetroLink definitely did not enhance my weekend trip to St. Louis. If anything, it made me thankful that we don't need a MetroLink in Sikeston. I'm glad to be able to say that I've taken it before, but next time I think I'll just opt for the parking garage.