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St. Louis was SO awesome!! We had an amazing time! The girls got along great. There was only one little argument and even that didn’t last long. There were a few hot days but those were the days we did inside activities. Then a storm came through and cooled things down so we were able enjoy the outside activities without the scorching heat.
Our first stop on Saturday was the City Museum. Made entirely of re-cycled products, this museum of mazes kept the kids entertained for hours. MonstroCity, Skateless Park, Enchanted Caves and the Monster Slide are just 
a few of the attractions the kids enjoyed. The Architectural Museum is a favorite for adults. The only “down side” to the museum is that the mazes and caves can separate your group. Not being able to find your child puts an incredible fear in your heart. I experienced this twice on Saturday. Two times too many!! The girls were fine. They were having the time of their lives exploring. We will never forget the largest pair of underwear in the world.
Sunday we experienced the Gateway Arch, Science Center and Union Station. I had been in the Arch before (at night) with Tim. It was the first time for Alyssa. It’s incredible to see how advanced architecture was in 1965. The Arch was built to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s westward expansion of the United States.
After seeing the view from the top of the monument, we watched a documentary that followed the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. Usually my inner child wants to avoid anything educational when I’m on vacation. I did my time in school. However, this is a great film. The incredible visuals and narration made you feel like you were right on the river with them. Simply amazing.
Science Center had something to appeal to everyone. Dinosaurs and space travel were the highlights. The girls got to practice their circus tricks on the trampolines and bungee cords at Union Station. They really enjoyed that.
Monday we got a late start, sleeping until almost 10:00 am. I don’t remember the last time I did that. All the fun must have caught up with us. We went to The Magic House, which was awesome!!! The girls enjoyed learning about magnets, art, math and fitness. They surrounded themselves in a giant bubble and experienced static electricity that made their hair stand on end. The Magic House is expanding to double their size. I can’t wait to go back once they’ve completed.
That evening was about the adults. We went to “the Hill” and ate at Charlie Gitto’s. The authentic Italian cuisine was delicious. After all the garlic, we soothed our taste buds with Ted Drewes frozen custard, a St. Louis tradition.
Most of Tuesday was spent at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It was fun to see all the different types of flowers. I have even been inspired to plant a couple of them in my garden next year. Their “plant” doctor helped to diagnose a beetle boring in my maple tree. Hopefully the prescribed insecticide will help our tree survive. Our old house had a huge red maple in the backyard. I missed the tree so Tim got me one for my birthday a couple of years ago.
We thought the Botanical Garden included a butterfly garden. We searched around and finally asked an employee. It was not a good sign when his response started with laughter. We made a mad dash to the other side of town to the Butterfly House. By the time we got there, we only had about a half hour left, but it was well worth it. They were everywhere! And so beautiful.
On Wednesday we made it to Grant’s Farm and the Zoo. At the farm, we fed the baby goats milk (they were hungry little rascals) and saw the majestic Clydesdales. This is Matt. He was in several commercials for Anheuser-Busch. 
The tour ended in my favorite spot, the beer garden. I really don’t drink that much beer. I prefer margaritas, but I now have a new favorite beer, Michelob Ultra Pomegranate Raspberry.
It was a bit too warm for us to see a lot of the animals at the zoo. We did get to see some bears and penguins. It was a nice ending to the day.
We returned home around 9:30 pm Wednesday night. It was a great trip, but I was glad to be home with my boys. They ran out to see me and jumped in my arms with a big hug and kiss. I love those little moneys.
July 29th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Man, you almost made me miss St. Louis! We never did get to the City museum when we lived there…we were poor students and the kids were so little…but we did drink a lot of free beer at Grants Farm and we could walk to the zoo! But I don’t miss the heat and humidity! I’m glad you had fun, thanks so much for sharing!