Meet Me in St. Louis

This past weekend, we decided it was time for a little getaway time for the whole family. The kids did great on their first report cards of the school year, so we thought this was perfect reason to celebrate. We left Friday at noon (the kids had the day off, Rick used a vacation day), and drove down. Our first stop was the arch. We have literally made several previous attempts (we're pretty sure we counted 3) to take the kids up in the arch, but have never been successful. Previous attempts have always been when "passing through". One time there was a computer glitch and the trams weren't running. Another time tickets were sold out. You get the point. So, we were happy to have a successful trip up the St. Louis Arch. As you can see, everyone had a great time peering out the windows. Daniel was great!! He climbed right up and loved looking out.

After the Arch, we headed to dinner at Fitz's American Grill and Bottling Works, where they make and bottle their own root beer. It was so yummy and fun. We even brought home some of the deliciousness to enjoy.

That night we stayed downtown in the Sheraton City Center, thanks to my big bro Todd. It was great, and the kids had fun experiencing more of the city. The next morning, we walked a few blocks to the City Museum. A special thanks to the Linehan family for giving us a heads up on this place. They may not even realize it, but we saw a post on their blog some time ago and knew we needed to experience this place at some point. I really don't know how to begin to describe this museum. It is like nothing I've ever seen before, and so much fun. We spent nearly 6 hours there without any boredom on ANYONE's part, and we didn't even do the "extra" aquarium and Roof Top. Here's a description from their website, and then I'll let our pictures do the rest of the explaining:

"Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects. The brainchild of internationally acclaimed artist Bob Cassilly, a classically trained sculptor and serial entrepreneur, the museum opened for visitors in 1997 to the riotous approval of young and old alike. "

This portion is outside. Above you see Daniel, who again was fearless and super excited to climb everything. Below, you see me, climbing through a tunnel about 7 stories in the air.

Here's the crew, climbing one of the many staircases, and yes, that it an airplane suspended several stories (5) up. Remember, everything is made from found, or recycled items. We saw railroad spikes, gears, marbles, part of a firetruck, and so much more. Every corner we turned was some new great and totally random thing.

And the fun wasn't just outside. Here are a few inside shots. Look closely and you and see Daniel and Audri climbing this spiraling tunnel of fun.

This is what you see when you first walk in. The red thing to the right is a slide. There were several slides, inside and out.

We don't even have any pictures of the cave system, including a part that you climb to a 7 story circular slide, the human sized hamster wheel, the tree house system, the circus ring, the skate park (minus the skates, you just ran around in it), and so much more. In other words, if you are every in St. Louis, I HIGHLY recommend this place. It's not free, like so many other attractions in the city ($12 for anyone 3 and up), but well worth the money, in my opinion!!!

After the City Museum we had just a little bit of time to go to the Zoo. It was a beautiful November day, 70+ degrees. We quickly hit the high points of the Zoo, and piled in the van for the drive home. It was a great little break for our family. It was so much fun to spend time together without any of the worries and stresses of our daily lives. It made it easier to come back home and put our noses to the grindstone again.