St. Louis 2015
- Jason
- Apr 2, 2016
- 7 min read
I was sent to St. Louis for training, luckily the kids were out of school so we were able to make this into a cool side vacation. The bet thing about St. Louis is that most of thier attractions are not only FREE, but if you research thier websites they each have an "Open Late" night in the summertime. So while I was in training during the day, the wife and kids swam in the pool and played around our Marriott Resort. After 4:30 I was able to join them each day and not only eat lunch, but visit a cool attraction as well.
St. Louis Gaterway Arch & Old Capitol:
You really have to be careful where you go in downtown St.Louis as it is kind of a rough town with lots of scary people. However, if you stick with the other tourists, you get around in large groups without any real threats. Its a little more expensive for parking to stick with the tourist crowd, but safety is most important.
So we begin our journey at the Old Capitol. This is a FREE attraction as is pretty cool. It is a beatful bulding with lots of rooms to look at, lots of American Flags, and a bookstore. The ticket office for the Gateway Arch is also located within the Old Capitol building.
So after we got finished with the Old Capitol building and got out tickets to the Gateway Arch, we walked out the eastern door and saw the MASSIVE construction that will eventually be the new Gateway Arch Park. I am sure it will be great in 2018, but for 2015 it is a mess. With all the mess you would assume there would be discounted admission, nope, we had to pay full price.
Walking down the the Arch from the Old Capitol can be scary and confusing. We got lost twice on the way and ran into alot of scary people. When we finally found the crowd that was going the right way, we had to cross the train tracks to get to the arch which was basically what I would refer to as the ghetto (Terrible place to bring the kids). Funny part is when you get past that part, you start seeing police on segways roving around the arch. They complelty ignore that you have to make it through the ghetto to get to thier protected area.
Once at the Arch it was an awesome experince. With the construction, the museam was closed inside the Arch. However we still bught tickets for the tram up to the Arch. Our kids were not sure about the egg that you have to ride in to get to the top of the Arch. My youngest daughter cried the WHOLE way up. There is only one window and you really can't see anything even though the inside of the egg has lights. Once at the top, the views are
spectacular. When we went you could pretty much stay up as long as you wanted, however with limited space at the top I can see the reasoning in a time limit during high volume hours. On the day we went to the Arch, it was open until 9PM. Beware, you do have to go through security to go to the Arch, metal dectector and all. It really was not worth the money, but you have to do the Arch at least one time in your life.
Pappy's Smokehouse:
This BBQ resturant was recommended to us by our hotel as authentic St. Louis Style BBQ. It was a bit pricey and the building was definatly authentic. The service was good thought it was a counter ervice, and the menu was extensive enough for our girls to eat there as they don't like BBQ. As far as the BBQ, it was good, but we prefer Memphis BBQ.
Forrest Park, The Muny, OKLAHOMA!:
Another great attraction open at night. Show started at 7:30 PM with seating starting at 6:00. What mkes this even better? This is also a FREE attraction. For every production at the Muny, the last nine rows are FREE seating! The production was AWESOME! The kids watched the entire production with the help of some sacks from the concession stand. We did sneak some drinks in, so the security on bringing in your own food and drink is pretty loose. However the concession stand prices are resonable especally for a free production. From the last nine rows you get an OK view, but binoculars would not be a bad idea. A blanket is also not a bad idea since most productions last until after midnight.
Double Decker Carosel:
Well this was a first for us. We had never seen a double decker carosel. Our girls rode this a time or two, i think it was $3 per ride, but of course the mall was free. This was in the a mall in the Chesterfield Area.
St. Louis Science Center:
This is an amazing attraction, and one night a week it is FREE! We hit the science center on its free night when it is open until 9pm, which gave us plenty of time to visit after my training. We actually made sandwiches and brought them with us and had a picnic in Forrest Park before we went into the museum. There is actually a picnic area right outside the parking lot that has picnic tables and life sized dinosaur sculptures that the kids LOVED! The Science Museum extends from Forrest Park and across the interstate. This place is loaded with attraction including several Dinosaur, a glass walkway crossing over the intestate, and has at least 2 stories of science exhibits and adventures. Also in the Science Museum but not included in admission is a planetarium, an Imax, and a Build a Bear Factory. This was a favorite attraction for our entire family and we did not have to pay a dine. This also provided excellent family friendly NIGHTLIFE for our trip.
St. Louis Zoo:
After the conference was over we decided to stay the weekend. The St. Louis Zoo is a great place to visit and it is also FREE! Even though it never stays open past 5pm during the week, it is well worth going to. On weekends they do have some afternoon concerts which we did attend one. It was quite the party, very family friendly. For being a free Zoo, it has some really nice habitats. The penguin and polar bear exhibits (around 40 degrees inside during the summer providing a nice break from the summer heat)are awesome along with the hippos habitat. The sea lions also have a really nice enclosure. As a family, we totally recommend this zoo, however be careful with parking. Most lots around the zoo are paid parking for about $15 a day. However if you follow the locals you will find that some park on the side of the street leading up to the zoo (in some places in Forest Park that is acceptable) and others park in the free parking areas in Forest Park and hike in. Its more walking, but you can save the money and actually afford to buy concessions when you get inside the Zoo.
St. Louis Museum of Art:
Tis was a pretty cool art museum. This is located again in Forest Park and it is not a free attraction. However like most attractions in St. Louis, they had a FREE night so we took advantage. Lots of Art in this one, however they also had mummies and a lot of mid-evil weaponry on display. Well worth going to, especially if you catch it on a free night. The kids did not like the inside of the museum as they were scared of most of the displays, however they loved the outside of the museum.
Purina Farms:
What a hidden gem!!!! We did not pay a dime for admission for this attraction and it is just outside of St. Louis. First you can tour the farms which include but not limited to pigs, goats, cows, and of course lots of dogs. Not just any dogs, these dogs are cared for and trained to perform in their Purina Farms Stadium, which is awesome. We took in a dog show and of course we all loved it. The barn is also really cool as they do live cow milking demonstrations, and they have a playground inside one of their barns. They also have a film room with some cool movies, a museum with displays showing how the dog food is made, a café that is reasonably priced and they also do hayrides. You will easily spend most of the day at this awesome attraction. Only open on weekends though, but well worth the visit.
Forest Park Visitors Center:
Our last day in St. Louis we decided to finally pay the Forest Park visitors Center a visit. It is free and actually does give you a great overview of the park.
Missouri History Museum:
Another nice free attraction. Hours of operation are not so good on this one though so you really have to go on a Saturday or Sunday. They have a really cool kids area and several galleries about the St. Louis Worlds Fair and other specialty rotating galleries. They have a café, but it is pretty pricey. Worth going to, especially since its free.
IMOS Pizza:
We tried this local pizza place out as our hotel told us that this was St. Louis style pizza and it was really good. It was also located right across from Forest Park. Wow, this pizza is NOT good. The resturant was clean, the staff was nice and friendly, but the pizza was garbage. Had no crust to pick it up with either. Would neither suggest nor recommend this place to anyone.
The City Museum:
Well we saved the best for last. Sure to be on our top ten list of attractions nationwide, this was truly a winner for the whole family. At a whooping cost of $50 for a family of four, this place is worth it. Its hard to describe what it is. is it a junkyard? Is it Art? Is it a playground? Is it an amusement park? All we know as it was highly entertaining and a MUST see attraction when visiting St. Louis. Do the Arch, then come here!! Then do everything else.
To see more photos from this trip .... Click here!!
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