This year for Fall Break, we headed to St. Louis, Missouri. We usually try to get away for a couple of days during the break and St. Louis is just four hours west of our home which is northeast of Indianapolis. We headed on Thursday afternoon and drove through rain the entire way. We checked into the Crowne Plaza hotel in downtown St. Louis. We were impressed with the size of our suite. My husband commented that is was bigger than our first home. Our son was amazed that we had a kitchen, family room and two TVs! My husband was disappointed however that he could get no internet connection in the suite. He had planned to catch up on some work. That evening we ate in the hotel and hung out in the room playing cards and watching television and staying dry. Friday morning we got up and took our time as it was still pouring down rain. We enjoyed a good complimentary breakfast in the hospitality room. We waited around a while to see if they could get the Internet connection going in our room. Unfortunately, they could not. We grabbed our umbrellas and headed out to see St. Louis.
Exploring the St. Louis Zoo in the rain
St. Louis Zoo
One of the things that I found very appealing about St. Louis is that many of the attractions have FREE entry fees including the St. Louis Zoo. There are, however, fees for Zooline Railroad, Sea Lion Show, Children’s Zoo, Conservation Carousel, Wild Adventure simulator, 3-D movie and Zoo parking lots. The Conservation Carousel and Children’s Zoo are free the first hour the Zoo is open. Limited street parking is available for free. The Zoo is conveniently located in Forest Park along with many other attractions. Named one of the best three zoos for kids by Parents Magazine in April, the St. Louis Zoo is home to over 18,000 exotic animals, many of them rare and endangered. These 700 species represent the major continents and biomes of the world. We sloshed straight back to the River’s Edge area hoping to see the hyenas. Our 8-year-old son had just completed a report on hyenas and was really hoping to see them. Unfortunately, they weren’t out as were many of the animals due to the rain. He was a bit disappointed, but it was all better at the end of the Zoo visit with a stuffed hyena to add to his menagerie of plush animals. We did see a few animals in the River’s Edge, however, including elephants, rhinos and hippos. We then headed back east to the Historic Hill area where we ducked out of the rain into the Herpetarium (fancy word for reptile house), the Bird House and the Primate House. We really enjoyed the reptiles. I’ll warn you it is a little stinky in the bird and primate houses.
We loved the gorilla at the St. Louis Zoo
The rain had finally slacked off enough that we could put our umbrellas down. We headed all the way to the east end of the Zoo to the Red Rocks area to see the big cats. We saw lions, Amur leopards, snow leopards and tigers. They also have black jaguars, cheetahs, pumas and spotted jaguars but we didn’t see those. In this area, we also saw camels, zebras and antelope. We ran into some huge puddles near the big cats and our feet were drenched. We decided to head back toward the entrance. We stopped in The Jungle of the Apes area. We loved the gorilla. He posed for us lounging in a hammock. We also saw chimpanzees. My husband and son were very amused that one of the chimps was named “Tammy” like me! We also saw orangutans there. The St. Louis Zoo was great — even in the rain. We definitely plan to go back in the spring when we can definitely see more; and since the St. Louis Zoo doesn’t charge admission, it won’t cost a thing.
St. Louis Art Museum
The St. Louis Art Museum is within walking distance from the Zoo and it also has FREE admission. If you wish to view special exhibitions, there is a fee except on Fridays when special exhibition admission is also FREE. Our son’s art teacher recommended visiting it at the very least to see the Egyptian Galleries which contains among other Egyptian artifacts some really cool mummies. I also enjoyed viewing the very large Monet Water Lilies.
Looking at the tiny windows of the St. Louis Arch
St. Louis Arch
After heading back to the hotel for dry shoes and socks, we headed to the Arch so we could go up before it closed for the day. The rain had stopped so this would be our best chance to get a good view anyway. We tried to drive over to the arch but really could find no good parking, so we took the car back to the hotel and walked over. We had to go through minimal security. We then purchased our tickets which cost $10 each to ride to the top. You ride to the top in a small car which holds 5 people. If you are claustrophobic, you might be uncomfortable. They have a sample car at the ticket counter so you can see what it is like. It takes about 4 minutes to get to the top. You can spend as much time as you like at the top. There are very small windows to look out. It’s a little odd walking around because it is on a curve. We spent about 5 minutes at the top before heading back down. There are several other activities you can do such as a documentary about how the arch was constructed. There is also a museum of westward expansion which takes you through the journey’s of Lewis and Clark and the history of the Native Americans, cowboys, soldiers and pioneers — the people who created the American West. I was more interested in trying to get some good pics from the ground which is not so easy as it is hard to get far enough away to get the whole thing in the picture frame.
Ready to hit the St. Louis City Museum
The St. Louis City Museum
Our son’s art teacher said The City Museum was her top pick for St. Louis family fun and we wholeheartedly agree — especially our son. I didn’t think we would get him out of there. 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. A trip back to St. Louis is called for if just to return to the City Museum. It would take a few days to explore all areas of this fantastic museum. This isn’t like other museums where you just walk through looking at things — you actually play and explore. The website boasts 12 areas. I think we spent the most time in the Enchanted Caves. Painted in mystery and textured with intrigue, the Enchanted Caves offer explorers of all ages an opportunity to walk, climb and crawl through the mind of a master artist. I’ll warn you it’s a little harder for those of who are over 40 to crawl through all of the tunnels. Our little guy kept saying “Come on Daddy, follow me!” As you explore the tunnels, look around you’ll see art carved right into the walls of the caves.
Be sure to look up in the St. Louis City Museum
The first floor mezzanine was very cool. You can scurry through a treehouse, squirm though an underground tunnel, or stroll through the belly of a whale. Come face-to-face with real and imagined wildlife. While exploring the Enchanted Forest and oceanic fantasyland be sure to look up where you’ll see manta rays and pterodactyls. Look down and around for beautiful mosaics. MonstroCity is on the roof. We didn’t go up because it was getting late and it cost an extra $5 per person. It looked pretty cool, though, with two Saber 40 aircraft fuselages, a fire engine, a castle turret, a 25′ tall cupola and several 4′ wide wrought-iron slinkies. City Museum also boasts the 13,500 World Aquarium on the second-floor where you can get up-close and personal with more than 10,000 creatures. Join sharks, stingrays, and seahorses in an underwater adventure. This area was also an extra $6 per person. We peeked in and it looked pretty cool. It will be a good reason to come back.
Hamming it up at the St. Louis City Museum
You can create your own work of art or watch professional artists demonstrate their craft in the Art City area which features an ever- changing array of artists, painters, potters and sculptors at work. They even have a circus inside the City Museum. We caught the end of a show featuring a fantastic juggler. Explore the Carnival Midway area with lots of pinball machines and carnival attractions. Younger children are sure to enjoy Toddler Town, the Tiny Train Town Model Railroad and the Baby Ball Pit. We didn’t try it but they also have a Big Ball Pit.
Hungry? If you don’t arrive hungry, you’ll work up an appetite doing all that exploring. Located on the Mezzanine level SAMWICHES in the CITY provides a much-needed oasis for the hungry explorer. The menu is kid-friendly and straightforward serving freshly-made sandwiches made with handcrafted bread, salads, freshly-baked pastries and cookies. They also had pizzas which is what we had and it was very good. You can also get brain freezes and milkshakes; and really soft, gooey, straight from the oven chocolate chip cookies which we sampled and they were delicious!
My biggest tip for visiting the City Museum is to dress appropriately. Tennis shoes are a must — which unfortunately, I didn’t wear. Admission on Friday and Saturday after 5 p.m. is $10 which is $2 off regular price — and City Museum is open until 1 a.m. those days…so you have 8 hours to play. Regular admission is $12. The Roof which closes at the end of October is $5 extra. The World Aquarium is $6. The City Museum is open from 9-5 on Wednesday and Thursday; Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City Museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday.
We will definitely make another trip to St. Louis — if anything to see the Zoo during nicer weather and to further explore the fantastic City Museum.
