Meet me in St. Louis!

This past weekend we visited St. Louis. Our friends, Bob and Donna Frey, who live in Missouri, met us there. Bob and Donna are actually friends of my parents. (Dad and Bob were both KAs at Arkansas State.) When I was little, we would take a beach trip every summer and Bob and Donna would come with us. They are probably more like an aunt and uncle to Jessica and me than anything else. So when Temp and I planned a trip to St. Louis, it seemed natural to see if they wanted to go with us. And it's good we did, because they kept us laughing!

Bob and Donna Frey

Both couples set out for St. Louis early Saturday morning. We were going to meet at Anheuser-Busch at 10:00 for a tour. We both arrived safely and started the tour.

Anheuser-Busch

Clydesdales

Bottling Building

At one point during the tour, the guides told us we were about to go up 6 escalators. Then they said if you're wearing crocs, you would have to use the elevator instead. There were only 2 people with crocs on. Guess who one was?

Bob, in his dress crocs, and a little boy with the tour guide.

(My camera battery died right as the tour started, so thank goodness for iPhones!) Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of us on Saturday!

After the tour, we took our bags to our hotel and found a little place to eat. Then we drove into St. Louis for the Cardinals game. They were playing the Cubs, so there were tons of people there! And we were lucky that it was cloudy that day. It was hot, but at least the sun was behind the clouds!

Cardinals vs Cubs

After the game, we went to Union Station. It's an old train station turned into a mall with shops, restaurants, and a hotel. Then we found a local italian restaurant in a neighborhood called The Hill. The restaurant was called Anthonino's Taverna. It was a neat place. The decor was original and the atmosphere and food were just what you'd expect from a neighborhood italian restaurant.

On Sunday, we woke with plans to eat brunch at The Cheesecake Factory, but didn't realize they opened at 10:00. We were ready at 9:30, so we ate at Mimi's Cafe instead.

After brunch at Mimi's Cafe

Then we drove to Forest Park. This is where the World's Fair was held in 1904. It is a huge park with lots of things to do. There is an art museum, a science center, a zoo, and lots of other things. We viewed the World's Fair Pavilion and the Jewel Box, which is an all glass atrium. It was beautiful!

Jewel Box at Forest Park

Outside the Jewel Box

After the park, we went to the ARCH!! Unfortunately, it was 12:30ish and the tickets being sold were for 3:00. We decided it wasn't worth the wait, so we just looked around at the gift shop and toured the Westward Expansion Museum.

The Arch

Bob and Donna headed home and Temp and I headed to a family landmark. My dad grew up in Florissant, Missouri, which is right outside of St. Louis. We got his childhood address and went to find the house.

1125 Sherman Lane - Dad's childhood home

I remember all those stories he told us about when he was little that involved walking to school in the snow, uphill both ways with only one glove...you know the ones. Well I'd like to point out that the land around his house looked pretty flat to me. I guess when your little a molehill can look like a mountain. :)