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Our ARCH-etypical St. Louis trip

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I promised last week to tell you more about our spring break St. Louis trip, but then had such a weekend of catching up to do — and the kids are still on spring break through today, too! But better late than never, right? St. Louis was fantastic, and I highly recommend the trip.

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St. Louis is about a four hour fifteen minute drive from Chicago’s western suburbs, so we headed down last Saturday, stopping halfway at Cracker Barrel for lunch. (Because that’s what you do on road trips, right?) But really, not a bad drive at all.

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We stayed at a hotel with an indoor pool, so Saturday night we just got dinner and hung around there and swam. I think the boys might have been more excited about the unlimited access to Cartoon Network in the hotel room than the actual sightseeing, because their mean mom doesn’t pay for cable at home. 😉

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On Sunday we visited the St. Louis Arch. The area all around it is currently under construction, so if you’re heading to St. Louis anytime soon allow extra time to get there. The Museum of Westward Expansion inside the Arch also turned out to be closed during construction, so we didn’t get a chance to see that.

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You can choose to head up to the top of the Arch in this crazy tiny pod thing — kind of like Mork’s egg — which goes up the inside of one of the legs. Pre-order tickets online or (during construction) at the Old Courthouse a couple of blocks away: It cost $30 for the four of us: $10 per adult; $5 per child.

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Unfortunately Mr. 8 took one look out of the windows at the top and turned out to be terrified of those kind of heights — then he was not too pleased about going back down in the little pod!

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The view, however, was amazing from 630 feet up! See the courthouse in the distance? That’s where we’re headed next…

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We walked through the Old Courthouse, which had just gorgeous architecture and so much history — it served as the site of the Dred Scott court trials, for one! Some of the museum exhibits were also located there temporarily during construction. Definitely spend some time here. After a wander through downtown, a late lunch, and a trip to a big local mall (yes… the mall… MashupDad forgot to pack a swimsuit), we decamped back to the hotel for more swimming + hot tub fun.

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Monday: The St. Louis Zoo! This is a great zoo, and the place really gives Brookfield a run for its money (literally, as it is free.) Free admission, but $15 to park unless you choose from the ample free street parking a little further down.

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And by the way? 72 and brightly sunny surprised me at the end of March, so we might have come out of the zoo a little sunburned. Bad mom!

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We spent the entire day at the zoo, because it was just a gorgeous day with so much to see. Highly recommended if you are also thinking of a trip to St. Louis!

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On Tuesday morning, we packed up and then hit the St. Louis Science Center on the way home. Also free admission, but parking runs $10 (and things like the Planetarium Sky Show or the IMAX cost extra). But for just that $10 parking fee, the four of us were entertained for several hours — and could easily have stayed longer if we weren’t facing that long drive home.

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The Science Center is very well done. It’s sometimes hard to find places that will keep both kids entertained since they’re 4.5 years apart and very different in temperament, but this fit the bill nicely.

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We did, however, end up having to divide and conquer to suit different ages and interests. MashupDad hung out with Junior High Guy doing DNA experiments and such, while I ran around with Mr. 8 digging for fossils and examining scorpions.

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I’d definitely go back! Such a pretty city, and the downtown was not crowded and easy to walk around, with big public parks, horse drawn carriages, and the stadium and convention center both right there if you wanted to take in a game or other event. We also didn’t get a chance to visit the City Museum, which came highly recommended and is on the short list for next time.

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We could easily have spent another couple of days here, but overall I think we packed a lot into a four-day visit (given that good chunks of two of those days were spent driving). It also turned out to be a pretty affordable trip: It amazed me that the Zoo and Science Center had free admission, and all four of went up in the St. Louis Arch for less than it would have cost for one adult and one child to hit the Sears Tower Skydeck. (Admittedly, it’s a little more cramped up at the top of the Arch, lol…)

Have you been to St. Louis? What else should we see on our next trip? 🙂

Shirley

Monday 23rd of May 2016

Rachel, Did you get the Journey to the top tickets to get into the Arch? It is showing $13 for adult and $10 for child online. How did you get yours so cheap? Thanks.

rachel

Monday 23rd of May 2016

We went over a year ago, so it's possible the price went up since then?

Tiffany Shotsberger

Tuesday 7th of April 2015

We just got back from a quick overnight trip to Chicago and now I am thinking of a future trip to St. Louis! We have always wanted to take the kids to the City Museum. Thanks for the post!

Nancy

Tuesday 7th of April 2015

You MUST make time for the City Museum next time. The best museum ever for kids of all ages. My kids could spend 10+ hours there in one day if we let them. It is better to go on a good weather day so you can experience the whole roof top (which does cost a bit extra but so worth it).

Nita

Monday 6th of April 2015

If you like Indian food -Near Airport --Nice Indian Restaurant- http://indiapalacestl.com/ Lunch buffet weekdays $8.95 .

Lisa

Monday 6th of April 2015

I third or fourth the city museum. A little pricey but well worth it and paying extra for the roof top fun was also a one of a kind experience! You could spend ALL DAY there!

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