Category: St. Louis

Our Midwest Road Trip

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6 Days-5 States-4 Hotels-2 Kids

We knew we’d be laying my grandma to rest this summer in Saint Louis, MO, and in order to get there, we had to plan.

To get to St. Louis from our home in Texas we were looking at an 11 1/2 hour drive one way. With a 2 year old and a 4 year old that task seemed almost impossible so we decided to break it up in to multiple days.

Our first day of driving was supposed to be about 5 hours but of course took much longer;we knew it would. We took into consideration potty breaks, bathroom breaks, and honestly the occasional snuggle breaks for our sweet toddler.

We stayed in McAlester, OK the first night and it was just okay. The hotel was decent, the area was fine, the biggest letdown was the dirty pool. I intentionally booked every hotel along the way with the pool in mind and unfortunately that didn’t work out as planned. But we made the best of the situation and had dinner and ice cream at the Braum’s next to the hotel.

Day two we planned to see my little brother and family in the Kansas City area. We really had such a great time. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing our sweet boys enjoy their family, especially their cousins. We stayed in Lenexa, KS the second night and in hindsight we definitely would have stayed with family. I did not pick a good hotel, it was a tad sketchy and the bearded one got stuck in the elevator! (Which of course we can laugh about now).

Another 5+ hours in the car on day 3 and we finally arrived in St. Louis. I picked my favorite hotel for our 3 night stay, Hilton Home2Suites. If you’ve never stayed, I highly suggest it. The rooms are huge and have plenty of space for the littles to run around. They have a large kitchen area, pool, breakfast everyday, and so much more. It’s our go-to hotel on long vacations. The first night there we picked up some groceries and used the hotel grills for our dinner.

While in STL we attended my grandmother memorial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. It was definitely difficult, but I was happy to be around my loved ones.

After the service we all went to a pretty good restaurant, Three Kings Public House. Once again our boys got to see more of their family.

We didn’t want to rush back home to Texas so we decided to do some sightseeing and explore STL a bit. First we picked up my older brother and went to see our old house, my grandmother’s house, and hit up a few favorites like Ted Drew’s and Imo’s (you can’t go wrong with frozen custard and pizza).

The next day we wanted to check out the science center but it’s closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays so we went to the zoo instead.

Fun fact: The STL Zoo is free! My brother and I have so many great memories of the zoo and it was the perfect place to take the boys. We stayed all day, saw all the animals, and road the train a couple of times. It was the perfect ending to our whirl wind road trip.

After we left STL we traveled home a different way, which took us through Arkansas. We stayed in North Little Rock in a hotel downtown. The hotel was good but once again the pool was closed. We did however find a cute little park on the river and let the boys run off some of that energy from the long hours in the car.

Our last day in the car was the longest at just over six hours (before all the stops). But at last, we made it home safe and sound. After 4 different hotels, 6 days on the road, and ridiculous amount of hours in the car, we finally made it home.

My biggest takeaways from this road trip would have to be

  • Go with the flow, stop often, don’t get stuck on the minute to minute plans, you will eventually get to you destination
  • Pack snacks, lots and lots of snacks, our boys have their own snack boxes
  • Keep them entertained, we bought dual DVD players which we used a lot
  • Relax, stay calm, make memories

Up Next…THE BEACH!

Colorado Adventures: Short but Sweet

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966 miles

14 hours and 48 minutes

2 days in the car

Our Colorado Adventure has begun.

The gloomy summer storms didn’t stop us this AM as we began our the first day of our trek to Colorado.

After several rest stops, a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere, we made it to our first destination, Amarillo.

I’m sure we could do this trip in a solid day, we did last year on the way back, but there’s just something about a good old fashioned road trip that really makes my heart happy.

I love being able to stop when we need to, flip through the radio stations, enjoy the tiny towns we drive through and just converse with my vacation buddies and the Bearded One. ❤️

Vacation makes my soul rejoice and I can’t wait to explore Colorado!

Day 1= Success

St. Louis Day Two: Soulard Market & Forest Park

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Our second day in St. Louis was just as eventful as our first evening here. The overall atmosphere of the Soulard neighborhood is relaxing and tranquil. No one here seems in a hurry, everyone just seems content traveling and enjoying life at their own pace. We started our morning at the famous Soulard Farmers Market.

Soulard Farmers Market

Now Chris and I attempted to visit the farmers market when we were here in January but let me tell you, it was nothing in comparison to the summer market. Let me give you a little history about the market before I describe our memorable day:

-one of the oldest markets in the US, founded in 1779

– open year round

– over 125+ venders with all kinds of products

-fresh veggies and fruit, organic products, fresh meats and cheeses, food booths, homemade soaps and crafts, live music, and so much more

-my grandma use to sell here with her aunt and uncle when she was a kid ❤️

I absolutely love farmers markets and this is by far my favorite. I enjoy seeing people sell products they’ve worked so hard to produce and are so proud to display. Today we had a mission in the market; we needed to find food for a homemade dinner and breakfast the following morning. We had no real plan of what we wanted, we simply explored the booths and came up with a menu on the fly. I have to say, we did a pretty fantastic job.

Forest Park

Fun fact, right before we left the market it decided to POUR rain for the next few hours. We decided to find something inside to do so we headed back to Forest Park.

Forest Park is full of activities such as:

  • The St. Louis Zoo
  • Muny Theater
  • The Jewel Box (a huge greenhouse)
  • The Museum of Art
  • The Science Center
  • The Missouri Museum of History

There are quite a few other places in Forest Park, some of which the bearded one and I explored during Christmas break. Today we visited the history museum and I was overwhelmed with fun facts about my home state. I was especially impressed with the history of Forest Park and the background information I learned about the 1904 World Fair that took place in St. Louis.

I’d say we had another successful day in the great city of St. Louis. Tomorrow’s plans include, The Arch, Ted Drewes, the Graffiti Wall and my old neighborhood.

St. Louis Adventure, Day One

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After a quick overnight stop in Raymore, MO to see my granny,  gorge on frozen custard, and jam out to Waylon Jennings, we finally headed to St. Louis, Missouri.

There’s so much to explore and experience in St. Louis, The Gateway to the West, home of the Arch, Anheuser Busch  headquarters, and my old home sweet home.

As a child growing up in the suburbs of St.Louis I never really appreciated or knew the deep historical roots of my city, as an adult, I appreciate them that much more.

St. Louis Day One:

We quickly checked  in to to our Soulard Air B&B (it’s fantastic, we stayed here for New Year’s Eve) then headed on over to the St. Louis Zoo in Forest Park.

Now, I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of zoos overall but the STL zoo is so nostalgic. I recall numerous family adventures as a child and the St. Louis zoo and all it entailed are part of those fond memories.

During the summer the zoo has extended hours so we showed up around 4 and stayed until 7. On our way out we noticed they had a free concert going on and people were flocking in by the car loads. Pretty cool summer activities for families, couples, and anyone else looking for a live concert.

The zoo itself is one of my favorites. There’s plenty of entertaining exhibits, it’s shaded, it was far from crowded and it’s a FREE attraction. Of course you have to pay for some of the activities like the train and different shows, but entry to the zoo is free, which is a pretty appealing feature. Make sure you park on the street to avoid the $15 parking fee!

In the 3 short hours we were there we were able to cover lots of ground. First stop, the herpetarium full of exotic reptiles from across the world, and air conditioned of course! Next we visited the primate house, the 1904 Bird Enclosure, and pretty much everything else the zoo had to offer. There weren’t any unique or rare animals we’d never heard of before, but it was still a pretty relaxed evening at the zoo. I’d definitely recommend the St. Louis Zoo to any newcomers. My favorite of course was the elephant exhibit ❤️.

When we’d finished with the zoo we decided to just take a quick drive around Forest Park to see what it had to offer.

Forest Park:

During our Christmas Break adventure we were able to visit the St. Louis Museum of art, which was spectacular and had an eclectic array of art. But, due to the freezing weather, we didn’t really have the opportunity to explore the park at its fullest.

Anyway, during our quick drive we came across the annual Shakespeare in the Park: Romeo and Juliet free performance and let me tell you, it was PACKED! I put it on my list for our upcoming days (we were too late to stop today).

We were also able to see all the other events and museums the park has to offer such as, The Jewel Box, The Muny Theater, The History Museum, The Science Center and quite a few others.

Overall, I’d chalk up our first day in St.Louis as not only successful, but relaxing and informative. Stay tuned  for  the rest of our STL adventures: Soulard Farmers Market, Anheuser Busch Brewery, The Graffiti Wall (recommended by our bartender), The Arch, museums, food and whatever else we can accomplish in our 3 day expedition!