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!