This year we went to St. Louis, our longest trip yet! We took two cars and headed out on the 6 hour trip. Of course with Kyle being a history teacher, we had to make a pit stop in Springfield, IL to see Lincoln's tomb. Grace had fallen asleep, so everyone got out and took a look around and Grace and I stayed in the car. Everyone thought it was pretty neat and Ava even rubbed Lincoln's nose. (Which is supposed to bring good luck? I actually have no idea, but its what people do apparently!)
Overall everyone did great! We picked the 3 hottest days of the year with temps around 97 degrees each day. The heat index was over 100! (We are not the best family at handling heat (we seemed to be the only family dripping wet the moment we stepped outside). This was a little worrisome, but by the time we left, we were actually getting used to it! As soon as we got into St. Louis we headed to the zoo. We were told by many that is was a fantastic zoo and it really was.... but this was our first exposure to the heat and we were just trying to see everything as fast as possible and get back into the air condition! Our favorite animals were the hippos (they were swimming right next to Ryan who was standing by the window), the gorillas (they were HUGE and very active) and the elephants (they have an awesome exhibit with 8 elephants).
After the zoo we headed to our hotel which was in an old train station. The lobby was amazing and had a light show every night that was projected on the ceiling. We checked into our room, walked to a restaurant near by for dinner and then watched the 9pm light show.... then back up to the room and everyone fell right asleep!
(Our hotel lobby... wow!)
On Monday we headed out early in the morning and decided to walk to the Arch. We could see it from our hotel, so it couldn't be that far right??? (Did I mention the heat index was over 100!) But the walk actually was a nice opportunity to get out and see the city. And it was early in the morning, so it wasn't so hot...yet!
(Can you see the arch in the distance. This was taken from the steps of our hotel... not too bad of a walk!)
We all decided to go up to the top of the Arch (Grandpa wasn't so sure, but we bought him a ticket so he couldn't say no) We traveled to the top in a "hatch" which was pretty hysterical. They say it holds 5... but if we put the 3 kids on our laps, it could fit us all. Well we did that and it definitely was tight, but I am happy we could all experience it together.
(Our "hatch"--before dad (grandpa) and I got in! #tightsqueeze)
(The view from the top!)
After the arch we all went to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which was paid for by Joe. (On our walk to the restaurant, we passed a casino... so the boys ducked in quick with only 20 minutes to play while the kids, grandma and I sat in the lobby and enjoyed the cool air conditioning.... remember...it is SUPER hot outside!!! Kyle came out first and was proud to announce that he won $30. Grandpa and Joe came out next... Grandpa didn't win, but Joe was the big winner, coming out ahead by $230! Needless to day, he treated for lunch!) After lunch we hopped on the trolley and the ladies and kids headed to the famous City Museum and the boys headed to Ballpark Village to check out Busch Stadium. Both had a great time, but our group ended up having the most exciting story to tell! Grace fell asleep on the way to the museum and slept through all of the excitement. We were only there playing for about 20 minutes (and let me tell you this place is amazing!! You could play all day and still want to come back for more) before Ryan ended up walking into a sharp edge of a wooden tunnel. I was with him and heard his cry and saw a tiny spot of blood on his temple. I took him out of the exhibit and went to find a Band-Aid that I thought was in my bag. (It was actually in my purse which I left at the hotel for the day.) While I was trying to find the "first aid" station (actually just the information desk) all of these moms were looking at us and gasping...I couldn't figure out why they were making such a big deal until I turned Ryan around and saw the blood coming out of the puncture wound in the back. It was dripping onto his shirt and everything. Ryan was very calm and only freaked out when I tried to put a Band-Aid on it. (It didn't stick anyways and I ended up cleaning it up with gauze.) The nice worker gave us a free museum shirt to put on extra gauze incase it continued to seep. I thought our trip the museum would come to a sudden end, but sent Grandma and Ava out to check the other floors while Ryan and I cuddled in a corner as I kept the gauze on it and why Grace continued to sleep. It turns out that about 30 minutes later, Grace woke up and Ryan was feeling much better. We ended up enjoying the museum and he was almost as good as new! It was SUCH a cool place and I would have been sad if we didn't get to experience it. (I am also happy that it redeemed itself in Ryan's eyes because after the injury, he hated it...but ended up thinking it was one of the favorites of the trip!)
And after Grants Farm we headed to do some MORE day drinking at the Budweiser Brewery Tour! (It should be noted that I don't typically drink, but when it is free... how can you say no!) The kids liked the free soda and the end and of course the adults enjoyed the free drinks!
No comments:
Post a Comment