Well, this trip was overdue. Nick and I decided a couple of weeks ago that we wanted to go for a quick trip while the kids were still in daycare. We had not gone on a trip with just the two of us since I was pregnant with Merritt. Nick started planning and decided he wanted to go to Chattanooga. We love being outdoors and heard that was a great place for weekend trips. The weekend before we were supposed to leave, I checked the weather and it was calling for storms the whole weekend. I didn’t want to spend my first kid-free trip dodging rain, so we changed plans and headed to St. Louis.
And can I say we had the BEST time! It was the first vacation I have ever just said we will figure it out as we go. We were just so excited to getaway we didn’t care what we were doing or where we were staying. I booked the hotel room on the way. We decided to stay close to Forest Park, which was a great choice.
We had no plans and honestly didn’t really know what St. Louis had to offer but we would figure it out as we went.
We never turned on the radio, we got to chat for the first time in a long time about anything and everything without being interrupted. It was glorious!
Let me break out our trip for your by day:
Thursday:
Sitter arrived a little before 8 am and we hit the road. We arrived in St. Louis around lunchtime and made our first stop for lunch at Blues City Deli. I would highly recommend this sandwich shop. On our way to check into our hotel, I spotted the IKEA, so after we checked in we spend the next (felt like forever) 2 hours wandering around IKEA. It was very impressive. We ended the night by walking to a sports bar close to our hotel where we enjoyed some drinks and apps.
Friday:
Again we had no plans so that morning we decided we would get some coffee and walk to the St. Louis zoo from our hotel. It was a 2-mile walk through Forest Park. That walk was my favorite part of the trip. It was so nice to not be on a schedule.
By the way, the St. Louis zoo is really great. We will be taking the kids there soon.
After the zoo, we walked back and grabbed lunch. Then it was off to the Budweiser Brewery Experience. I am not a big beer drinker but this tour was very impressive. Coming from a manufacturing background I found it very fascinating. Next, we enjoyed dinner at Broadway Oyster Bar. It is not fancy but the New Orleans inspired food was delicious. Then the last stop was to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the Pitsburg Pirates. On our way to the game, we made a quick detour to see the arch. I mean after all, we had to see the arch while we were in St. Louis.
Saturday: We ate breakfast and were back on the road to love on our kiddos.
I would highly recommend St. Louis to anyone looking for a fun and quick trip.