meet me in st. louis

spring break 10 the family ventured to st. louis. jeff being the totally adventurous one decided to ride the amtrak from kc to st. louis with the four children and i drove alone in blissful peace. (in all honestly i was actually lonely) i guess the train ride wasn't all it was cracked up to be, exposing our children to bums, alcoholics and lots of bare stinky feet. apparantly one stinky guy really liked maggie and was trying to make conversation with them, jeff headed him off quite quickly. good thing it was just a five hour drive!
i picked them up from the train station and off we went, exploring the city.
we tried the "free" science center, which after 12 dollars in parking, you go in and realize anything fun your children might want to do, costs a good chunk of change. we were tired and hungry, so i might be unfair in judging it harshly, but over all it was dirty and not so much fun.
being the totally organized traveler i am, i had mapquested routes to every destination, from the planned place we would be at to our new destination. the first nights dinner was to be at the famous crown candy kitchen, as seen on "man vs. food milkshake competition". carson loves that show and was ready for a milkshake challenge.
unfortunately my clever directions landed us right in the middle of the hood.
no kidding, there were "popping" noises, young males running across the street and hiding in between parked cars and houses. it took a good seven blocks for us to wind our way out of that mess.

real culture children. duck your heads and don't look up.
we aborted the dinner and drove to the burbs of kirkwood instead.
pizza and shopping, much safer.


the next day we went to the zoo - which was nicer than ours, but not quite omaha.
the highlight here were the "zebras without stripes" better known as:

seriously?

after a big expensive lunch on the historic hill, we decided this family should just go find a target, buy food and have a picnic for dinner. funny how the simplest of things can be the most fun. we bought them dollar jump ropes and bubbles and headed back to our hotel where we could simply walk over to the arch. we layed out a blanket and feasted on peanut butter sandwiches, fruit, trail mix, pretzels and easter candy under the arch. delicious, fun and low stress.
this will probably be our favorite memory of the trip. oh - i forgot to mention while dining at the old italian place carson set off the
alarms by trying to exit the wrong door. that got some old italian men moving away from their plates and to us pretty quickly.


the last day was spent at the magic house in kirkwood. way fun, affordable and they are already asking when they can go back. maggie almost caused a little scuffle by telling a little boy in the make believe pizza shop to get away from her pizza, its not for babies and he cant touch it. his mama didnt appreciate her directness.
i think it is important that girls learn how to shoot it straight.


low points - the train, the hood, pricey meals and deceptive "free" activities.
high points - picnic under the arch, magic house, memories made in a new city together.