Saint Louis, Missouri: Gateway Arch

We decided to spend some extra money for a hotel downtown that provided snacks, dinner and a nice breakfast and which also made it possible for us to walk to the Gateway Arch. Of course, it was raining that evening, and the forecast called for thunderstorms all the next day. We decided that rain was better than thunderstorms, and we headed out toward the Arch. Right next to our hotel was the old Union Station that had been converted to a hotel. The trainyard portion was partially covered and had a few restaurants in it. After shuffling positions a bit, we decided the only way to make progress was to but Matthew in the stroller holding his black umbrella, and have one of us holding Hannah with the red umbrella. This arrangement left one of us exposed to the rain (Mark on the way in, me on the way out), but it was the only way not to crawl along at a snail's pace.

Luckily, there is a downtown "trolley" - a bus painted purple, that only cost $2 that started a block from our hotel and went right by the Arch. We arrive at the transit center where it starts, and there had just been a fight. The police were there, and I got to see one guy all bloodied up. The kids didn't notice, thank goodness, but it made us extremely wary. But our bus was sitting waiting just for us, so our timing worked out great. Unfortunately, there is tons of construction by the arch, so we had to go the longer route to get from our bus stop to a pedestrian bridge. And then of course, the South entrance that we came to was closed and we had to go around to the North entrance. We were soaked when we finally arrived. We took the elevator to the top which looked like a 50's style space pod all in white. From the top, we had lovely views of the city and of the Mississippi River. The kids had a blast looking out the little windows. There is also a free museum in the base, which we looked at briefly. All in all, we had a fun time, though we were definitely drenched by the time we got to our hotel.

Heading out in the rain

"We're going to have fun whether you like it or not"

The old Union Station is now a hotel

Mark went back to get Matthew's hat 

and grabbed Hannah's instead.

Hannah and I at the Arch

In the elevator

Looking out at the city

At the top.

View from the Arch

Mark and Hannah looking out

Hannah's peeking out

Matthew peeking out

Mark and Matthew

On to Nashville

Saint Louis, Missouri: Zoo

After stopping a night in Lenexa, Kansas and enjoying an evening at a local park, we headed to Saint Louis, Missouri, on Monday. We arrived around 1 o'clock, and went straight to the Saint Louis Zoo. The zoo itself is free, but parking is $15. However, the parking lot filled up with the car in front of us, so we ended up parking on the street for free. Being a free zoo, I wan't expecting much, and boy was I surprised. The zoo was fantastic. We only saw maybe half of the zoo, but it was fantastic. The landscaping was gorgeous, and all the exhibits and multiple viewing spots. The entire time we were there, Matthew obsessed about the train, so just before we left, we let him ride it. The kids had a blast, and I would definitely suggest going there if you have the chance. 

Matthew was terrified of the butterflies. 

Matthew may not like his picture taken, but Hannah does.

Hannah and the hippo

Baby Elephant

Love her face.

Hannah and I waving to Matthew on the train

Wait, did I just see Mommy?

Denver, Colorado

Our first destination was Denver, Colorado. We arrived around 2:30 p.m. and had a fun lunch at a 60s themed diner called Gunther Toody's. After checking into our hotel, we took the light rail train downtown to walk around. Mark and I had visited Denver back in 2009 to help my brother Jacob shop for a car. I was excited for the kids to visit the Capitol and the fun park bordering it. But our timing wasn't great and Hannah fell asleep and Matthew was rather irritable. We grabbed a quick bite to eat on the 16th Street Mall, and then walked all the way to Union Station, the big transit hub that was still under construction. From there we were able to catch a train back to our hotel.

On Saturday, we met up with the Corders, Chad and Diana and their two kids Cameron and Abby. We decided to take all the kids to the aquarium, which was fun. Matthew zoomed through basically the entire building in about 10 minutes, and then Mark was able to convince him to come back and walk through with everyone else. There was a mermaid show, which the kids really enjoyed, and they had a tiger (random, huh?) which they loved. It was so nice to visit with Diana and Chad again.

Hannah and I on the train

Mile high with Matthew

Mark and Hannah at the Capitol building

Matthew and Mark at the Capitol building

Matthew's urban slide

Hannah!

Hannah and the buffalo

Matthew loved the train ride

Abby and Cameron at the Aquarium

Cameron, Abby and Matthew watching the tiger

The tiger wanting to eat Hannah

Take my picture, Daddy!

Hannah watching Cameron swinging

Matthew swinging

Matthew, Abby and Cameron

First Stop: Wyoming

We did our epic vacation last month. Our first stop was actually Denver, but we just before we the Colorado border, we stopped for gas in Wyoming and spotted a little park that would be perfect for some wiggle time. It turned out to be a DMV, but there was a cozy spot with picnic shelters and some sculptures. I just thought the pictures were cute.