I wasn't sure how to organize and split up all the pictures and things we did in St. Louis. Sure, chronological order makes sense, but I noticed a natural grouping in the trip itinerary notes and then realized it was the same distribution used in our previous St. Louis travel posts. So, here's the first category: all the FREE things you can do in St. Louis!
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| Free murals everywhere! |
Let's start with the St. Louis Zoo. Yep, admission is free, but there is a catch -- you have to pay for parking. It still made my free list, so whatever. I have mixed feelings about zoos in general: they do allow exposure to all kinds of animals that we normally wouldn't see. But I do struggle with containing wild animals in captivity. So, ya know. It was sunny and blazing hot, thus just as we sought shade from our side of the fence, the animals also hid in the shade, which limited our overall viewing. Thankfully the elephants had good shade in a good spot for the cute new baby elephant!
Many of the zoo buildings had lovely A/C including the reptiles, birds, and penguins! This exhibit is amazingly open and within arms reach of visitors. This guy is clearly used to striking a pose. (The one laying in the background appeared to be daydreaming about flying - his wings were out and he was swaying, as if he were gliding through the air. 😍)
The walk-through aquarium was pretty cool (visually). Naomi and Danielle were commended by a zoo worker for noticing and calling out the differences between the seal and the sea lion passing by (top left).
Another "free" animal encounter is at
Grant's Farm -- land originally owned by the father-in-law of Ulysses S. Grant but later purchased by the Busch family (as in Anheuser Busch beer). The experience beings with a ride on a tram from the (again)
not-free-parking, through an area with roaming deer, llama (alpacas?) and bison. Then there are several animal pens with goats, rabbits, tortoise, camels, deer and birds. Yes, feeding the baby goats milk from a bottle was too cute.
And then there's the 2 free beer samples per person. First round: I opted for the spiked tea (I do not like beer) and Jeff wanted to experience good ol' Budweiser, like he remembered the Dads drinking on camping trips from his youth!
Second round: Jeff chose a more palatable flavor with Stella Artois and I went with the alcohol-free Ultra Zero, mostly so that Naomi and Danielle could see what beer tastes like, in hopes of scaring them away from the flavor! They both gave it a 0 on a scale of 1-10.
Final stop before departing was at the famous Clydesdale's barn! Not much happening in the stables, but this guy was in the pen next to the parking lot. He is clearly the ambassador, as he was chill, super friendly and engaging. (Uh, and he seemed to have a thing for
Naomi's hair though...)
Super cool place: Laumeier Sculpture Park. Nature mixed with art - totally worth the price!
Next up: Jesus mixed with art! Not free to construct, but free to all that enter -
Cathedral Bascilica of St. Louis. Beautiful mosaics... from floor to wall to ceiling.
And Naomi found her dream house right across the street! Hauntingly beautiful. Three stories with so much personality.
224 N. Newstead Ave - built in 1895!
One of those financial lessons that Naomi and Danielle have picked up on, is how to maximize "free". In fact, Naomi is living it right now -- she signed up for two months free of the Panera Sip Club. She gets free drinks multiple times a day until mid-August! And lucky Danielle, we happened to drive by a location and Naomi gifted her a free Panera ice coffee. (Note: Panera started as St. Louis Bread Co, but was rebranded for locations outside of Missouri when it went nationwide...)
Phew. Plenty of free activities in St. Lous (as long as you are not a car). 😉
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