Browsing Category

st. louis

Blog, Family, st. louis, vacation

Explore St. Louis


Hi there! Long time, no see! It’s been over a year since my last blog post. When I logged back on to start typing up this blog post, there were so many new updates to WordPress- I had to completely relearn how to use it. Even though it’s been a learning curve, I am really enjoying the updates. It actually has me considering getting back into blogging a bit.

Anyway, for now I’m sharing about our recent Staycation we had in St. Louis. Full disclosure- We partnered with Explore St. Louis for this staycation. Though it was not a sponsored trip (I did not get paid to share about our staycation,) we were hosted- which just means that we did not pay for it. We are so very grateful for this opportunity! My whole family had the best time!

Day 1

We were very excited to be staying downtown in the Hyatt Regency. We had three adjoining rooms. The hotel itself was beautiful and such a great place to stay. However, the view was definitely the highlight. We had the perfect view of the Arch right out our window. We enjoyed spending time in our rooms in our downtime. I actually wish we would have had more time to just hang out and relax in our rooms!

I mean, how amazing is this? Such a beautiful view! I have a full room tour on my Instagram. You can see the videos on my “Day 1 Staycation” Story Highlights.

City Museum

After getting checked in, we headed over to the City Museum. If you’ve ever asked me for things to do in St. Louis, there’s a good chance that I recommended the City Museum to you. These first sets of pictures below are what you see as you enter the museum. There are so many areas to explore. Tunnels going through the ceiling, under the floor, and everywhere in between. With the Covid restrictions, there are areas that are blocked off right now, but we still found plenty of areas to explore.

There are multiple floors in the museum as well as an outdoor area and more on the rooftop (not sure if it’s open right now.) We tried to go outside but the door we usually use to go out there was locked. So we didn’t make it outside. It was also around 90 degrees that day so I didn’t really try very hard haha. But we did see people playing on the outdoor structures so I would assume some of that area is actually open.

We ended our evening back at the hotel. We attempted to eat dinner at Brewhouse (located inside the hotel.) By the time we got down there, we realized the kids were way too exhausted to sit still in a restaurant so we ordered it as carryout and took it back to our room. Definitely the right decision! Delicious food, eaten in front of hotel tvs- because… I mean, what a luxury, right?

Day 2

Union Station Aquarium

Day 2 started at Union Station. It was our first time visiting since all of the new additions. We went to the Aquarium first. Because we were on a schedule, we only had about an hour here. I do wish we had another hour or so. Our kids love to stop at each station and hear the workers share about the creatures. There were a couple of areas for kids to color/create art work. But we just didn’t have time for them to stop for that.

It is a smaller Aquarium. But we really enjoyed our time there. They loved petting stingrays, seeing the very rare blue lobster, getting “kisses” from the fish, and seeing the sharks. We all hope to go back again to see everything at a more leisurely pace (and hopefully see the sloth next time around!)

St. Louis Wheel

Union Station also has other things to do, including The Wheel, a carousel, a rope course, and mini golf. We did the carousel and The Wheel. I have to be honest, up until the moment we got on the Ferris wheel, I had firmly stated that I would not be getting on it (I’m slightly terrified of ferris wheels.) But I did it for my kids. Kai didn’t want to ride so I was going to stay with him. But no one wanted to go without me. So Don was the lucky one to stay on the ground with Kai. I will say this was a better experience than any other ferris wheel I’ve been on. It’s enclosed with air conditioning and music. The kids absolutely loved it! I tolerated it haha. But I got the cutest video/picture of Evangeline and Primrose comforting each other since it was so “scary.” (Spoiler alert- they weren’t actually scared haha)

Soda Fountain

Lunch was at Soda Fountain, also in Union Station. I’ve been wanting to try it since it opened. It truly didn’t disappoint! Everyone loved their food. The BLT I had was honestly one of the best I’ve ever had! And we couldn’t leave without trying their amazing, over-the-top shakes! We were so full from our lunch so the 2 shakes were plenty for us to share. It was such a fun experience! We loved our waitress- she was so sweet…not only to us, but to the tables surrounding us. And we met the owner- who was also so, so sweet! As we were leaving, the kids said “we HAVE to come back here!”

River Boat Cruise and The Gateway Arch

After our morning at Union Station, we headed over to the Riverfront. Our hotel was walking distance to the Arch/Riverfront, which was a major plus! We went on a Riverfront cruise which is something I hadn’t had the chance to do since I was a kid. We loved the views from the boat!

We walked around the Arch grounds before going inside. For those of you not familiar with the Arch, there is a museum underground. And there are also trams that can take you to the top of the Arch for an amazing view. I put a poll in my Instagram stories- and the majority of people who voted didn’t realize you could ride to the top! At the time we went, those trams were still closed. But they are now open again, of course with new restrictions. The museum is free and my kids enjoy walking through. I’m linking my “Day 2 Staycation” Instagram stories in case you want to see how this day looked. And you can watch as the nicest worker at the Arch showed the kids a little “magic” trick. As we were leaving, the kids were all telling me how they enjoyed the trick he showed them.

Cardinals Nation Restaurant

By this point, we were exhausted. And we were still full from lunch. But we had reservations at Cardinals Nation Restaurant. From the moment we arrived, the staff was absolutely amazing! The hostess, waitress, chef, and owner. They went above and beyond to make this a special evening for us. We were literally right across the street from the stadium, where the Cardinals were playing. My only regret is that we went on a night that everyone was so tired and full. The food they brought out was so amazing! I honestly want to go back for those pretzel bites alone! Probably the best pretzels I’ve ever had! And everything else was just as amazing! I hope to visit again to fully appreciate it all. If you are a baseball fan, I highly recommend it!

I’m including a photo of the bathroom because the theming of the whole restaurant was perfect!

Day 3

Museum of Transportation

Day 3- our final day! We checked out of the hotel and headed to the Museum of Transportation. I hadn’t visited since I was a kid so I didn’t remember anything about it. Right away, everyone wanted to do a train ride.

There are tons of trains- some you can climb inside and walk through. There are also some other indoor areas with automotives. And a creation station for younger children. We enjoyed walking through the garden for a painted rock scavenger hunt. You’re encouraged to find painted rocks and then re-hide them before you leave. We had lunch waiting on us at our next stop so we didn’t get to experience everything. But it’s a fun place for anyone with an interest in different modes of transportation (especially trains!)

Magic House

Our final destination is a place we know and love dearly, The Magic House. We have been members for several years now and it’s a place we love to visit multiple times a year. Besides the train photo above, this was the only family photo we got. I propped my camera up on a table, used my remote, and got this one on the first try. I love it so much!

Something we really enjoy about the Magic House is that some of the exhibits change throughout the year. So we don’t feel like we’re doing the same exact thing every single time. On the other hand, my kids actually enjoy doing the some of the same things every single time! The play village is always one of our favorite areas. Primrose could probably spend an entire day taking care of the babies in the baby nursery!

We cut our Magic House visit short (compared to visits in the past) because we were so tired at this point. But we’re all looking forward to making a reservation to go again soon! I’m going to end this post with a link to my “Day 3 Staycation” Instagram stories. We had so much fun on our Staycation and we are all so thankful we were able to do and experience so much in our own city! Thank you to Explore St. Louis for this opportunity!!

I hope you all have a great week!! Before I go, I would love if you left any feedback below. I don’t know if there’s any interest in more blog posts- and if so, what type of things you would like me to blog about. But I’m open to hearing what you have to say!

Blog, Fall, st. louis

Picking at Eckert’s


Back in the beginning of September we went apple picking in the 90+ degree heat. We came home with the most amazing Honeycrisp apples I’ve ever tasted. But it just didn’t feel like fall. Apple picking is one of my favorite fall activities so I knew I wanted to try again when it was cooler outside.

Last weekend we were invited back to Eckert’s for apple and pumpkin picking. Instead of sweating, we were shivering. It felt much more like fall and we loved it so much! We had never visited the Millstadt location so we were excited to check it out. But we made a quick stop over at their Belleville location to see their fun pumpkin house!

 

We typically don’t get family photos while we’re out and about because I don’t love asking strangers to take our picture. But my friend, Maggi, and her family came along with us and I made her promise to snap a family photo for us at some point. She ended up taking multiple photos for me and I am so grateful! The majority of our family photos are just taken with a tripod and remote. So it was a nice to have her take a couple for us!

We obviously loved the pumpkin house!

But everyone was anxious for apple picking so we drove over to the Eckert’s in Millstadt. I immediately fell in love with the small town country feel. And even though it was a busy Saturday with tons of people there, it didn’t ever feel overly crowded because of how big and spread out everything is.

Once you pay to get inside, almost all the rides/activities are free! There was seriously so much to do that we couldn’t even fit it all in…even after spending 5 hours there. There was a little petting zoo with a few different animals. Clementine loved feeding the kangaroos carrots. She typically shies away from most things so it was sweet to see her trying to interact with the kangaroos.

But we did manage to fit in 2 viewings of the pig races, per Kai’s request. And actually, he would have preferred going to all the races that day. But I feel like 2 was probably pretty sufficient haha.

Poor Clementine was so cold that day! It had been nearly 90 degrees a few days before so we were totally not used to cooler weather yet. And every fall I just forget how to dress for cold weather. I mean, it was 50 degrees. So it wasn’t freezing. But when you’re used to 85-90, it feels pretty cold.

I mean, look how cute this place is!!

Desmond and Clementine (my two kids who are scared of so many things) were obsessed with the pony rides. I wish I would have gotten a good picture of Clementine. She was giggling the whole time.

We eventually managed to pull the kids away from the rides so we could go pick apples. And I’m pretty sure every time we go apple picking, our bags are just about completely filled within the first few minutes. And then half empty a few minutes later as the kids are eating them.

The weekend we went picking, they had a new apple called Evercrisp (a combo of Honeycrisp + Fuji.) Honeycrisp are still my favorite but I think everyone in my family liked the Evercrisp!

This picture of Kingston pretty accurately sums up every apple picking outing we have ever had. He always eats more than everyone else. Even on the way home, he asked for another apple haha.

Two nearly identical family photos because sometimes I just go back and forth between pictures so many times and can’t decide which one I like more.

One of our favorite things about Eckert’s is the abundance of ripe, unblemished apples. In the past, we’ve really had to search hard to find good apples. But at Eckert’s, we had no trouble filling up our bags.

I had to include this picture of Desmond with Primrose. Because even though it’s not the best picture, it shows how much he adores his baby sister.

And I’m certain it doesn’t get any sweeter than these two cuties eating apples together. I got a few questions about their outfits on Instagram so I’ll just go ahead and link here too. The sweater rompers are from Target (currently out of stock but they have randomly restocked multiple times in the past so I recommend signing up for notifications.) And Primrose’s bonnet is from Yarn Republic.

We also hit up the pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkins. But all the kids/husbands were cold and tired so we cut that visit short. We’re actually going to try going again today because the weather is supposed to be perfection! If my kids are as indecisive about pumpkins as they are about everything else in life, I’m predicting this will be a long day out 😉

We are so grateful to Eckert’s for inviting us to spend a day at their farm! The Millstadt farm is now officially one of our favorite places for fall activities and we are so hoping to have the chance to visit again!

One more thing before I go–if you’ve been apple picking recently and need some good apple dessert recipes, this apple crisp that I made for my family this week was pretty amazing. And Maggi raved about these apple cheesecake bars so I’m thinking they may need to be next on our dessert lineup!

Have a great week!!