Family Vacation in St. Louis (with video)

Back in October, we went to St. Louis for a few days for a little family vacation and to celebrate Harlow turning five a few days later.

What we did (in order in the video):

--Grant's Farm: It's technically free, but you have to pay for parking (sooo, it's not really free). It was cool to see the horses, but most of our time was spent waiting in line to get in and waiting in line to get out. You can't just walk in and out like a theme park. You have to ride a tram through woods, which means you get to see wild animals, but we felt a little trapped once we got in. The food choices weren't great for people with food allergies or children, and it was very crowded. We probably won't be back.

--St. Louis Zoo: We loved it and spent a full day there! We have a Little Rock zoo membership, so we got a discount to the things that cost money (children's zoo, train, pet stingrays, ride carousel), but entry to the rest of the zoo is free for all. Check to see if your hometown zoo membership gets you perks to other zoos like St. Louis. We would definitely go back.

--Fozzie's Sandwich Shop: I got the Club Veg sandwich, and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

--St. Louis Science Center: Admission is free, and we parked for free on the planetarium side. We explored that side first then walked the sky bridge over to the other side. There's so much to do, and I couldn't believe it was free. The food was expensive and terrible and they didn't get our order right. We were starving and had to have lunch here, but I would try to plan around not being here during a meal.

--Gateway Arch National Park: We went into the basement to see the museums and visit the shop. We didn't go up into the Arch, because it was pricey, and I wasn't sure how we would do in the little pods. We might try it when she's older. There was still a lot to see, and it was free. We got yummy snacks while we were here.

--We drove over the state line to say that we had been in Illinois..haha. There wasn't anything on that side of town, and it was sadly pretty rundown.

--Trattoria Marcella: Colin got lasagna and loved it. I got fried chicken livers on risotto, and I still dream about that meal. It was a cozy atmosphere, and our waitress was incredible. I want to go back to St. Louis just for this meal.

--The City Museum: This was the most we spent on an activity (since the rest were free or discounted!) on this trip. It was so fun! We could have spent more time there. We were there more than half a day, and it wasn't enough, but we had to drive back home. We should have dressed in clothes that we didn't care messing up and should have brought knee pads and gloves (they sell them but we didn't buy them). We would definitely go back. We didn't pay extra for the roof, because we were told it was for kids that were a little older, and it turned out we wouldn't have had time.

There weren't any baseball games when we went, but that would be a fun thing to add to a trip. They were also about to open the new aquarium right after our trip. We had a hotel room with a fridge and microwave so some of our meals could be had there (leftovers and trip to grocery store) to save a little money. I also brought snacks and bottled water to keep in my backpack/purse to have at all of our outings. We would 100% go back for another family vacation to St. Louis.