Meet Me In St Louis

Today I'm recapping the second part of my and Sam's trip to Missouri. If you missed Part 1 (Kansas City), you can read it here.

We got up fairly early the next morning and caught the train from Kansas City to St. Louis. Sam enjoyed some Mr Noodles from the train cafe.

Unfortunately, the train was about an hour late getting to St. Louis so we had time to grab the LRT to our hotel, check in, change quickly, and head off to the ball park. On the way, we walked by the St. Louis Arch and I made Sam take a couple of selfies with me!

We got to Busch Stadium early enough to watch some batting practice. Sam was really hoping that the coach or outfielder for the New York Mets would throw him a ball but they never did. Boo. However, Sam and I were really happy to be watching another baseball game!

I have to say that the staff at Busch Stadium were the nicest people I have ever met at a baseball game. (They ranked right up there with the Pittsburgh fans I wrote about in this post!) I got an "educator's discount" at the gift shop. Sam was disappointed not to get cotton candy in Kansas City so, when we ordered supper, I asked where I could buy cotton candy. An employee said, "it's at another restaurant, I'll go get it so you don't have to stand in another line." Then he went and got it and gave it to us for free.

 

Later, Sam was quite hot and I asked another employee if I could get a little bit of ice, as the water from the fountain was lukewarm, and I mentioned my son was feeling the heat. She gave me four bottles of extremely cold water and two souvenir cups and wouldn't let me pay for them.

Seriously, the absolute nicest employees, who were so generous and made us feel so welcome and special.

After our long day, and the heat, Sam was quite exhausted so we decided to leave the game early and go back to the hotel. We took a few pictures outside the stadium.

This plaza was sooo cool. It has the words to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" on the stairs, there was a big screen televising the game, and there was a baseball field for kids to play on. Sam and I checked it out as we headed back to the hotel. I think it would be so fun to watch a baseball game here, if you couldn't go to the game.

Also, as we were walking by the gates, I saw this view of the stadium and asked an employee if I could quickly enter to capture the picture. They said, "Absolutely" and gave Sam some Cardinals stickers. Did I mention the employees went above and beyond?!?!?!

The arch at night, which we walked by on the way to our hotel.

The next morning we walked past the Arch and took a tour on a riverboat. It was so much fun!!!

The tour included commentary and I found it all so interesting. Plus, I loved going under all the bridges.

Next time we got to St Louis, I want to walk along the retaining wall and get a closer look at all the artwork decorating it.

Left: Showing how tall your boat can be when the river floods; Right: Busch Stadium from the river

After the riverboat tour ended, we walked into the Arch and learned a bit about its history. Sam had no interest in going up it so we just enjoyed the exhibits.

One last Arch selfie!

The grounds around the Arch are so beautiful. I could have spent all day here.

After our full morning, we grabbed some sandwiches at a local sandwich place and then took the LRT to the airport. Unfortunately, our plane was a little delayed and so we ended up taking off into the sunset.

 

I really enjoyed this trip to Missouri with Sam to see a lot of baseball and visit a state I'd never been to before. And again, I really hope we can get back to St. Louis as a family. There is so much to discover and I'd love to go back!