A Weekend in St. Louis

We ended our summer with a long weekend in St. Louis visiting Aunt Mary (aka Daddy's sister) and Uncle Terry. Our niece Maddie was coming to visit her Gramma and Grampa (aka Aunt Mary and Uncle Terry) so we timed our trip to visit Maddie.
We took Amtrak down which was a treat. It was nice not to drive. We did a lot of driving this summer and weren't looking forward to two long drives for a long weekend. Our girls were able to play their games as the train had electrical outlets by each seat. They liked being able to get up and walk through the train cars.
In St. Louis we stayed near Forest Park. I didn't know this treasure was there before this trip, but I can tell you we will be back. There are several museums and each one is free. We strolled the beautiful St. Louis Zoo and the Art Museum. We walked around the Great Basin and through a lovely garden. it was a fun and free day.
The next day we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see the Lantern Festival. This was one of those times I was really glad I didn't visit the website to see what the Lantern Festival was about. The lanterns were large-scale events, not small decorations. Each one was more spectaular than the last. Some of them moved. Others blew smoke. Sometimes the lights flickered. It was all magical.
On our final day we went to the St. Louis Science Museum. The girls participated in a demonstration about gravity that ended up with a water balloon falling three stories.
St. Louis was so much fun. It's nice to be in a city where everything is close and inexpensive. Having Aunt Mary and Uncle Terry -- and sometimes Maddie -- makes it an even better weekend trip.