meet me in st. louis
Cubs, Cardinals, and Charming St. Charles
Last summer, we decided to take our girls to the “Horse Capital of the World”: Lexington, Kentucky. We love a good road trip, but Lexington is about a 12 hour drive from where we live. With two little girls, we needed to break up the drive. As luck would have it, the Cubs were going to be in town to play the Cardinals right when we’d be passing through St. Louis. We knew we couldn’t miss this opportunity to take the girls to their first game.
But, this was a pretty last minute trip, so when we started researching places to stay, most of the hotels in St. Louis were booked up. I started looking at Airbnb options, and that’s when we discovered St. Charles. Charming St. Charles. It was the first Capital of Missouri, and is only about a 25 minute drive to downtown St. Louis.
Main Street is paved in bricks, with adorable little shops and eateries. It sits close to the Lewis and Clark Trail. We only wish we had had more time in St. Charles to explore it ourselves.
You’ll find a plethora of historic houses to pick from for your stay. Some options were even right along Main Street.
But we were only in the area for a couple of days, on our way to Kentucky. And as a family on a mission to see all of the National Parks, we made the Gateway Arch a top priority. We parked at InterPark, a parking garage that is convenienetly located to the Arch and Busch Stadium. One important cost-saving tip: they charge more in person on game days. So buy your parking garage ticket online before heading out for the day, and you’ll pay the standard price.
I also highly recommend buying a ticket to the top of the Arch. It’s such a unique experience that offers a view of the city. When you purchase the tickets, you will have an option to add a Riverboat Cruise on the Mighty Mississippi. I love a river cruise. Chicago’s architecture boat tour? I take it every single time. The Seine River in Paris? Yes, please. Through the canals of Amsterdam? Yep. San Antonio? Obviously. I don’t miss a chance to hop on a boat. Sign me up.
All that to say, do no take this cruise. The only good view you’ll have is from the dock before departing and upon returning. A view you can get without getting on the boat. Don’t get on the boat.
After wasting an hour on the river, it was almost game time, so we headed to Ballpark Village. Michael had done his research and bought tickets based on how the shade would be for the time of day. And as plans go, the game got rained out and we went to the game the next day, a much earlier game, basking in the sun.
Despite the heat and the eventual loss, our girls loved every minute of it. They ate Dippin’ Dots, met Fredbird, and root, root, rooted for the Cubbies. But, the absolute highlight was when a Cubs player threw a ball into the crowd. A fan caught it, walked over to us, and handed it to McCall. What an amazing souvenier for her first game.
There is so much more to explore in and around St. Louis, but we know where we’ll stay next time we are in town. Meet us in St. Charles.