A Weekend In St. Louis

​Last weekend I had the pleasure of exploring St. Louis, MO with my little family of 4! I adore this sweet family of mine.  Blessed is an absolute understatement. The weekend was one for the books! First stop was St. Louis Union Station http://www.instgram.com/SodaFountainStl This little place is so iconic and mimics the old fashioned ice cream shop! They have amazing fancy shakes to choose from and specialty shakes weekly! I got the Unhappy Birthday and it was delicious! I advise on arriving early as the average wait time is 2 hours and they do no take reservations.  Feel free to shop the candy store/gift store while waiting though!

​We were hosted by http://www.instagram.com/DruryHotels and http://www.instagram.com/CityMuseum and had a JAM packed weekend filled with activities hosted by various restaurants and centers! From the itinerary it looked like so much, but we had more than enough time to do every activity and heaven had time in between experiences.

Saturday we visited the http://www.instagram.com/Aquariumstl at Union Station . They have it set up to arrive based off of ticket times. Our ticket time was at 10:00 am, but we arrived at 10:30 with no issues. I will say it was PACKED, but once you get through the initial entry way the crowd breaks up and you can walk around freely. I know some families need strollers, but I felt like having a stroller looked like so much work. There are so many tiny areas and the strollers seemed to block the flow of things in certain areas. Tons of exhibits, feeding shows, and hands on activity centers to keep you all entertained. Duration depends on how quickly you move. We made it through in about 2 hours.

​We left there and took a short drive over to http://www.instagram.com/4HandsBrewingCO for a quick lunch. They have the cutest outdoor area with turf, string lights, and picnic tables. We went inside to eat on the 2nd floor. Here you can play several arcade games for FREE! You will need quarters for the ski ball machines. This family-owned business started off as a wife, husband, and 2 kids. The hands made up a hop which was the original logo. The orange chicken wings were fire and the assortment of the brewed beers was fantastic. My husband was in heaven! 

​We opted for some afternoon entertainment after lunch and stayed local. We enjoyed a phenomenal local circus show put on by the arts center http://www.instagram.com/CircusFlora , the show was about 2 hours long and there were several time slots to choose from.  I thought it was cool that each one of the performers is local! They also sell 4hands brew and other concession foods! Don’t forget the popcorn and cotton candy!

​From there we rushed over to the www.http://www.instagram.com/druryhotel to enjoy the FREE drinks and a FULL on snack/dinner portion for the http://www.instagram.com/DruryHotel kickback hour from 5:30-7:00. Each guest 21 and older gets 3 FREE alcoholic drinks and the hotel provides a VERY GENEROUS snack options. I’m talking fettuccine alfredo, salad, hotdogs, soup!! It was a very nice spread and had we not had dinner plans we could have easily had dinner with the “snacks “provided by the hotel. I cannot express enough how friendly and amazing all of the staff was!

​After cocktail hour we headed out for dinner at http://www.instagram.com/SaltandSmokebbq . The ribs and mac n cheese were definitely my favorite! The service was excellent and it was cool enough to enjoy the patio. The neighborhood http://www.instagram.com/cwescene is so cute and there are lots of little shops and eateries all within walking distance.  

​Each night the boys played in the pool at the Drury until 10:00 PM-while sister and I watched the sun go down on the hotel observatory deck.  The pool is a heated indoor pool with 2 hot tubs and the rooftop is absolutely stunning, there is an amazing view of the St. Louis arch, lounge furniture, and a perfect view of the sky! Each morning we had a hot and FREE breakfast from the Drury Hotels (I can get you 15% off of your booking just drop a comment).  My favorite feature…the coffee and make your own waffles! The biscuit and gravy was delish to!
 
On our last day, Sunday we woke up slow and made it over to the http://www.instgram.com/citymuseum where we spent OVER 5 hours at. This place is LITERALLY HANDS DOWN the COOLEST place I've EVER taken the kids! There are so many things to climb and explore that you could easily get lost! Carson loved the outdoor climbing area and http://www.instagram.com/_ParisBinning and http://www.instagram.com/rzrbkfan even got in on it! We enjoyed a meat lovers pizza at the Sammich Shop inside of The City Museum (so yummy and the chocolate chunk cookies were 🔥. Pro tip bring a head lamp, knee pad, glow sticks, because there are so many tunnels and places to crawl through!

As if this day wasn’t enough we headed over to http://www.instagram.com/JenisIceCreams and I had the rainbow sherbet OMG, the kids had waffle cones, and my husband had the trio! We walked to http://www.instagram.com/Lululemon because we HAD to work off the extra calories! We ordered http://www.instagram.com/Pi_Pizzerias for take away, BUT found out their dining area WAS open. So we pulled up a chair and enjoyed a loaded pizza with garlic knots! From there we went back to the hotel to enjoy the last evening at the hotel on the rooftop swimming and watching the sunset. Hope you can use this information to spend an unforgettable weekend with your Fam! We only get a short time here at this life- live it to the fullest! Don’t forget to follow me http://www.instagram.com/sarahshawyall for travel, fashion, and lifestyle content!! Love and Light Xoxo Sarah