I saw 15 clowns get out of a Mini Cooper once, so, ya’ never know!!!
Since it is a Saturday and John doesn’t have to work, we headed to the St. Louis Zoo. (Yes, another zoo😊)! Many of the attractions in St. Louis are free but they do charge to park. However, $15 to park a full car of people isn’t much considering how much it could cost per person to get into a zoo. However, we had been given a heads up and shown where to park on the street for free! This means we got to walk across the interstate on a pedestrian sidewalk which I have never done before and of course, thought was very COOL!
The Disneyland of Zoo’s!!
We entered the zoo and picked up a map to see which way to head. The first thing we noticed was the incredibly large amount of people and strollers! I suppose I’ve been spoiled lately by being able to visit places during the week when they are not as crowded. I do believe it is a great service that this city does for parents – having places like this where they can bring their kids for a fun outing for free.
However, the first section we went into was called River’s Edge and was packed with people! It had a fairly narrow pathway that wound in and around the animal exhibits but we just skirted around behind people and strollers to get through that section. We did get to see the elephants at the end of that section and they were magnificent!
The rest of the visit was fine – the areas were more open and we were able to see more animals. Most of the enclosures were very impressive with large outdoor spaces, rocks, trees and appropriate playthings. I was also struck by how many animals they had in some enclosures. Most of the time, I usually see 2 chimpanzees or birds or elephants, etc. But certain enclosures had more of a “pack” grouping than one or two. Definitely worth a visit and even better if you can go during the week!
I’m not day-drunk, you are!!
Sunday, we decided to visit the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in downtown St. Louis. We followed our GPS which took us downtown, then wound around and around these large, old buildings to get to the entrance of the tours. I realized later that all those buildings we wound around were part of the brewery campus!
Upon entering, we went to get tickets and found out the free tours were already booked for the day. Honestly, I didn’t even know free tours were an option! We paid $10 each for the same tour but received 3 free samples along the way – about 28 ounces of beer each. Can’t beat that!
If that thing kicked you, you’d be dead!!!!
The tour guides were great! They were knowledgeable and laid back as they walked us around the campus. We saw the huge vats used in the process of brewing the beer, learned what went in each batch of beer, the bottling floor and my favorite, the stables and Clydesdales! There was one Clydesdale out in a corral prancing and running around. He was beautiful!
The stable was an amazing structure also and we were able to view other Clydesdales eating their hay and enjoying their day, along with the carriages used to deliver beer after prohibition and the tack room filled with the very heavy bridle equipment.
Another thing I found interesting was the architecture and elaborate decorations throughout the brewery – chandeliers bought after the St. Louis World Fair closed, German painting and the mascot sculpture on the corners of one of the buildings! There was so much history of the brewery given during the tour that it went by like the blink of an eye trying to listen and look at everything! Another great St. Louis attraction to visit!