Saint Louis

I highly recommend a visit to this fine city. I won't say I did all the 'usual' things, but had a great time with the things I did. The good things far outweighed the flight problems (45 minute delay one way, and 90 minutes the other, both equipment related), and the single day of rain.

Six Flags - pretty much like any amusement park. Huge, and broken into five or so sub-sections. For some reason, the park had variable opening hours, so instead of 9am, it opened at 1030. Still, there were no crowds, no waits longer than a few minutes for rides, and you could easily ride a second time. The best was The Boss, a super long wooden coaster that hugs the terrain at the back of the park. That one was pretty amazing, and put the other sleek steel coasters to shame. But aside from roller coasters, there isn't a heck of a lot, unless you do the water park, which we didn't.

St. Louis Zoo - very nice place, lots of space and animals. Entry is free, which is a nice plus, although we stood in line for 20 minutes before we caught on to it. Highlights - giraffe giving birth. Didn't finish while we were there, but seeing 2 feet of hooves and legs sticking out was pretty amazing. Also it seemed to be Mennonite day (not sure how they got there, as I didn't see any horses), with lots of bonnets, beards, straw hats and Dutch being spoken. Many jokes about the Wild Ass. And we weren't even drinking.

City Museum - Can't say enough about this place. 600,000 square feet of an old shoe factory. We went on the day it rained - the place was mobbed with kids but still easy enough to maneuver. Rather than give a futilely incomplete description, go to their website and look. It is like a huge rummage sale of architectural elements, sculpture, art, fancy and craziness. Highlight - discovering this woman who creates snowflakes that incorporate animals, insects, musical instruments, etc. Bought one of her books of patterns, and did a snowflake at her table, too. Because of the rain, we didn't get to climb Monstro City (an outdoor habitrail sort of thing, with two jet planes, a bus, etc.) Almost forgot to mention the little cafe that is like a sideshow of weirdness (the biggest pair of men's underpants in the world).

Had dinner one night at a Brazilian chacuria (yeah, I know I spelled that puppy wrong...Portuguese is not one of my languages). Meat, more meat, and a little bit more. Roasted pineapple dusted with cinnamon and cayenne was amazing, plus all the other stuff, and salad bar. Much more reasonably priced than I thought (especially knowing Texas de Brazil here in Memphis is usually $45 a person) and fun besides.

Didn't do a brewery tour. Didn't scale the arch (although I always thought it was metal, it appeared to be stone, like the Washington Monument), only drove by, didn't visit Busch Stadium. Didn't go to Drewe's Frozen Custard (more's the pity). Didn't have a camera (it went to NYC).

Now everything is sort of back to normal. All animals back in place. Clothes laundered. Next up - return of the women.