♫ Meet Me in St. Louis ♫ – Another Three Generation Vacation

I have written in the past about the three generation vacations we have taken with our youngest son and his family and how they were similar to the ones we took with my wife’s parents when our kids were young.  Well, this past summer, we got to take another of these trips.  But this time it was with our daughter and her family.

In years past, our daughter and her family have come to our house in July for a visit either before or after they had been to her husband’s parent’s farm in Illinois.  This year, she suggested following their farm visit, that we meet them in St. Louis instead.  We thought it was a great idea and so made plans accordingly.

Our daughter found a restored century old 3-story home in western St. Louis that was a great base for our visit.

She kindly allowed us the master suite…

… with a very nice bathroom.

Over the next four days, we had a blast with our kids and grandkids taking in many of the free options visitors have in St. Louis.

One morning, we took them to the St. Louis Science Center where there were many enthralling exhibits.  Everyone had a great time, but I was particularly taken by this full-scale replica of the Perseverance Rover that landed on Mars in 2021.  I had no idea it was as big as my car; I always thought it was just a small rover.

On another morning, we took them to the St. Louis Zoo.  If you have never been, it is very well-done zoo.  A good way to get a nice overview of the whole zoo is to take a ride on their small train that runs all around the large grounds.

There were lots of animals to see…

… in the well-maintained enclosures.

And what visit to St. Louis would be complete without a trip to the iconic Arch.

Although the grandkids did not want to ride up into the arch, a good time was had by all wandering around the grounds.

Although not free, one day we took in the City Museum.  Built inside an old shoe factory in downtown St. Louis and spanning four floors, this is a maze of winding tunnels and paths where one can explore (and get lost).  Some of these you traverse through beautiful, artist designed mosaics.

While some of the tunnels are sized just for young children, I too had a blast wandering around the ins and outs over several floors.

It was a good suggestion to establish a base where everyone could come if they lost the parent they were exploring with, here manned by my wife.

There was even a three-story slide that was a hit.

And of course, one afternoon, we took in the St. Louis frozen custard institution—Ted Drewes.

We just happen to arrive at the same time that an afternoon Cardinal’s game had let out but in spite of the multitude of fans also there, it did not take long for us to procure a delicious sample of their famous “Concrete.”

St. Louis also has many wonderful parks and the boys particularly enjoyed playing in the water at this one in Forrest Park.

Every time we go to visit our grandkids on the west coast, I always take LEGO kits for us to build together.  Since this was a different kind of gathering, I decided rather than taking kits with us, we would take the boys shopping to pick out their own.  With the purchases made, we then had several fun episodes of building together.

But one of the best treats for me on this trip was one day, my son-in-law’s parents drove over from their farm.

Last year, we had such a great time for both sets of grandparents (Mimi and Granddaddy and Grandma and Grandpa) to be together for our daughter’s oldest son’s first communion that we knew we needed to do it again.

In the afternoon, I had a chance to learn so much from Grandpa about farming and in particular, growing corn.  Then it was off to another park.  Upon returning, Grandma and I had some fun time finishing off the LEGO kit.  Maybe there is a gift of a LEGO kit in her future.

That night, we enjoyed a wonderful meal together just like we had done in Seattle last year at our daughter’s home.

After four fun-filled days, it was sad to pack up for our return home.  Our daughter and her family were flying back home, and we would be driving the fairly short 300-mile trip back to Memphis.  On our way home, we got a chance to talk about what a great vacation it had been and how we would have to do it again one day.

But I know it was particularly special for these two guys to have both sets of grandparents visiting for their own three-generation vacation!