Those of you who follow us regularly know that while our Igoe family has lived in New Orleans for over ten years now, we have no family who live in the area. As such, we have become accustomed to traveling for the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas almost do not feel right when we celebrate at home by ourselves. This year was no different. On December 23rd, we hopped a Southwest flight to St. Louis and spent Christmas with my parents.
With the pandemic going strong, we all got tested before leaving, and even in St. Louis, we were more reserved than normal. Not wanting to unnecessarily expose my parents, we tried to refrain from doing anything that would include a large crowd. We arrived on a Wednesday, and on Thursday, Christmas Eve, we headed down to Union Station.
For those of you not familiar with Union Station, it is an old train depot that has been through many iterations. In fact, once as a child, I fell into a water feature in winter. It is a story my older brother loves to tell now, but at the time, it was quite unpleasant. At the moment, and hopefully for good, the station has been converted into an aquarium, amongst other things, and in terms of aquariums, we thought this one was fantastic.
It was basically an interactive tour with several really cool features. The kids got to feed turtles, have fish eat dead skin off their hands and pet sting rays. Having been to multiple aquariums over the years, I was pleasantly impressed.
What really makes Union Station great is that in addition to the aquarium, there is shopping, food and several other entertainment. There is a mirror maze and a London Eye-style Ferris wheel, as well as indoor ropes course. We decided forego the first two, but the kids loved the ropes course. There are two courses, based upon height, and Eileen and JR were both big enough for high course. Since JR is under 13, I had to go with him, but it was a lot of fun. There were several cool features, zip lines and overhangs, and it was a great way to finish the excursion.
On the way home, we stopped at a sandwich place The Hill called Joe Fassi’s. My biggest frustration with eating on The Hill in St. Louis is that we are never there long enough to try everything on the menu. I got a meatball sub which was arguably the best one I have ever had. My wife got a salami sandwich and both of the kids got turkey. To say that everything was good would be insulting to Joe’s. This place was so good that we almost went back two days later. If you are in St. Louis, and you want a great sandwich, nothing beats The HIll, and Joe Fassi’s is one of the best options.
The next day, being Christmas, we spent at home, opening presents, watching A Christmas Story and spending time with family. Saturday, we were back at it again. Recently, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was converted to the Gateway Arch National Park. We actually took the kids the year prior, but have been unable to find the picture we took of them at the sign.
This year, since we have a new edition, we decided to get a new picture and get Clara’s passport stamped. The Arch has a great museum about westward expansion and Lewis and Clark, and the ride to the top, while claustrophobic, is pretty cool. If you’re looking to explore a city and hit a National Park, St. Louis is a great option.
On the way home, we were forced to hit up The Hill again. This time we hit up Mama’s, one of the places that claims to be the creator of toasted ravioli. If you’ve never had t-ravs, they are basically breaded and fried raviolis, filled with meat and cheese. Why they are called toasted is a mystery, and why they taste so good is beyond me, but they might just be the best thing in the world. We also ordered a pizza, which in St. Louis comes with provel cheese, which again, is a must try.
That night, the whole family went to Garden Glow at the Botanical Garden. Every year, the garden puts up lights and installations that are really impressive. It is cold, but they sell hot chocolate and adult drinks, and the kids love the chance to make s’mores. The garden is really impressive during the day, but lit up at night for the holidays, this excursion is a can’t miss.
We flew home on Sunday, washed all of our clothes and jetted off to San Antonio to spend time with Alyson’s family. This trip was a bit shorter, and we spent most of the time in my in-laws house. We did find time to get outside and explore one of Texas’ many state parks. Because of the viral situation, passes to the parks have to be purchased in advance, and the only one close enough with an opening was Guadalupe River State Park.
I think this park is probably better during the summer, as the river looks very inviting, but we did find a great hike that went about a mile along the edge of the river and provided some really cool scenery. The kids were able to skip rocks, climb trees and overall, enjoy being outside.
On the way home, we ate at Little Gretel’s in Boerne, which is a really great German restaurant that had several options for the kids. Texas is such a big state, and the cities are so expansive that it can be hard to really plan. A good suggestion for one part of San Antonio may be 45 minutes from where you are going. That said, there is so much good stuff in Texas that if you look, you’ll be able to find something worthwhile.
We usually go to St. Louis and Texas at least once a year, and this 2020 was no exception. If you are going, even during COVID, as long as you plan, there are plenty of great things to be done.