Our next stop was the city of St. Louis, Gateway to the West!
We arrived in St. Louis in time for some dinner at Maggie O'Brien's, which was pretty good, until Grant lost an AirPod there. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone until tomorrow when the AirPod has died and now we really can't locate it.
Of course, since we didn't KNOW that we lost the AirPod, we just went about our merry way and went over to St. Louis Union Station next door to see the Grant Hall Light Show. The Grand Hall is SO beautiful!
My kids did not find it as beautiful as Todd and I did.
But look at that ceiling! You know I'm a sucker for a beautiful ceiling. And I love the colors pink and green together.
But why are we here? Well, every hour on the hour they do a light show on the ceiling set to music. We just happened to be here for a Beatles themed light show!
Groovy, man.
We got to enjoy the history of the Beatles albums right here on the ceiling!
All you need is love.
They also have a Fire and Light Show that goes on here, but a) it was freezing and b) we passed by here a few times on this trip and never got to see it. But I'm sure this place is super pretty and packed in the summer!
The next day, we had a 10:30 am ride to the top of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis! Grant was ready to take on the tiny elevator to the top.
And so were Natalie and Todd, even though they had no idea how really tiny that elevator was.
Tram car number 6, straight to the top.
Yeah, that's pretty small. I had to explain to Todd that the door was the entirety of the metal piece- it was just the small interior rectangle that we had to fit in.
Four Bailey's, headed to the top!
STOP. Is this the cutest boy EVER??? He literally hasn't changed a bit. Well. I guess he has a lot more hair now.
Todd might have been trying to recreate the alien hand that Grant invented in a photo in Regensburg a couple of years ago. These tall boys were hunched over in the small elevator car, which works a bit like a combination of an elevator and a Ferris Wheel at the same time.
Natalie and I didn't have to slouch so much because we are much smaller than the boys!
The views from the top are always spectacular, even in the winter.
And even when it's below 0 with the wind chill. But at least the Mississippi wasn't frozen over! We were so mad because the temperatures the following week were going to be in the 50s! Also. It is very flat here.
There's no baseball being played at Busch Stadium this time of year.
Up at the top, they have these windows that angle down toward the ground. I really can't look straight down (I'm terrified of heights), but you can put your phone on the window and take a picture of what's straight down below - which in this case was the National Park.
My babies, 630 feet above St. Louis, discussing the Dred Scott case at the Old Courthouse down below.
We don't have many more trips where there will be four of us in a photo. Sniff sniff.
I don't think I have ever captured a picture of the VERY top of the Arch!? The south side was closed (I think it was closed the last time I went, too) so you couldn't really walk on that side since it was blocked off.
OK, time to go back down to the museum. You have to wait on stairs that insanely close to each other and you can't leave a step in between, because there are only four stairs for your car for the four people who have to fit in it.
But we made it down in one piece! Back on the ground, as we made our way into the museum, Todd and I really liked the builders display with a model of the Arch when they were putting the last section in at the top.
The Museum at the Gateway Arch is really cool, and you definitely shouldn't miss it. There are lots of interactive displays and some very lifelike displays as well!
Another interesting display in the Gateway Arch museum is the "Smells of Cholera." Ummm, I'm good, thanks.
Todd was not afraid of the smells of cholera, however. He dove right in! He said one smelled like a farm, and the other like rosemary and he wasn't sure what the third smell was supposed to be.
If you've ever seen me in a CrossFit gym, you know rowing was NOT. MY. THING. So it was funny when they had this little row boat display. Of course, I'm being silly here but this is actually my pained rowing face.
We tortured the kids with a museum visit for long enough before we all declared we were hungry for some lunch. One more Bailey selfie with the Arch before we leave, though.
And a Bailey selfie with the Old Courthouse also had to be taken!
Ahhh, one of my favorite spots in St. Louis! The Western Reach of the Revolution! Honestly, who knew it went out this far, even!? And last time, I said, "Next time, Old Courthouse" because it was closed when I last visited in the fall of 2023, but guess what? It's still closed in 2025! At least the windows are finally replaced - they were covered with plastic back in 2023.
Todd took a nice picture of the Old Courthouse. You can see the statue of Dred and Harriet Scott on the left, holding their heads high.
We went to UKRAFT Brunch Café for some brunch and it was delicious! Afterward, we walked over to the nearby Citygarden Sculpture Park where Todd immediately recognized a sculpture we had seen in Poland!
I really liked the Unzip the Earth sculpture at the Citygarden Sculpture Park.
This sculpture park is really awesome- this afro pick is called All Power to the People.
This one is called Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels (Pinocchio) by Jim Dine.
This looks a little like something straight outta Squid Game. It's called "White Ghost."
I like this guy because he reminds me of the statue in Reykjavik (the Unknown Bureaucrat) - this one is called Big Suit By Erwin Wum. This guy is all pink suit, no body!
This is by far my favorite sculpture in the Citygarden Sculpture park. It's called "Love vs. Money." The statue is floating away on a heart shaped balloon, but is weighted down by a bag of money. I think we've all felt this at some point!
We were FREEZING so we decided to head back to the car. We passed this little unassuming sign that read, "St. Charles Rock Road-Boone's Lick Road, St. Louis. First trail west started near this corner 1764, marked by the Daughter's of the American Revolution and the State of Missouri, 1913." When St. Louis was first settled in 1764, St. Charles Rock Road was the first road to St. Charles, Missouri (or "the west.") Lewis took this road up to St. Charles to meet up with Clark before heading on their big expedition.
On our way back to the car, we walked by Busch Stadium, where they have a ginormous World Series trophy outside. Remember when the Red Sox beat them in four games in 2004, and then won again against the Cards in 2013?
Natalie and I walked past this and gasped! With the price of eggs these days, this oopsie must have cost someone a fortune!
Our next stop was a place I have been wanting to go to for a LONG time - the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis!
We don't have a ton of churches in America that rival the ones in Europe but this Byzantine style church CERTAINLY does!
The mosaic tile work is one of the largest in the world, and covers 83,000 square feel with 7,000 different colors!
The installation of the mosaic tilework began in 1912 but wasn't completed until 1988.
The Central Dome is 143 feet above us and is adjacent to the Sanctuary Dome which is over the altar in the distance.
Grant was sitting in the back of the church, so we snapped a 3/4 Bailey family selfie under the Central Dome and near the altar of the Cathedral Basilica.
This one guy who worked there took a liking to us because we came ALL the way from Boston. And because we were Catholic. So he led us back to a roped off portion of the church so we could get a glimpse of the Rose Window that many people don't get to see because the altar in the Sanctuary is so large.
He also showed us the Blessed Virgin's Chapel, where Saint Pope John Paul II prayed back in 1999 when he made a visit. This chapel was actually created by Tiffany Company - in fact, it was Louis Comfort Tiffany who created this chapel, who was known for his work with Tiffany lamps as well as the jewelry store.
I guess someone snapped a pic of the Pope praying!
When we were here, the guy told us that because Pope John Paul II is a saint, then we had just made a pilgrimage (since JPII is a saint and is associated with the presence of God.)
Most of the tile work is very high up on the ceiling but you can get some glimpses of it close up, like this mosaic of Mary and Jesus.
I thought it was super cool that Pope John Paul II granted one additional Plenary Indulgence to the faithful who visit this Cathedral Basilica on a day of their own choice! COOL!
I mean... I'm just in awe of this work.
The All Souls Chapel is a bit different from the rest of the church. It still has a good deal of mosaic tile work but it uses black marble to symbolize death and white marble to symbolize resurrection or eternal life.
I mean, it wouldn't be right if they didn't include a statue of St. Louis himself!
I think I've mentioned it a thousand times but it was really cold outside so we basically ran back to the car. I was able to snap a couple of photos from the car, but it was too cold to walk around!
We took the kids back to the hotel and then Todd and I went down to St. Louis Union Station for a bit.
Todd wanted to check out the Whispering Arch. The Whispering Arch was discovered when the station was built in the 1890s. A workman dropped a hammer on one side of the arch and a painter on the other side, nearly 40 feet away, heard him. (I mean... it's a hammer that fell on the ground. I think you could have probably heard that from across the street, but ok!)
Let's try it anyway! Todd is one one side of the Whispering Arch...
... And I'm on the other! We could definitely hear each other - not necessarily at a whisper, but definitely at a very low murmur. Conversationally, we could not have heard each other from this distance but we could thanks to the Whispering Arch!
We went back out to where the Fire and Light show is, but it's SO COLD that there was ice on the surface of the water.
Did I mention that it was going to be in the 50s the following week?
Oh, hello down there. I didn't see you there, as I was going up this staircase on my way back to the Grand Hall.
Back in the Grand Hall, we were treated to another (different!) yet equally as colorful light show.
This one had paper lanterns floating, flowers, famous paintings...
... And even some fireworks! Also, hilariously, we saw this show twice in a row (we were enjoying a drink at the bar) since the first showing glitched and ended early. The bartender was like, "I've never seen that happen!" Of course, this only happens because we are here!
For dinner, we drove down to Webster Groves for a delicious meal at the Frisco Barroom with my cousin Ann and her husband Mark! We had the best time catching up- and the Frisco Barroom food was AWESOME. They had this incredible charcuterie plate called the Frisco Board that we started with which had some raspberry rose jam - and you KNOW Natalie and I were going bonkers for it! I wanted to buy some but the store had just closed. Don't worry, I'll be back for that!
Ann and Mark's boys are grown and flown (her son Nate is married!) so it was nice to pick their brains about what is coming down the pipeline for us. We will be back in the summer when Natalie moves to Missouri, so I hope we can hang out again-- Ann and Mark are just the best!
The next day it was not only cold, but there was a "threat" of snow. This New Englander (lol, what... I'm from Florida) was not impressed. They had a chance for a couple of inches of snow, so the entire city shut down. We were supposed to go to the Budweiser Brewery for a tour, but they called us to say that they had cancelled the tour. And no kidding- they had maybe 1-2" of snow in the entire city. We did get out to the White Knight Diner for some lunch (we were too late for breakfast nooooo). I had an excellent grilled cheese (come on- best diner food EVER) and the staff was super sweet! You could tell this was DEFINITELY a local place.
Todd took this picture of Grant because we have the picture above his head hanging in our basement. Todd's dad was a police officer and the picture had hung in their house when Todd was growing up.
Since there was NOTHING open, we decided to go to Maggie O'Brien's again for dinner - but only after we went back to the hotel to watch movies and lounge around in bed all day. You can see the "massive" amounts of snow... barely enough for footprints, but please, cancel all activities in the city. Boston would NEVER!
We also joked that we had to go back to Maggie O'Brien's anyway because we need to ask the staff FOR A THIRD TIME if they had found Grant's AirPod!
And in the morning, it was time to fly back to Boston. On our way to the airport, we were able to see the Arch in the distance as the sun was about to rise over St. Louis.
My kids can crash pretty hard on an airplane. I wish I could do that!!!!
And of course, when we got home, I was punished for teasing the city of St. Louis and it's lack of plows and salt during it's 1-2" snowstorm. We had had about 5" of snow, followed by a good soaking rain, followed by a deep freeze, which turned our driveway into a SOLID ice skating rink. It took almost a week of warmer temperatures, sand from Home Depot and cracking the heck out of the ice with a shovel and ice pick to find out driveway again!
Until next time, St. Louis!
