Last weekend Kyle and I were able to get away for a 3-day weekend in St. Louis! Our friends, Ryan and Cari, used to live out here by us, but have since moved. We missed them so much, we got out butts on a plane and flew out to hang out with their family for a few days. They were such gracious hosts, and were able to show us all the great things St. Louis has to offer...like the Budweiser plant!
The tour of the Budweiser factory was truly amazing. First of all, it's free! We still would have paid to go. Second, everything is so clean! The streets, the buildings, the inside of the plant, everything is spotless. Third, the inside of the plant was built with care, as if they were trying to decorate it to make it beautiful, and not just a building. The brickwork on the outside is outdone only by the tile and copper chandeliers and intricate decorations on the inside. Seeing the buildings themselves was very much worth the tour.
Below you can see all the bottles in the line-up after they are filled. They merge all together on their way to the packaging building. I felt like we should keep an eye out for Laverne and Shirley, but I didn't see them.
The kids also liked looking at the horses. This one "has a jacket on" as the kids would say. We also saw the stables where all the horses live, as well as the two dalmatians. The dalmatians were asleep in the hay in the horse stables when we arrived. Our tour guide actually had to dig them out of the hay for us to see their heads. They live in there with the horses and are very comfortable near them.
After the Budweiser tour, we all went back home to rest. Some of us even snuck in a nap. Then it was parents' night out. The four adults all went out for dinner at a Tapas Brazilian bar. You order lots of small appetizer-sized dishes to share with your table, instead of ordering just one plate. It's a great way to try many different flavors of food and different spices, without having to eat multiple dinners. The sangria we had made everything taste all that much better.
Before we left on Sunday, we made a stop at the St. Louis Zoo -again, free! It was on the chilly side, but not too cold to walk around. It was just the right temperature to make you feel awake and alive. We saw big brown bears, the butterfly enclosure, insects and reptiles, and the best exhibit of all, the penguins! The penguin exhibit is built above ground level so the surface of the water is at your eye level. They can also swim under the walkway to go from one side to the other.
My favorite penguin is below, the surfer dude. There were so many different types of penguins here. The other two we called "the Wal-Mart greeters" as they just stood there together and said hi to everyone who came through the exhibit. They were so close and so exciting to see! The zoo did a neat trick and had warm air blowers throughout the exhibit, so when the penguins jumped out of the water they would spread their wings in front of the blowers to dry off and get warm. It was definitely a sight to see.
After that, we had to go home. We had a blast while we were there, and hope to go back visiting soon! Thanks to Ryan and Cari for showing us a great time, and for letting us invade their house for 3 days.
P.S. Dear American Airlines,
I am so not impressed with your airline. Your seats and your policies bug me. The only reason we flew on your airline is because Southwest didn't have a direct flight. You charged people $15 per bag to check luggage, including the first one! You gave out drinks only, and no peanuts or pretzels. You charged people $2 for cheese and crackers, and $6 for a turkey sandwich. You even charged for headsets to listen to the movie, which was only played on the way out to St. Louis, not on the flight home.
And my biggest complaint - get some bigger seats. I know Kyle is a big guy, and complains about the size of seats, HOWEVER, I am 5' 8", and my shoulders stuck out on both sides of the seat. I am by no means what you would call "petite", but there is no way I should be too big for the seat.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have flown there and back, without any incidents, and landed safely on the ground. After that, you bug me.
