St. Louis Riverboat Cruise

After we experienced our Journey to the Top of the Arch, bought some souvenirs and checked out the Museum of Westward Expansion, it was time for our Riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River aboard the Tom Sawyer.  We purchased our tickets online a day in advance and qualified for a bundle discount.  This also gave us free parking in the arch parking garage.

The day was extremely hot and humid, so we were thrilled to find out there would be refreshments, restrooms and air conditioning on the boat.  Obviously the views aren't as great from the inside so we began the cruise from the top deck while we snacked on hot dogs and sodas.

 

While we were waiting for the boat to leave the pier, we spotted this fountain.  We were told it shoots off everyday at noon and that it goes as high as the arch.  Pretty interesting.

 
Daniel and I both enjoy listening to the audio presentations of the history while we sightsee, however, today the kids were not thrilled.  Even the promise of going swimming when we arrived back at the campground was not enough to entice them.  We finished the cruise on the inside of the boat in the air conditioning.

And when we returned to the KOA campground, we did go swimming.

Tomorrow is a driving day.  We are headed to Ohio to visit some of my family members and meet up with my mom and my dad.  I am excited because this will be the first time our four younger children will meet my side of the family.

Nicole

St. Louis Arch

The morning of our planned visit to the arch was met with some trepidation. The last time I visited the arch I was six years old.  I don't remember much except being scared to death and shedding a lot of tears.  I am thankful there were no tears this time (from me or the kids).

When we were talking about visiting the arch in St. Louis I received some very helpful advice "buy your tickets in advance".  We went online the day before we planned on visiting and purchased tickets in a package deal at a discount (Captain's Combo).

We allowed plenty of time for traffic and finding parking.  Even though it was already hot and humid, the walk through the park was pleasant because of the shade provided by all of the trees.

When standing next to the arch it is so massive.  We pointed out the windows at the very top, 630 feet up, to the kids and explained we were going to go inside the arch and look out those windows.

We went inside and were ready to begin the tour.  There are only 5 seats inside the capsule but we agreed to have Amada sit on my lap so we could all go together.  When the doors to the capsule opened I wondered how we were all going to fit inside, but we managed.  I was thankful there were windows on the door of the capsule so it wasn't too claustrophobic.

Once at the top I was so relieved when the capsule door opened.  There were people waiting on the stairs to ride the capsules back down.  When we arrived at the viewing area it was amazing! The kids were so excited and wanted to point out everything they saw.  We weren't at the top for very long before riding the capsule back down.

We had reservations for the Riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River in an hour and a half so we had time to kill.  We visited the gift shop and gave the kids snacks/drinks.

Then we spotted the Museum of Westward Expansion and decided to check it out. We were met by the Ranger who informed us the kids could participate in the junior ranger program. We gathered the necessary materials and began the activities.  This definitely made the museum more interesting for the kids.

When they completed all of the activities in their handbook we returned to the information desk and the kids all received junior ranger pins.  They were so proud of themselves!

Nicole

Six Flags St. Louis

Johnathan is our resident roller coaster expert, in fact, he is a bit obsessed.  Since we have season passes to Six Flags and knew we would be taking this cross-country trip, we planned to stop at as many of the Six Flags locations as we could.  {We've already visited both of the Six Flags parks in California.}  Once Johnathan found this out, he insisted on figuring which rides were at specific parks and what the height requirements for each of the rides were.  We actually printed him a list for each of the Six Flags parks height requirements and highlighted all of the ones he was tall enough to ride. He even looked up each of the rides on YouTube to see what they do.

We were extremely pleased when we arrived at Six Flags and were able to park in a handicapped spot in the first row. The way this specific parking lot is in relation to the front gate, there is no tram and really no need for one. We stopped at Guest Relations first to get a disabled pass for the boys, which allows them access to the rides without having to wait.  Since we have James' wheelchair/stroller, it is much easier getting on rides through the disabled entrance.

Our first ride of the day was American Thunder, a wooden roller coaster.  I thought this was fun, fast and smooth.

It was a hot and humid day, but we had a blast!  Both Daniel and I remarked at how friendly and helpful everyone at the park was.  Amada kept insisting she did not want to get wet, so Daniel took the boys on the log ride.

All 4 kids were able to go on Pandemonium so we let them ride without us.  It made it even since each car was able to hold 4 riders.  Well, as the kids were at the end of the ride it broke down.  I felt SO bad since neither Daniel or I were on the ride with the kids and they were stuck in the sun.  Luckily they weren't even stuck for 5 minutes.  And they didn't care because they asked to ride it again later in the day!

We decided maybe that was a sign we should stop for lunch.  After lunch we went on a dizzying ride and Alex wasn't feeling too good.  The ride "Dragon's Wing" was also in that area of the park and Daniel decided he wanted to go with Johnathan.  Amada really wanted to ride too and unbelievably she was tall enough. Alex wasn't too happy about not getting to ride even though he still wasn't feeling well.  I was able to take this video of them on the ride.

Daniel and the boys also braved "The Boss" which is another wooden roller coaster. However, it is taller and faster than American Thunder and more jerky.

Daniel and the boys rode several more roller coasters before I was exhausted.  We decided to give our feet a break from walking and try to cool off so we rode the train around the park. It was also something we could all go on together.  Towards the end of the day all the kids wanted to go on the giant ferris wheel, Colossus, which once again we were all able to ride together.  We enjoyed the beautiful views from WAY up there.

Before we left the park, we decided to get on the big inner tube water ride to help cool us off.  Amada went kicking and screaming, but was happy once she did not have to go under the waterfall.  We were done at the park by about 5pm, just in time to discover Steak 'n Shake {yummy!} before we headed back to the KOA for a swim.

Tomorrow we will head into downtown St. Louis for a tour of the Arch and a Riverboat Cruise on the Mississippi.

Nicole