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^ yeah, the area around it was pretty cool with the cobblestone streets and restaurants. (tho we avoided it mainly due to the uneven walkways for Nick). my only real issue at the Casino was the amount of smoke in the gaming areas. I know they always have a lot of smoke, but maybe the air filters weren't working at 100% the night we were there, as there were wafting clouds of smoke everywhere. we really DID need to shower when we got back as we reeked of cigars & cigarettes. but it was a nice ending to a busy 1st day.

^ yep. .what Bill said. suitcase in trunk, and enjoy the day at the park. . but make sure you leave well before posted closing, or you'll get stuck in the traffic exiting the park. SFOT isn't too far from the DFW airport, as long as you aren't doing Love Field (that's in Dallas area proper)

Day 1: part 3 – capping off a long day I will start out this last segment of day 1 with a notation if you’ve never been to St. Louis and want to experience the “sites” downtown, and want to stay there? I *highly* recommend the Marriott St. Louis Grand, or the Courtyard Marriott – they are across the street from each other on Washington, right across from the convention center, as well as the St Louis Visitor Center. They do not have a view of the Arch (as they are in the center of downtown, in renovated old buildings), but that keeps the room rates down – especially if you are in town on a weekend where there is no Cardinals game, or Convention going on. If I had to choose again, I probably would go for the Courtyard Marriott over the Marriott Grand, only because Courtyard still has a Swimming Pool/Spa, and it would have been nice to relax in a hot tub at the end of our long days. Marriott Grand, just underwent renovations and as part of that, they filled in the indoor pool they had, and put in a very nice/large workout center/gym (based on Millennial’s feedback, I was told when asked why they had no pool). the Grand did have a pretty amazing restaurant on property (“Zenia” – and we ate there twice, including the buffet breakfast one morning – very reasonable for a downtown “upscale” hotel), and I will say that they had a roasted spiced Cauliflower over tomato chutney appetizer that was the best thing I ate all weekend . . and we had some good food at some points over the weekend). Highly recommended just for the restaurant, tho you can get to that even if staying at the Courtyard across the street. The Grand also has a Starbucks on site (can be entered from outside hotel entrance or thru lobby), and a sundries store as well. Both Marriott and Courtyard share a self parking garage, that’s back behind the Grand on 9th street ($30 a day, which I cringed at, but since we needed the car for Six Flags, and Grant’s Farm had to do it . . even tho the car sat for 2 days not moving). . . if we didn’t need the car? Could have used the Metro Train, as there’s a station just up the street, and we could have gotten there from the airport area, from what I understand). Why didn’t we move the car for 2 days? As noted, the Grand (and Courtyard) sit on Washington Street – full of clubs and bars. . . and right outside the main entrance? Downtown Trolley stops (on either side of the street). The Downtown Trolley does a big loop around the “tourist” areas, and on its route includes stops at the Old Courthouse, the Gateway Arch National Park, the City Museum, and stops that are easy walking distance to Union Station, the Baseball Stadium, the Hockey Stadium, and many other sites. Oh, and it’s only $2 (or less for over 60), for an *all day* pass that gives you on/off privileges from 7am until Midnight of day purchased. So yeah, we made great use of it, and I highly recommend this hotel location just for the added benefits of location of trolley stops in both directions out front. Ok, so I wanted to start with that recommendation so no one is turned off by our less than stellar initial experience at check in – LOL We made great time getting to downtown – easy/peasy from the zoo, and since every “unloading” area spot was full, we went directly to the parking garage and self parked the car. the short walk to hotel (really just across 9th street) gave us a fantastic view of the building, and the classic Orpheum theater next door. The theater looked abandoned (or maybe just closed for ongoing renovation?), but since I love architecture, I really loved that it was right there and I got to see all the intricate stonework on it. we got to the check in after a short wait, the gentleman was pleasant enough and told us to toss the self parking ticket, and gave us a QE code we could use for “in/out” (which again, we didn’t really need, but oh well), and confirmed – without showing me his screen or telling me what he was looking at – our reservation. I asked him if the room is going to be as booked, a corner room, since I had actually paid the premium for the more spacious room, and he said “yes” and gave us room keys for a room on the 5th floor. Before leaving the counter I also asked him about the downtown trolley, and he told me that it had closed . . . but I could book online and metro would come pick us up. That sounded ‘wrong’ but figured I get free wifi with my Marriott Bonvoy perks, so would just look it up in the room. now, by this time, Nick WAS using the cane, we took it out of the suitcase the moment we got to the car at the zoo. So it was slightly annoying when the room he gave us was completely on the opposite side of the building from the elevators. I went beyond slightly annoyed into “angry” when we opened up the door to the room (which wasn’t at the back corner, but was the 3rd door in the hall) and it was a pretty small, and dark room, with a view of: the parking garage where we had just parked the car. Oh, there was also a charge on the credit card (we got an alert that the charge had come thru) that was for $199 over what the room rate had been guaranteed for when I booked via the Marriott Bonvoy site. I told Nick to stay in the room and not touch anything, and headed back down to the front desk. The gentleman who had checked us in was tied up with other customers, so I went to the cheerful lady who waved me over as next. I told her we had just checked in and that I was concerned about this almost $200 extra on our card. She said that’s the standard ~150 they put on the card to cover “incidentals” at check in, and when we check out if we haven’t used it, they will simply credit us. Plus the 1st two days parking. Ok.. not thrilled about the extra $$ since it’s not noted anywhere in the check in information they handed me, but Ok. So I tackled the next issue: the crappy room. First she told me that because we were checking in later, we got what was available. I responded that we checked in at what time I was told to check in: after 4pm, and that it was a “guaranteed” room. She came back with an implication that I had booked thru a travel site so they only guarantee a room, not a certain type of room. I responded that I had not booked thru a 3rd party site, but that I booked thru Marriott, and was promised a Guaranteed Corner room, as that is what I had booked. And in addition to not being a corner room, the view we *did* have was terrible, and I expect better as a Marriott customer. She responded that “this hotel doesn’t really have “corner rooms” – with windows on both sides, as I was expecting. What they had put us in, is what this hotel calls a “corner room” but she could move us to a higher floor if I wanted? I was polite, but getting frustrated (not to the point of asking for a Manager, but close – we were staying there for 3 nights!), and pointed out to her that this is a square building, is it not? Therefore there are rooms in each corner of the building, and I have stayed in “square” downtown Marriott and all had rooms as I was expecting (L shaped entry, with hallway that has window on one side, opening into larger area with windows on other wall). . and pointed out that if the hotel does not have true Corner rooms, they should not allow booking of rooms as “corner rooms.” At this point, a wonderful Counter Agent (not sure if he is a manager, or not) who had been standing at the next check in terminal, got involved and told her: I just put them in 817. She was a bit confused by it, but the gentleman – his name is Jason – turned to me and said, “I think this is more along the lines of what you are expecting. Please let me know if you have any other issues and we’ll get right on it to see what we can do to make your stay pleasant” I had the keys to the 5th floor room in my hand, and told her I had left Nick in the room, so I could get back in to get our stuff, and she gave me the new keys to 817. I thanked Jason again, and went to the 5th floor to collect Nick and the suitcases, and we made the long walk back to the elevators, went up 3 floors, and got out on the 8th. the room was only a few doors down from the Elevator, in the corner, and – you’re not going to believe this – the room was EXACTLY the type of room that the lady at the desk had told me doesn’t exist in this hotel: L shaped entry way, long hallways, and windows on two walls. It also had the biggest bathroom area I’ve seen in a hotel in some time (with included phone in bathroom). Shocking, right? yeah. After being in St. Louis for 2 days, and realizing that Sunday night was playoff Game 6 for the Stanley Cup (that the Blues could have won). . and discovering that our hotel was the “base camp” hotel for all the news media coverage? What I totally suspect/expect happened: they tried to put us into a sub-par room, because *we* were staying thru Monday - they then could turn around and charge the heck out of someone staying in the better room we had ended up in on the Sunday night game night – when every hotel in downtown near the stadium way upped the rates. the theater directly across from the Marriott self parking garage. beaufiul facade on the side of the theater, about to enter into the Hotel side entrance (behind me in this pic) Entrance to the room type that "doesn't exist in this Hotel" on the right is a closet with a safe, ironing board, extra pillows and lots of hanging storage space the hallway down the side of the building into the main room. (curtains on the right is the North view, and on the left is bathroom door) looking into the main room from end of hallway, and behind the couch are the West facing windows. really nice room, nice and large enough to get around (I think the sofa might be a hide-a-bed too, but we didn't look). Fridge in the cabinet under the mounted TV. No microwave, but I'm sure we could have brought anything we wanted heated up to the sundries store in the lobby, where there were two microwaves available. the view out of the North facing window. on the Right, behind the big building is the Gateway Arch the view out of the West facing window (overlooking the convention center and St Louis Visitor's Center) really big bathroom. nice and spacious bathroom. anyways, the room was everything I had been expecting when booking at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, so made sure to go back down to the front desk and thank/tip Jason again (and ask him for his card, so I could write a nice note about him and the great experience he had provided to Marriott – something I did, as well as name checking him in the survey they sent me when asked if anyone had gone out of their way to make our stay more pleasant). Up in the room, we kicked off our shoes to relax for about an hour, and I got online to look up the Trolley. Seems that the St. Louis Metro site talked about the trolley as if it still existed, and it talked about the $2 all day ride privileges – so I really didn’t know what the heck the 1st counter guy had been talking about. we hadn’t really eaten anything since lunch, so had decided that my tentative plan (which really had been a backup plan in case of nasty weather) to go to the close-by “Lumiere” Casino – which is right by the Arch National Park – was the way to go: we could sit and play slots, and they had several restaurants on site. Including a buffet called “the Kitchen” It wasn’t too far, but it was a bit too much for Nick to walk, so we headed back to the lobby, found Jason and asked him about the downtown trolley. The trolley not only was running, but Jason took us outside and showed us where the trolley stops are just outside the Hotel. Apparently the 1st guy thought we were talking about “downtown trolley tours” where you book online and they take you around to see the areas of the city. .. tho why he wouldn’t know the downtown trolley that stops right outside the hotel he works at is beyond me? Unless he just didn’t care? Who knows? It was beside the point anyways, since the Downtown Trolley stop by the Arch would put us just as far away from the Casino as it would be if we just walked It from the hotel. but Nick was on his cane already, so I asked what our best option was. The answer was Uber, but since neither of us have that app on our phones (hey, we’re OLD, LOL), I just went to the line of cabs and asked the 1st driver: “I know it’s really close, and I’m sorry to ask you to lose your place in the taxi line. . . but if we give you $10, will you drive us to Lumiere Casino?” he immediately agreed (guess it was a great rate for something that would have been $2 probably), and we were on our way. We’ve been to enough casinos to know that the 1st thing one does is sign up for the loyalty card. So we hunted down the booth and signed up, which got us $5 free play (each, tho we could have won up to $30 free play each. . just bad luck), and a discount on the restaurants or buffet. we took one look at the buffet, and knew we were in – as we LOVE cheap casino buffets. Yeah, the food isn’t gonna be the healthiest, but at least a lot of choices and the people watching is usually spectacular. As far as Price goes, this one wasn’t really “cheap” (I think it was $22 with our loyalty card), but that’s a very reasonable price. It was PACKED too – so they must comp the buffet like crazy to the casino members – and it seemed everyone was carrying around little remote control drones (which turned out when I asked were a prize if you hit a certain level of points on your card). as it was Friday, there was a lot of fish on the buffet (at least 4 different types). . but for the most part, it was about Las Vegas Flamingo Buffet level food, and Golden Corral level clientele. Then they ran out of Cheesecake on the desert station, and said it would be an hour for more to defrost, and they ran out of Spoons at the Soup station. So I laughed and said to Nick, ok, now it’s Circus Circus level buffet. And THEN they replaced the empty spoon holders with plastic disposable spoons, and a little old lady took every single drumstick from the fresh fried chicken (a TINY little lady, with a line of 6 or 7 people behind her – including me, who had been waiting for the really good fried chicken – picked thru the bin and took at least a dozen drumsticks, leaving none). Our waitress actually went back to the cook line and asked them to set aside some drumsticks for me from the next batch – tho by the time they came out we were done eating and I “gifted” them to the table next to us who also were disappointed they hadn’t gotten any chicken). . and we laughed and laughed, and I said to Nick: ok, it’s Stardust, last week of operations Buffet level now! (and we did eat at Stardust Buffet the last week it was open, and it was just as entertaining). ^ it sounds like I’m complaining, and I’m not. Like I said, we *love* cheap casino buffets. We had a great time at the Lumiere buffet, and tipped our waitress very well. We enjoyed talking to her, and the tables around us, and just for the fried chicken, it’s worth a stop in, as really it was quite good. We stayed at the Casino for a few hours playing slots, and not winning of course But we got a lot of entertainment out of our $$ and got to sit while playing, so that was nice. We then asked a taxi driver at the Lumiere stand if he’d take us back to the Marriott for $10 and he also immediately said yes. So we were back in the room, showered (getting rid of all the cigarette and Cigar smoke from the casino floor), and relaxing and ready for bed by 11pm. It had been a long day, so we conked out quickly. Sorry not many pictures this update – we left phones in the room charging while we went to the Casino.

I'm in love with these pictures. Tokyo Disney/DisneySea. . . OMG. . . .such beautiful parks.

that's great! and so cool of Liz to grab for you. ^reminds me of Bill who sometimes sends me unexpected stuff in the mail too TPR forum members really are some of the best folks around!

I want to try these SO bad. and I despise coleslaw, but I'll bet it's fantastic when eaten in this form, so you get just a taste of it when digging in. the mac & cheese bites look like wonderful deep fried goodness as well (and so do the mini-donuts, tho I'm not typically a super sweet fan). great coverage of what looks like an event that's a nice addition to evening options in Orlando.

^ boooo (I tried to get it to work too.. . but StLAM didn't look right)

Day 1, Part II: So after spending a good 4 1/2 hours in the Zoo, we headed to the North Gate – which is the gate that faces inwards to Forest Park. This gate looked more like a shopping mall than a zoo entrance, as it’s thru a big building complex, with classrooms, café, gift shop, and lots of administration offices. I stopped at the desk on the lower level (wasn’t marked an information desk, but there was a lady sitting there in a blazer, so took a shot) and asked if the St Louis Art Museum was out this way? She told me yes, it’s right across the street. I asked if we’d be able to come back into the zoo to cut across for our parked car as long as we kept the Adventure Pass bands on, and she looked at me confused. Then reminded me the admission was free. LOL. . I had forgotten! Such a great perk for the people of St. Louis. So we headed out the complex which put us out onto the street, and we saw on the top of a hill on the left, the St. Louis Art Museum. (we also saw several groups of “prophesying Jehovah's Witnesses” on all sides of the Zoo entrance – and we’d see similar groups the next day at the Gateway Arch National Park. Does St. Louis have a large Jehovah’s Witness population? Or just a very vocal smaller one?). I knew there was a “trolly” in the park, operated by Metro, but didn’t see any trolly stop signs, and I knew that as it was Friday, it only ran every 30 minutes, and had an odd route that went all the way thru the park, rather than just to the Museums/Sights – something the weekend trolly does every 15 minutes on Sat/Sun. Anyways I guess maybe the lady at the desk, WASN’T technically ”information” as she hadn’t actually told us how to *get* to the Museum that was up the hill. So as it was to the left, we took a slight left, looked for a path or something, and didn’t see any. The only path, was up towards the top of the hill going around what looked like the back of the Museum. Nick was getting really worn out, but said he was willing to try going up to the museum, so we shrugged and started trudging thru the grass up the hill, until we made it to that path around the back of the museum, and we followed that around to the front, where we went up the ramp access to the East Building. the East building is a way more “modern” addition to the Main Museum building (a classic gorgeous building called “the Palace of Fine Arts” that was built in 1903). the trudge up to the Museum really put the nail in Nick for a while, and he flat out told me he wasn’t going to be able to do anything in the Museum with me. That was OK, because really, he isn’t much of a Museum fan, and was only going there because he knew I wanted to see it. (if you recall our Philly trip from a few years ago, my agreement with him for that museum was that we could go to the “Rocky Statue” as long as he was willing to go into the museum at the top of the steps . . LOL. . so yeah, he’s not a big Museum person). he insisted I should go check it out, and he would be fine. So I left him sitting on some couches near the Museum Gift shop, and I then spent the next ~1 ½ hours exploring the St Louis Art Museum (checking in on him via text to make sure he was doing OK). I’m absolutely positive I did the museum a disservice by perusing it so “quickly”, but I was able to hit every available exhibition (the only one I skipped was a visiting exhibit by a British Sculptor whom I wasn’t familiar with, and only bypassed it - it was in the East building we had come in, and Nick was sitting literally steps from the entrance to it -- because it was an upcharge gallery. And of course, found out later that evening while perusing the “about St. Louis” magazine in the hotel room, that it would have been free to go in, as we visited the museum on “free Friday” Oh well). While the museum is not the largest one I’ve ever been in (that would be either a Smithsonian, or the Field Museum in Chicago), they have a pretty stellar collection with works of art by: Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Matisse, Chihuley, Ansel Adams, Degas, Cezanne, Gaudi, Tiffany & Co, Lichtenstein, Warhol, and many, many others. Perhaps not their best known works, but representations from them are present in the museum collection. they also have a pretty extensive Mayan Pottery/ Art, as well as Religious artifacts collections. I think my favorite floor was the 1st (you come in on 2nd floor, so down a level), where there were rooms full of Armor & weaponry from Medieval times, Ceramics from famous global companies, furniture/design, and multiple “complete” rooms – where the gallery was set up to mimic what a room in a home of the time period featured would look like. I greatly enjoyed this Museum, and it’s well worth a stop, even if you only have 1-2 hours to explore, as I *was* able to walk thru every gallery, and stop to enjoy (and snap pictures) of things that I really was impressed by. on to some pics: the view overlooking the park, from the East building entrance. It's a lovely park. If able to make a trip back again for the zoo in the future, will certainly do the BoatHouse (was told by several the food there is amazing) as well as the Science Museum in the park. a Degas sculpture. (the museum really wasn't dead, tho it wasn't slammed. . .I'm just pretty good at getting pics avoiding others in them ). an early Cezanne moving further into the "Main" museum from the East Wing. . . the central hall in the main lobby is really impressive. what's going on over there on the lower left, is a mural that the museum is restoring in real time. It's on two giant scrolls, and each day the roll it over 1 inch or so, and then put a restorer in front of it (the area has "display" stanchions around it) and you can watch them clean/paint/restore this gigantic mural. I suspect it's gonna take them years, as the restorer I watched is using a paintbrush about the size of a pin. stepping out the front steps of the museum to get a shot of the big statue in front. as mentioned, the museum has a fantastic collection of religious artifacts. this Bronze & Marble piece was just stunning. as were these candlesticks & Altar. the picture doesn't do it justice. I turned the corner into the Asian section and this immediately drew my eye (as did a budda statue behind me. .but I only took a picture of this). turns out it's one of the museum's "prize" possessions, and a visitor favorite. pic taken on the balcony walkway over the main museum lobby on the 3rd floor. there isn't much over on the Left side - it was a multimedia display film reel that i only briefly peeked into. . but worth going to it just to get this pic of the lobby. you can see the restorer again on the lower right in this pic. big fan of Gaudi, and was thrilled to discover the Museum has one of his designed clocks on display also a big fan of Chihuley Glass, and even tho this isn't one of his more well known, or colorful pieces? the way the blown glass undulates, it's just PERFECT in clear glass. Unfortunately this Tiffany & Co pitcher didn't photograph as lovely as it looked in person, with the light just brilliantly shining on the copper and silver. there were several stained glass pieces in this gallery as well, but I don't believe any of them were Tiffany Glass, so didn't take any pics. from the Suits of Armor room downstairs. . . a pretty cool Swiss crossbow. and an Iron & Brass Mace Over in the Pop-Art Gallery, a Lichtenstein that's not using any colors other than Black & White. but the movement just comes thru beautifully in this piece. also over here? a Warhol (again, with very muted colors, none of the neon colors he was working with just a little later in this period). . . .but hey, it's still a Warhol, so it's great they have one the Museum had little signs, such as this one, just randomly sprinkled thruout. I saw some in stairwells, or back by a restroom fountain. This one was by the Gift Shop, and spoke to me - so grabbed a pic of it. Upon finishing my Tour of the Museum, I met up with Nick at the couches (and confirmed he had recovered a bit). I asked at the info desk in the museum about the Trolley to get back to the zoo entrance, despite that it would go all the way around the park before coming back to the zoo. .. but I didn’t want to make him walk. The info desk pointed us to the street out front, and told us to take a right and we’d find the stop down a bit. *BUT* we discovered that *that* street, would come to the cross street that ran in front of the zoo, just to the right of where we had exited from the zoo in the first place. Yep, if the lady at the zoo counter had told us to take a right upon exiting the zoo? (even tho the Museum is on the left), we would have rather quickly come to the street that would have led us up to the Museum (sidewalk). Oh well, the route we had taken was at least more direct, even tho we ended up walking up a hill in a field, LOL. I looked down the street and saw the stop, down the hill – at which point we’d be almost back to the zoo anyways. Nick said that he thought he’d be ok, having rested for a while, and because it was all downhill anyways, he’d give it a shot. we made it back to the Zoo entrance with no issue (and thank goodness for the Shakespeare in the Park, which had already set up the Portolets for the next day’s performance. .so we were even able to stop for a restroom break ½ way back). we went back into the zoo, pet the stingrays & baby sharks, and then took the train around to the South Entrance. a quick stop in the gift shop, to score 2 magnets (we didn’t need) and 2 shirts (that *I* didn’t need either. . but I love one and the other is OK – the price was right: $14 each or 2 for $20), and then we headed to the car, and were on our way to the hotel to check in around 4pm. Just beating the Friday rush hour traffic. . . although we were headed INTO downtown, and the backups were all the other way. It had been a full day already, but we weren’t quite done yet!

well, it IS a zoo Carousel, so the animal/reptile theme was expected. but, it wasn't just a snake (two snakes actually).. but the fact I got to ride on a log! was giggling like an idiot for most of the ride That makes sense, and is true here in Texas too. but one still sees tons of Police cars lining the toll ways (particularly in Houston). so it was just really noticeable that we didn't see any police cars for days while in town. but yeah, when *everyone* was speeding, it didnt' seem like anyone was going over the speed limit. Even tho everyone was (except for me, I went the speed limit just staying in the "slow" lane -- not gonna get a ticket when driving a rental car, ya know?)

the robotic arms are interesting, but I can't really figure out what they are doing. . LOL. . that's why no comment. while the Lava Monster is cool, i love the pics you have of the ride vehicle - so much damn detail. just lovely.

Looks like y'all had a great time at Niagara Falls! when we went, we did the Maid of the Mist, even tho I don't think Hornblower had the funicular option at that time last year. But NO WAY would my spouse have gotten on that. The Elevator down from the US observation structure was just fine for him. .LOL have you done the Cave of the Winds before? if not, it's well worth the trip the US side, just to walk on the platforms that go right next to/under Bridal Veil. and agreed, we LOVED that little tourist trap/amusement center area, and our Courtyard Marriott had a fantastic view of that ferris wheel (and the fire that comes out of the volcano at the miniature golf). that's great you got to meet up with Bill (and Brit). there are a number of folks on here that i would still love to meet in person, and they (as well as you, Michael - and Andrew (Ybitterium) & Boldicus - all on the short list I'd love to meet), and who knows, maybe someday we'll all be near a park together and get to say hi. as to Darien Lake? I totally wanna go just for Moose on the Loose. so that's pencilled in for a trip at some point, since our Season Passes will work there now! great reports!

HA. . we just had similar at SF STl -- the end product (which I wish i had taken a picture of) looked like a giant rock. I ended up having to eat it with a fork. . . more of a pot pie than a burrito. but the food was consistent with other Macho Nacho I've eaten at

we had a fantastic time - tho it wouldn't be a vacation without a spat with the Spouse, right? (so we had a couple - including a doozy at the top of the Arch, LOL, but was all resolved by the time we were back down at the base of it ) Honestly tho: it's not that he's "understanding" - he wasn't thrilled about the early-early flight. but after 15+ years, he knows just to let me plan, and just come along and we'll have a great time. So he just goes with it - I know what he can handle - even if he doesn't think he can sometimes. I'm a planner by definition (I schedule mfg test floors), and I'm pretty good at my job. . so he trusts me to plan. and we managed to follow my plan - we usually do, which is why he let's me plan it out -- and we hit everything I had mapped out, and on schedule. of course I had backup "bad weather" plans, but worked out we didn't' need em. We do tend to have pretty good weather mojo on trips. . not always, but usually.

They actually colored the fountains Blue on Sunday too (the night of playoff game 6). . .we didn't know why until later when someone told us that was why (maybe Kim)? but we posed by it for our pic, because I thought it was pretty, so brought the photog over to it for the pic. LOL

looks fantastic, and just one piece still missing connecting to the drop, right?

^ I totally didn't mind, as I know it goes to support the zoo. (and we knew that by parking in the zoo lot, we could stay there to visit the Museum too). the info guy at the airport circled tons of free street parking within the park as well, so it's nice to have that option. but since if we had parked on the street, we would have missed seeing all those sculptures around the South Lot/Bridge area (not to mention ability to get a pic of the concrete "zoo" sign?). . . yeah, didn't mind. especially since the zoo is free! Free admission? don't get THAT in many other places!

I did! and except for one big turn (where the lateral just *slammed* me), it made for a mostly enjoyable ride. Glad I rode it, but didn't feel the calling to get back in line. I did only ride it once tho - focusing my re-rides on things I liked better: American Thunder, Screaming Eagle, Superman, Skyscreamer, and Supergirl got multiple rides from me on Sunday. I would have ridden Freeze a bunch of times, but the 1 train slow operations (even with Flash pass) was 1 and move on for us. (I seriously didn't want to keep Nick/Kim sitting waiting, as even with Flash Pass, my 1 ride took over 20 minutes of waiting).

bulldoze it and turn it into a Monster Truck park!

I didn't get a pic of it, but I do believe there was a mural on the wall of the longer tunnel too. but not just because it beats walking! it's a TRAIN RIDE man!

^ but I don't do waterparks. . . LOL. . . even tho been to CP twice, still haven't been in theirs (and when I was at Coastermania in June 2017, Bill and I dipped our feet in the lake, and it was freaking COLD). . .so I dunno! I mean, we didn't even go on Tsunami Soaker with you on Sunday. . . so maybe me trip weather mojo doesn't work on waterparks, since the universe knows I don't like them

^ that would explain the "woo-ing" in the tunnels

thanks! as noted to TBPony above, the zoo really is so good, that I totally want to go back to spend another full day, and really go thru the River's Edge Section, as well as spend a bunch of time in the Children's zoo area. we avoided spending much time in there during our visit because there were just so many kids there. don't get me wrong, I'm *thrilled* to see so many kids at a zoo (or a museum). . . it's great that they are experiencing these places. . . . LOL, but I don't wanna be in the Children's zoo area when it's so packed. ya know?

Okapi! that's right. . .LOL.. now that you said it, I remember. even with the no-traditional-music, the Carousel quickly made it into my top 3. It's just so lovely, I have probably a dozen more pics of it that I didn't post! yeah, it's a huge, and really good zoo - with lots of semi-rare & rare animals. and it's FREE ! you could spend the whole day there and not ride the Carousel or Train (tho really, why would you do THAT), and not spend a penny other than parking - and there is free street parking by the Museum, so you could park there and walk over to the zoo. but since the parking costs support the zoo, i didn't mind at all but I loved the zoo so much, I really DO want to go back for a weekend next year just to do the zoo again, and six flags.

zoo pics continued: We've arrived for the Sea Lion show - yes, they do "tricks" but there is a lot of education mixed in as well, so really appreciated that. it looks a bit empty, but it would fill in as the show got ready to start. see? more people! and the sea lions get pretty close to the crowd. at one point, the trainer gives the sea lion a frisbee in the water, and it flings it into the crowd (and these people almost killed each other trying to snag it for one of their children. . . I dunno, I just imagine after a couple of hours (and in a hot car), that ain't gonna smell too great, since it comes out of the water - not to mention a sea lion's mouth. I'd recommend stopping in to see this if you are at the zoo. they are loud too. . and funny. Yes, I realize it's training, but still pretty impressive to watch. after the show, you can hang around and take a picture with the sea lions. (not sure if they charge for them,but assume if you get the professional photog they do, since they had that set up for petting the stingrays). We actually intended to stay, but then forgot, and when we noticed they were out for pics with the audience, we were already up the hill behind the show stadium (the area IS called "Historic Hill") headed toward the Herpetarium for the snakes, and I wasn't about to ask Nick to go back down the hill just to get a pic closer to the sea lions. . since I had already taken a bunch during the show. Giant tortoises! they were moving. Slooooooowly. . but moving this guy was just pretending to be a rock tho. probably hoping someone would come along and step on him so he could bite em! ssssssssssssssssss It was humid in here (of course), and there were TONS of school groups (or maybe daycamp groups) as it was Friday late morning already. .but the amount of unique reptiles in here made it well worth going into the building. same true of the monkey house next door too. . which not only was humid and crowded, but had that distinct monkey odor. still worth going in tho. I felt like doing what these dudes wee doing - just climbing on top of someone and taking a quick nap. but I was still pretty perky. just chillin on a rock, by a cactus. you can really tell this is an historic zoo, just from the impressive architecture and reliefs all over the place. this is inside the Herpetarium this snake is horny ! and this guy was attracted to the lights coming from above. he was striking at the lamp covering . the zoo really is so lovely, you forget you're in the middle of a city. (and actually, it's not just the zoo that's this nice - the whole park is beautiful). in the monkey house, looking at lemurs. um. . it depends on what angle you are standing at when you first see this statue outside the monkeyhouse. . but um. . .yeah, made us do a double take. LOL they are building a new play area to be more interactive with the monkeys, and honestly, I had such a great time at this zoo? I'm more than willing to come back next year for a weekend visit JUST to go to the zoo and Six Flags. we shall see. Zebras (in the Red Rocks section of the zoo) and beautiful giraffes Don't remember what this guy is -- but it looks like a zebra got busy with a Giraffe! Nick was starting to fade, so he sat on a bench outside the "Worlds Fair 1904 Flight Cage" while I took a look at the birds absolutely LOVED the mosaic on the outside of this "flight Cage" attraction. the pictures really do not do it justice. This mosaic was incredible. the "Jungle of the Apes" Gorilla enclosure in "the Wild" section of the zoo 3 different big guys, just hanging out enjoying the sunny day and then it was back to the Carousel for another ride. Nick's legs were starting to give him trouble (we really should have gone back for his cane early in the day . . but he did well, just needed to rest a lot). . so he rode "bench", while I rode. . . . the PUFFIN! hehehe I was so proud that I fit on it We headed towards the North Zoo Entrance, as I still planned to go to the Art Museum, but hit all the animal exhibits along the way, including the polar bear. who was hanging out in the pool, since he's no fool, and the sun had come out to warm up the afternoon. so tho Nick's legs were acting up, I convinced him to come with me thru the Penguin & Puffin coast exhibit. no ice in there, as SeaWorld Orlando has (the trainer I chatted with inside told me it was due to SWO having Emperor Penguins, so they need to keep it colder), but it was nice and chilly in the exhibit, and we spent a good 15 minutes enjoying watching the penguins (and talking to the trainer there). She had to keep stopping our conversation to scold people who were reaching over the "do not put your hands in the water" sign, to dip their hands into the water (to see how cold it is, I guess). sheesh. . I hate people sometimes. Penguins! just hanging out on rocks. and on the edge of rocks Puffins too! and then we went next door to the Grizzly Ridge area, where the two bears were having an absolute ball - playing with toys, and jumping in and out of the waterfall. the space is designed really, really well. . so folks visiting can get some great views of the bears from multiple angles. oh, and they have a big bear statue out front. . so of COURSE I had to get a pic with it. doesn't help me to *not* want a pic, when the statue seems to be saying "guuuuurl" playing in the water this pic is actually out of order a little bit, as this is from when we came back from the Museum, and took the train around from the North Entrance to our car at the South Entrance. but it's a zoo pic, so put it in this batch. we're in the queue line waiting for our chance to board.. at this point they had multiple trains on the track, and the queue line was pretty long. the line was long enough that we went a little past the Train Station, down to the Stingrays at Caribbean Cove to touch them and the small sharks before doubling back to the Train station to head to the hotel. but that was not until after 3:30. . . for now, after the Bears? we were gonna head out the North Gate, and attempt the St. Louis Museum of Art.