Today I have a travel post to share with all of you, which feels SO good to share as things are slowly getting back to normal! Last weekend, City Museum and Drury Hotels put us up for a 3 night staycation in our own hometown of St. Louis. It was A LOT of fun and we got to try some new (to us) activities and restaurants. I’m going to start with City Museum first, since it is SUCH a unique museum that you will not find anywhere else!
City Museum is housed in the 10 story, 600,000 square-foot warehouse of the rustic International Shoe Company. City Museum is a mixture of children’s playground (but, it is definitely for teens and adults, too!), funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of found and repurposed objects. It is the brainchild of internationally-acclaimed artist Bob Cassilly, a classically trained sculptor.
When we first arrived to the City Museum, there was a sculptor named Paul outside working on a marble sculpture “From the Ashes”. You can buy pieces from it. He explained what his marble design meant to both of my kids and even let them climb up some stairs to peer down into his masterpiece.
I recommend visiting City Museum on a nice day, because there is a lot to do outside! We visited MonstroCity first, which you can access from the first floor. It is an outdoor sculpture of flotsam and repurposed technology including climbers, airplanes, castles, bridges, ball pits and fire engines.
What I love about City Museum is that I can let my teen and tween climb around everything and I can easily keep track of them from down below! Ha, ha! I’m not the best with heights, but there is something for everyone at City Museum. My favorite part is the slides and there is approximately 30 slides at the museum!
Something my kids have loved seeing since we first started coming to City Museum is the Puking Pig! This expansion tank for a boiler system in the Elder Manufacturing Company is now a steampunk pig that fills with water from the caves and pukes it into a cistern below. You have to be careful, because if you stand too close to it, you’ll get wet!!
Once we had explored for awhile, we had worked up quite an appetite! City Museum has somewhere to eat on each floor and PLENTY of safely spaced out areas for you to eat indoors. City Museum gave us a Family Pizza Deal at Samwiches, their main eatery. It included 4 drinks, 4 cookies and a two topping pizza. It was delicious! And, you can’t beat St. Louis style square cut pizza!
After we ate lunch, we decided to explore the City Museum rooftop!
There is a school bus on the top of the City Museum roof that hangs off a bit. Nathan was brave enough to climb all the way to the end that was hanging off and he sat in the driver’s seat.
There was a ferris wheel on top of the rooftop, too. This ferris wheel was left in the parking lot from a traveling circus and City Museum has put it to good use! We really enjoyed our time at the City Museum! Be sure to check them out this summer, you’ll never see anything like it!
During our staycation last weekend, we stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch. This was in a prime downtown location, with the arch BEHIND the hotel and Busch Stadium (Go St. Louis Cardinals!) within walking distance.
The lobby was really inviting and I got a photo of Nathan and Autumn by the waterfall/sculpture. It was really easy to check in and all of the hotel staff was so kind and they always said, “Hello!” when walking past you.
Once I arrived in the hotel room, I noticed I had some gift bags from City Museum, Central West End and a plant/home decor store off of Grand called The Garden District STL. It was such a kind gesture for them to leave us some small gifts, snacks and water.
Our room at Drury Hotel was cozy and the perfect place to relax for our staycation away. The hotel was really clean and they had safety precaution implemented to make our stay safe. There is also an indoor pool and hot tubs, which the kids enjoyed a couple of nights.
Right now Drury Hotel is offering guests savings for up to 15% on their stay with Vacation Savings by Drury Hotels.
Drury Hotel does not skimp on the extras! There is a 5:30 p.m. Kickback with wine, beer, cocktails and soda with warm appetizers and snacks. I tried their Tequila Sunrise cocktail and it was really good!
The view from our room did not disappoint! We had a view of the St. Louis Arch and Mississippi River. I loved waking up and seeing the sunrise and seeing the sunset in the evenings outside our room’s window.
Drury Hotel has a hot breakfast EACH morning and there is A LOT of choices. You will not be disappointed! They have a waffle making station and healthy options, too.
We decided to take a walk up to the St. Louis Arch since it was just steps away from our hotel. We had some unseasonably cool weather the first two days of our stay, but it had started to warm up in this photo (yet, it was a little windy as you can tell from Autumn’s hair!).
Other Activities During Our Staycation
We did a lot during our three night staycation. Union Station is a short drive away and we decided to ride the St. Louis Wheel.
The St. Louis wheel is an iconic new addition to the St. Louis skyline. It is operational every day of the year from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. All 42 gondolas are fully enclosed, climate-controlled and seat up to 8 riders each. Since it was a little cool out, we really enjoyed the warm enclosed gondola and with it being fully enclosed, it made us all feel a little less nervous about being SO high up (ok, maybe just me! ha!)!!
Here is the view of the St. Louis skyline from the top of the St. Louis Wheel.
Union Station in St. Louis has a lot of dining choices. We tried The Train Shed inside Union Station for the first time and it was a hit with the family! Whether you’re looking for a light bite or a dark beer, you’ll find it at The Train Shed! Plates range from shareable finger foods and pizzas to delicious burgers, sandwiches and entrees.
I tried their Arugula and Beet Salad, with pickled beet (SO delicious!), arugula, red onion, asparagus, candied pecan, feta with a lemon truffle vinaigrette.
The Train Shed has a huge variety of cocktails and I decided to go with a classic Champagne Cocktail. For my entree, I went with the Diver Scallops (scallops are my absolute fave!) with brown butter, lemon, toasted almond, potato hay and haricot verts. Everything was delicious and I know we’ll be back soon!
One of the days of our staycation, we tried two different places (a restaurant and a bar) in the Central West End. St. Louis’ Central West End, a bustling mixed-use district located on the eastern edge of the city’s ever-popular Forest Park, is incredibly walkable and offers visitors a variety of amenities and attractions to suit any taste. We had lunch at El Burro Loco, which is a Mexican restaurant with festive decor in lots of bright colors and a patio that deserve bragging rights.
I couldn’t believe how many different bottles of Tequila I saw in El Burro Loco’s bar when I walked into the restaurant.
For lunch I had the Shrimp a la diabla and a watermelon margarita (it was SO good and plenty strong!).
Then we visited Brennan’s in the Central West End for a couple of cocktails before dinner.
Brian had a High Noon Beer and I got a Blood and Sand cocktail. They were refreshing and the view from the patio was nice for people watching and unwinding after a busy day.
Our last meal of the staycation was at Steve’s Hotdogs, which I’ve been to before and these dogs ROCK. Founded by The Urge frontman (and local hero) Steve Ewing, Steve serves gourmet hot dogs, burgers, mac and cheese and more.
Steve’s Hotdogs has a #FeedThePeople campaign, which provides free meals to those who need them, no questions asked.
The decor in their Tower Grove restaurant is all Star Wars themed, which my husband loved!
I got the Chicago dog and mac and cheese and my husband got two of their gourmet dogs. The kids went simple with plain dogs, mac and cheese and beans. I’ve heard their hamburgers are good, too!
In our hotel room we had a gift bag from the Garden District STL, which is a plant and home decor shop off of Grand. They gifted me some loose tea and bags to put it in, a Gooey Butter lip balm, fun plant sticker, journal and a gold leaf lemon thyme lollipop.
Just a HUGE thank you to City Museum and Drury Hotel for this FABULOUS staycation with lots of food and activties over Memorial Day weekend! Our family had a wonderful time with lots of memories we’ll keep a lifetime. If you are looking for a staycation in the St. Louis area, be sure to check out and share this post with family/friends. If you’re close to St. Louis or even a bit away, there is definitely a little something for everyone here! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments as I’d love to help you plan your stay!
