Top Five Destinations of St. Louis

St. Louis is the closest big city to my hometown where I grew up. I remember taking many a trip up to the city for various reasons, mostly around going to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. Cardinals baseball is truly a religion in most areas around St. Louis. I remember trips to the barber and talking baseball from when I was a kid. One of my barbers actually won 2nd place in a contest to guess when Lou Brock would hit his 3,000th hit. The prize, one of the things that every fan would love, was a dinner with Brock. I couldn?t have told you much of anything about the Cardinals at that time, but I still remember being impressed with the win. (Maybe because it also had to do with some incredible odds on the math to get close to figuring out an exact time of a hit. I think today it impresses me because that is some very cool marketing.)

However, as much as I visited the city growing up, my visits were confined to pretty much Busch Stadium and an occasional area mall. After living in the city for a while and going back many times to visit friends, I have found a few more things that I long to do. Of course, with the first thing on my list, some things never change.

Go to a St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium

Going to a?Cardinals game is still the thing that excites me most about a summer trip to St. Louis. It doesn?t matter what team they?re playing (though it is always better if it?s the Cubs) just hanging out in a sea of people that loves the Cardinals is a great time. If you?re not a fan, you?ll enjoy talking to the fans around you. If you?re a Cubs fan, the real fans won?t bother you, much. (But, if you get obnoxious, they will pull the Bartman card on you.)

The gorgeous Forest Park

Eat a concrete at Ted Drewes

My personal concrete concoction is the Raspberry/Banana when I go to?Ted Drewes. However, they have a long menu of established flavor combinations if you don?t feel comfortable going out on your own. The Terramizzou and Fox Treat sound particularly delicious.

Explore The Loop and have a burger at Blueberry Hill

Two places in my mind evoke a near perfect place for a burger and one of them is Blueberry Hill in The Loop in St. Louis. I?ve eaten quite a few burgers there, sometimes after playing pool at Fitz?s, sometimes after seeing a movie at The Tivoli, sometimes after browsing all the music at?Vintage Vinyl and sometimes just before?catching a show in the Blueberry Hill basement.

Relax in Forest Park

You can play golf, go to the Missouri History Museum or the? St. Louis Art Museum, go to the St. Louis Science Center, go to the?St. Louis Zoo or just go on a nice 6-mile jog on the loop around the whole park and run by it all. If you go on a nice spring day, the people watching while you jog is the best in the city.

Visit the Gateway Memorial Arch

There are many neighborhoods beyond The Loop, like?Soulard, the Central West End and?Westport that have their pluses, but if it?s your first time in St. Louis, you have to visit the?Gateway Memorial Arch. Going up in it is one of those once in a lifetime experiences, not recommended if you have a fear of elevators, enclosed spaces or heights. Then, once you?ve experienced all that you want about this once frontier to the West, head over to?the Landing where you can enjoy one of the more rowdy party areas of the city.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.