St. Louis

Fourth of July,
St. Louis Style

I’m a native of St. Louis. I know most people on the coasts consider it the “Fly Over Zone”, but I’m telling you you’re missing a lot by bypassing us. You want history? We’ve been around since well before the Revolution. Lewis and Clark, the Jesuit Black Robes, the largest woodhenge in the world at Cahokia Mounds, Dred Scott, General Sherman, Daniel Boone(who retired here with his family. You can still go to his house), Lindbergh, Charles Fremont, the 1904 World’s Fair(which gave us the hot dog and ice cream cones). Et cetera, et cetera….

You want sightseeing? Of course we have the Gateway Arch. But we also have have a world-class zoo, world class Botanical Gardens, world class museums of all kinds(including several just for kids).

Japanese Gardens in the
Missouri Botanical Gardens

You want sports? How ‘about our World Champion Cardinals, or the hockey Blues, or football Rams? You want music? Oh, baby, do we have music, every kind of music you want. Chuck Berry still plays at Blueberry Hill. Soulard neighborhood has the best jazz and blues in the midwest, along with my favorite, one of the world’s most famous Irish Music Pubs, John D. McGurks. And that doesn’t even take into account our Symphony, Opera Theater and summer outdoor Muny Theater. And if you enjoy architecture of any kind at all, you’ll find exquisite examples hereabouts, all the way back to extant French colonial houses from the early 1700s just south of us. We’re a city of music, of literature(Kate Chopin, Tennessee Williams, and TS Elliot among others–you can see their stars in the St. Louis Walk of Fame in University City), of sport, of neighborhoods, of great food. And I mean GREAT food. Best Italian west of the Mississippi.

If you’re interested in visiting St. Louis, let me know. I love recommending things here, for people of all kinds. We really are especially good with kids, though, with the Magic House science museum, the real Science Museum, Grant’s Farm(where the Budweiser Clydesdales live), sports, the zoo, City Museum–which I can’t even define, but is the most fun place in St. Louis. Stop by. I promise you’ll like it. The only caveat is that we do have all four seasons. Hot summers and cold winters. But spring and fall are unmatched anywhere. Just look at the picture from the Botanical Gardens.