It’s that time of year again-time to book a much needed vacation in Saint Louis, Missouri. We absolutely love St. Louis and went twice a year from 2003 until 2008. We only went once last year and this will be our only trip there this year.

Why Saint Louis? Well, it is only about a four and half hour drive from home and our family of five can spend a long weekend there for a little over $500. That includes gas, hotel, food and attractions-everything. Every day is full of activities and we often have to skip something because I schedule too much. How can we do this and spend only $500 you ask? Many of the attractions in St. Louis are free. That’s right…FREE!

Some of the free attractions include:
Saint Louis Zoo
Grant’s Farm
Saint Louis Science Center
St. Louis Art Museum
Missouri History Museum
Turtle Park
The Gateway Arch Museum
The Old Courthouse
Cahokia Indian Mounds (20 mins from downtown, in Illinois)
Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour
Laumeier Outdoor Sculpture Park

There are so many more. That’s just a few that come to mind. I always make out our schedule beforehand. (Yes, I am a control freak. It helps me deal with being out of my element when I know where I am going to be at all times ahead of time.)

Anyway, we have stayed in the same hotel every time but once. We took our oldest dog when she was a puppy and the other hotel didn’t allow pets. (She won’t go back. It’s too bad on her nerves. Yep, my dog has a nervous condition. I hire a dog sitter now-one she is very familiar with.) I’m getting to the point of my ramblings any second now. Our regular hotel received some very serious complaints within the last month. We had some minor issues during our last day but it looks like it is only getting worse. I really don’t think I will be booking there this time. My problem is that it was much cheaper because it was outside of town. It wasn’t too far out but it wasn’t near the airport either. Being nine miles out of town, it’s half the price of other hotels. There are hotels with similar prices but they are near the airport. The airport is farther out and I can’t deal with the noise and the traffic. (Just thinking about it makes me want to take a Xanax.)

So, now I must begin to look for a hotel with a similar price within a certain area…and away from the airport. Ugh. Wish me luck.

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