Road Trip: St. Louis, MO

Our drive across Missouri was hot and sticky, but we pushed through knowing cool showers and air-conditioning awaited us at the home of Melissa and Jeff, friends who recently moved to the St. Louis area from Boston. Their two adorable and lively children, aged three and one, were excited to have new playmates, and Parker found a companion in Buffy the pug. He especially appreciated her full basket of chew toys, methodically taking each one out to play with until late that night. After an afternoon of singing, playing house, and getting my hair adorned in fancy clips, we all went out for some St. Louis BBQ. Unfortunately we left the camera at the house, which is why this post is so lite on images.

Thanks for the photo, Melissa! At least we have one!

Pappy's Smokehouse has been voted best BBQ in St. Louis for many years running, and it did not let us down. Jeff and I split and devoured a full rack of ribs, testing all three of the homemade sauces, and also enjoyed baked beans and sweet potato fries on the side. It was the perfect meal to cap off our string of peanut butter and jelly lunch days. From there we went for a stroll around “The Loop” neighborhood at Delmar Boulevard, a few blocks of hip shopping, eating, and entertainment. We found a place to park the double-wide stroller outside of Snarf's sandwich shop and refreshed ourselves with local Schlafly Summer Lager and Fitz's micro-brewed root beer.

After getting the low-down on the important baby-raising topics of diapers and strollers, Melissa led us on an excellent driving tour through Forest Park and around the zoo en route to our final destination, Ted Drewes in the Dutchtown district. Since 1929 this historic establishment has been serving frozen custard, the creamiest of ice-creams, and famous “Concretes," aptly named for their thickness. The long lines moved quickly and we were soon enjoying these blended treats sitting tailgate-style in the parking lot. With full bellies, we went back home to enjoy a blissful night of air-conditioning before the 95-degree haul into Kentucky the next day.