St. Louis Vacation Day 1

This past week we ventured into the extreme southern heat and vacationed in St. Louis!  We spent five days and four nights away, our longest trip with Aria!  Everything was an absolute blast except for the heat.  All but one of the days the temperature was between 105 and 110 with even higher heat indices.  I don't think we ever saw a temperature below 90, even in the early morning or late evening.  But, we didn't let it hinder our fun.  Our only outdoor activities were the zoo, a swimming pool, and a baseball game.  We got to the zoo a little before it opened at 8:00 and left when we got too hot about 1:00.  The swimming pool felt amazing and the baseball game was on the one day where the high only reached about 95 and we were in the shade. 

I was going to try to put our whole vacation in one post, but since this is my digital scrapbook for Aria to look back on someday, I figured I could highlight each day.  We left by 9:00 on Sunday morning and stopped at Tom Sawyer's Landing in Hannibal for lunch.  The food was pretty good, but the fun activities were a disappointment because of the heat and lack of updated information on their website.  The web told me they had an indoor soft play place for kids along with mini golf, bumper boats, and other rides outdoors.  I knew it would be hot, but I was looking forward to Aria burning some energy in the soft play place.  Well, it wasn't there.  But, Justin and Aria did brave one ride with an extra non-used diaper under Aria's bottom to shield the heat.

 And, we also enjoyed some indoor arcade games. 

The location of the place was also pretty cool, right next to the Mississippi River.  Aria loves rivers and enjoyed eating next to it!

When we arrived in St. Louis, we immediately had to swim in the hotel's pool.  It was an activity we repeated every day.  Then, we went to visit my former student, Madhana, who is going to school in St. Louis.  We went to an awesome place to enjoy some mini golf, bumper boats, go-karts, and bouncing in the milder evening heat (mid 90s). 

 I must say, Madhana has some mad photography skills because this is the best family picture we've taken in quite awhile! 

Aria was a fabulous golfer.  She usually hit the ball once or twice, not generally in the right direction, then picked up the ball, put it in the whole, and said, "I'm a winner!"  It might have been the cutest thing ever!  She was a little unsure of the bumper boats only because of a big fountain in the middle of the pond that she didn't want to get too close to.  But she did like using the squirt guns to squirt Madhana and I.  Aria didn't get to do the go-karts because we felt she just wasn't quite ready.  She was actually tall enough to go as a passenger, but it was a little too bumpy and fast for a 2-year-old. 

Overall, it was a really fun night!  It was fun to finally get to our vacation destination.  It was fun to reconnect with Madhana and see her university campus.  It was really fun to give Aria some first experiences like bumper boats and mini golf.  Some of my favorite vacation memories growing up come from places just like this one and I hope to do it many times again with Aria in the future!