Home of the Free and the Beer

I am not a beer drinker, but I want to make a little plug here for Anheuser-Busch, which is in the midst of a nasty takover bid by In-Bev, some nutty Belgian firm who's trying to buy them. Beyond the fact that I'm having trouble imagining all the clydesdales relocating to Brussells, there's the very big issue of all the great stuff A-B does in St. Louis, where we recently spent 5 days of vacation.

If you've never vacationed in St. Louis, you might not know that A-B generously supports all manner of nifty stuff there, like our favorite tradition, Grant's Farm, which is a zoo/animal park much beloved by kids and parents alike. And it's free. As in no cost at all. You do have to pay to park, but it's $10 per car -- we took 7 people in for $10. You can park a bus for $25. No matter how you average that out, it's a cheap date. But a very, very fun cheap date. And in case you're wondering, it's a small zoo, but classy. There are elephants and parrots and giant tortoises and capybaras and camels and eagles and llamas and other nifty stuff. And it's free. FREEEEEEEEE. When you're tired of looking at the animals or bottle feeding the baby goats, you can go to the beer garden and Mom and Dad can have 2 free beverages each, all of the alcoholic kind -- various beers and hard lemonade. Or you can buy frozen lemonade or dippin'dots or whatever turns your crank.

And all this is compliments of the good folks at Anheuser-Busch.

Here's some other great free stuff in St. Louis:

The St. Louis Zoo -- world class and totally free (pay to park)

The Science Center -- twice the size of our science center where we pay $8 to get in and this one is FREE.

The Arch Museum -- you have to pay to ride to the top of the arch, but the Westward Expansion Museum is free and very cool with hands-on demonstrations for kids throughout the day.

Costs Money but Worth It:

Missouri Botanical Center -- this is the former Shaw's Gardens and it's just lovely. Check out the cool victorian hedge maze and the Japanese bridge. Neat display garden for home gardeners and nice displays of daylilies.

Minor Rip offs:

The City Museum -- holy cow, is this an expensive attraction. $12 per person, regardless of age. $6 more if you want to see the aquarium. Usually very crowded and VERY loud. Lots of signs warning you to use the exhibits at your own risk. People do get injured. This is really designed for kids 10 and up.

The Busch Stadium Store -- skip this if you're looking for Cardinal gear. Try a Target, Kohl's, Penney's or Wal Mart instead and pay about 1/2 what you'd pay here. Or just go a few miles up the street to Union Station, a big mall with not much in it unless your hungry. However, they have 2 nice Cardinals stores, including one just for kids.

I can't think of a better place to take the family.