Staycation 2009 - Day 2

Our 2nd day of Staycation was also St. Patrick's Day. The weather was gorgeous, which was ideal since we had planned a day at the Zoo. Our goal was to get to the zoo by 10am, so we could take advantage of the free Children's Zoo admission. Little did we know that we would be sitting in bumper to bumper traffic within Forest Park. We made it to the zoo past 10, but decided to ante up and pay for the Children's Zoo admission. Unfortunately many of the exhibits were closed or the activities were too old for Mia, so we didn't spend much time there.






Probably Mia's favorite thing at the zoo was the carousel. This was Mia's first time on a carousel, so we weren't sure what to expect. Before the ride started, she couldn't decide on which one she wanted to ride on. But then we heard the bell and we were off. Mia's face was pure joy as we went round & round and up & down. Jake was watching us so he could take pictures and we waved to him as we passed by each time.



After the zoo, we had planned to eat lunch at the Boathouse since the weather was beautiful. Traffic was still crazy in the park, so we actually couldn't make it into the parking lot. We decided to go to Schlafly Bottleworks since they have a large outdoor seating area. After 45 minutes in traffic due to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dogtown, we finally made it to the restaurant, only to find that the patio didn't open until April 1. Oh well - we were starving and it was late so we ate inside anyway.

Since Mia had slept on our drive to the restaurant, we went straight to Tilles Park after lunch. This park has an awesome children's area. Mia had a blast running around and going down all the different slides. Plus, since most kids were probably napping at 2:30, the park was nearly empty. After Mia had her fill (or more like Mom and Dad needed a break), we put a blanket on the ground and had a "picnic". Mia loved walking around in the grass barefoot! As we were lying on our blanket, Jake and I took a moment to appreciate how lucky we are and how much we enjoy spending time together as a family. Staycation is the best!






Apparently, the diaper change game can be played anywhere!