Day 3: St. Louis Vacation – Animals and Low Key Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ours was a bit non-traditional, but it was a ton of fun. It was our day to visit the St. Louis Zoo, and we made sure we were there early so we could maximize our time. We ended up getting there before the park opened, and since they parking attendants weren’t set up yet, the woman let us park for free.

I hate to say it, but the visit started out with some disappointment. We’d wanted to see the penguins, but come to find out, the zoo is remodeling for a new polar bear display, and the penguins and puffins were not available for public viewing (they won’t be back on until 2015, in fact). We pressed on to the sea lions, figuring they’d make up for the lack of penguins. We got to see them through the window and at the surface of the water, but the underground viewing tunnels were closed. We also failed to see any chimps in either the indoor or outdoor viewing areas. No idea where those guys were hiding.

We finally met a gorilla who was sitting and munching on some food. At one point, he threw his big tray and ran to a different part of his enclosure. He was kind of a drama llama. But he was pretty cool and fun to watch.

After that, things picked up. Most of the other animals were out and active, and the other indoor viewing areas were open. We went into the bird, reptile, and primate houses, and saw some of the zoo’s big cat population.

This guy was my favorite! He only weighs 1.5 lbs and was adorable! If I was ever going to have a primate pet, it would be this guy.

Even though we’d rested yesterday in an attempt to pace ourselves, walking around the zoo and tackling the hills and stairs wore us out. We started out okay, but after about three hours, we were tired and sore. We knew lunch would help, but the cafe was super expensive. We ended up leaving without seeing two of the areas. However, since it’s free, we’re planning on going back tomorrow. One of the museums on our itinerary is right near the zoo, so we’ll hit both places in the morning.

Though we’d talked about going somewhere with a big turkey dinner, we re-routed and went to…wait for it…Steak ‘N’ Shake! It was so good too. I love their burgers. We even splurged and shared a peppermint milkshake for dessert. Since we were tired and full, we went back to the hotel room to chill. Jon napped and I chatted with family. Later, we took a walk to the convenience store for sandwiches for dinner.

I know it’s not the traditional big meal type of holiday one usually spends at Thanksgiving, but I loved it! It was definitely more our speed for a holiday. I’m spending the evening doing some reading and writing and watching Adventure Time because there’s a Cartoon Network marathon and I love AT. Tomorrow is museums and the zoo again and whatever else strikes our fancy.

Until then…welcome to the holidays!

A.