Lawton in the Lou

 

Lawton in the Lou

We were thrilled to know that our daughter was planning to visit us with her toddler in tow. Six days in Saint Louis 6/28/2021-7/3/2021.I love the fact that Lindsey makes the effort to stay connected and it is wonderful to witness her maternal finesse. Her boy, Lawton, is a bright young man with a high-motor. So, mom wants to deliver a wall-to-wall kid-friendly healthy and educational programming. The result is something of a Staycation for Papa and Grandma Morgan. (Lawton turns 5 on July 5 so the timing of this hiatus calls for extra special celebration.)

June 28 – Monday Airport pick up 7:30 a.m. International House of Pancakes just off  Brentwood. Check-in at Le Meridien in Clayton on Bonhomme. Heading downtown for a trip to the top of the Gateway Arch. My strategy was to park adjacent to City Garden, but in the pouring rain and with various construction projects in progress we didn’t check out any sculpture. We managed to arrive for our scheduled ride to the top. “This is amazing!” was Lawton’s thrilled response at the top of the Gateway Arch. He also loved every bit of the museum exhibits at the Arch. We got a good laugh at my parking ticket since I had no idea that I was parked in a bicycle lane. (25 Bucks!)

June 29 – Tuesday morning pick up at the hotel. Coffee at Kaldi’s on Skinker. Parking at Union Station downtown (Again, my strategy was flawed because I thought I could feed quarters to the meter to exceed the 2-hour time limit. I ended up moving the car and making several walks to the car parked on the street.) Our pre-paid combo tickets for the Saint Louis Aquarium and the Wheel said 9:00 a.m. but the wheel didn't open until after 10 a.m. Lawton loves sea creatures: Stingrays, Sharks, Sea Otters with a few frogs, reptiles and snakes thrown in so the Aquarium is a win. The Wheel gives us a leisurely view of the skyline and Market Street. The carousel is too fun to pass up. Lunch includes a crazy indulgent milkshake, burger and fries. We still needed to check out the kids obstacle course and the house of mirrors and mini golf.

June 30 – Wednesday Cardinals' Baseball Game. Pick up at the hotel in Grandma’s car. (This time we have a more sensible parking strategy to use the garage on 7^th Street). Saint Louis Cardinals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at 12:15. Our starting pitcher K. Kim stayed in the game long enough to help himself win with a hit and 2 runs batted in. Seven to four final score. (We used five ptchers to do so.) We are winners. ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim won for the first time in 11 starts, pitching five solid innings and helping himself with a two-run double as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 Wednesday for a three-game sweep.

July 1 - Thursday. Pick up at hotel early to get to the Pancake House in Clayton and head downtown for the a-MAZE-ing City Museum. Responsible adults are trying hard to reduce the risks and keeping track of tunnels, slides and creative structures not especially friendly for fat kids and grandpas. Lawton is fearless and Mom and Papa (Grandpa) just hope Lawton doesn’t get stuck in a rebar tunnel on his way to the cockpit of one of the two airplanes hanging in mid-air. It’s officially Summer so it seems reasonable to hit Ted Drewes on Chippewa for a frozen concrete afterward. Lawton thinks it’s pretty cool that the parking lot has license plates from Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Iowa and Florida.

July 2 – Friday. Pick up at Hotel (now at the Courtyard by Marriot in Creve Coeur) and head to the Saint Louis Zoo. 90 acres of attractions, distractions, Animals Always, not to mention another carousel, a train, and a dinosaur exhibit (DinoROARus). Lawton turns five in just three days so before they leave town we celebrate with dinner at the Hacienda Restaraunt in Rock Hill topped off with a cookie cake from Colleen's courtesy Grandma.

July 3 – Lindsey and Lawton have a flight on Southwest at 5:45 which leaves plenty of time for play at the Millennium Park – swing-set, teeter totter, slides, splash pad, and a visit from the ice cream man (truck). Lawton is thrilled with a red-white-blue pop in honor of America’s birthday (not to mention his own).