On the Go

This morning we all got up at 5:30 AM, had breakfast and then headed out for our maiden bike journey on the Katy Trail. "The Katy Trail is a 225 mile (365 km) bike path stretching across most of the state of Missouri. Over half of it follows Lewis and Clark's path up the Missouri River, where you can ride beneath towering river bluffs while eagles circle overhead. After leaving the river, the trail meanders through peaceful farmland and small-town Americana.

America's longest "rails-to-trail" project, formerly the MKT rail line, is flat and scenic. It's ideal for hiking, running, or cycling on just about any kind of bike. "

We have walked the trail before - but this was to be our first time via bicycles. We rode from Frontier Park in St. Charles over to the Page extension bridge and 1/2 way across the bridge. The kids did great and the round trip took us about 1 1/2 hrs and was approximately 6 1/2 miles.

Right now the kids are too young to do the full Katy Trail (and the parents are not up to it either!) - but we hope to be able to do it in bits and pieces.

Being that we still felt pretty good after the bike ride, we decided to go for a walking tour of downtown St. Louis to look at some of the historical buildings.

A month ago I came across this site and showed it to my dh - Built St. Louis..."a site dedicated to the historic architecture of St. Louis, Missouri -- mourning the losses, celebrating the survivors." A great website if you are interested in architecture, dying cities or just St. Louis. Ever since reading the website - my dh has been hankering to do a downtown St. Louis walk. We packed up some water and snacks and the kids, put on our hats, girded up our loins, and headed downtown.
I've always loved the old brick buildings and houses in St. Louis - if only I could buy one of the houses and move it to another location!

It is sad to see cool old houses and buildings in various states of decay...but nonetheless we enjoyed our city tour.

Saturday Afternoon Stroll

This picture reminds me of the photos I would see in the old metal detecting magazines I would read - where some old codger was showing off his latest find...though his finds would probably include something more antiquated...but to two little kids this was an exciting find.

On Saturdays we sometimes like to go on a hike or an adventure. This afternoon the adventure was just a circuitous route to the library and then to a park we've never walked to before, and then to McDonalds and then "home again, home again, jiggety-jig." You know there's nothing like taking a big walk to make you feel better about eating at McDonalds. And nothing like a round of "Happy Meals" (610 calories) to cheer up four weary pedestrians.

It was too beautiful of a day to stay indoors - we left around 3:00 PM and got home around 5:30 PM (stop at library 10 min - stop at McD 1/2 hr) - the rest of the time was walking and exploring.

Here are the "treasures" the kids found. Amazingly Julia found 18 cents (at different places) and some glass "rocks" that she is happy with. Dh and I also found a penny each and I pointed out the Nerf gun bullet to the boy who happily nabbed it.

On the way home we saw a yard filled with Easter "decorations" - it looked very tacky. When dd noticed it, she quipped "Are those Easter decorations or was an act of vandalism committed in this area of the city?" She sometimes fancies herself a comedienne ...