Entirely Emily: Things I love about Saint Louis

Showing posts with label Things I love about Saint Louis. Show all posts

Monday, September 24, 2012

Eckert's Apple Orchard- Things I love about Saint Louis

(This is the 8th post in my "Things I love about Saint Louis" series. Click here to read more)

When I was younger my parents would take us apple picking over the Mississippi in Illinois to Eckert's apple orchard. It is about a 30 minutes drive for us to the Millstadt location. ( they have three locations) Back in the day, we would get there stand in a line where a tractor would pick us up and take us on a ride to pick the apples. We'd pick the apples,come back pay for them, and leave. Pretty simple and alot of fun. We would eat the apples out in the orchard until we couldn't walk anymore.

This is the only building I remember from my youth. It looked just like this 25 years ago

When J and I had kids, i knew I would take them there as well. It's so much more than just a tractor ride now. It's all about having a family day out there. It is $10 per person for anyone over 2. Sometimes you can find coupons online so always check first. I did and found one on their website. There are even deals for weekdays and after school stuff. When you walk in, there is so much to see and do.

There is a rocket ride...

a mini tractor train ride....

pony rides...

piggy races at Billy's Bob ( he was hysterical. So worth the wait!)....

The girl's were assigned a pig and he won! Go Green!

tire swings and tires...

...bird feeding, a maze, a magic act, camel rides, the golder goat bridge ( ha)....

a mini petting zoo...

and so much more. The food here was great and not any more expensive than the zoo or other tourist attractions. Super yummy pulled pork sandwich!

They grow apples, pumpkins and Christmas trees here. They have a booming business from august through December.

After all of that fun, we boarded the tractor to pick apples. They have many varieties that they grow but this particular day they were letting us pick the Jonathan, Red Delicious and the Golden Delicious. When I asked them which would be the best to make a pie or dessert, the woman that gave us our bags said , Jonathon. So that's what I went for.

The girls were amazed that we could pick the apples off the tress and just eat them. Although i had to keep telling S that we don't pick the ones on the ground since we didn't' know how rotten they were. The trees were so laden with fruit it was unreal. They said the very warm summer we had caused all of the apples to come in earlier than usual.

Don't worry ...she wasn't eating them off the ground. Just adjusting her bag.

Someone else getting a bite.

The nice tractor driver took our pic. Not too shabby.

We filled all of our bags and bellies and headed back in. All in all, we picked 10 lbs of apples and they were $1.99 a lb to buy. But it's well worth it knowing where they came from.

As we were leaving , we noticed that they were firing off pumpkins in the pumpkin chucker. It shot those suckers hundreds of feet in the air. I couldn't get a good shot but a photo would not have done it justice. A video would have been better.

I hope that they enjoy doing this for a long time to come because I enjoy taking them there and seeing how much fun they have. And I get to eat and buy apples that are fresh. Wait until I show you what i made with them....mmm...mmmm!

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
DIY Shop -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday
How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
- Junk in Their Trunk - Southern Lovely -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life - The Shabby Cottage
The Taylor House- House of Hepworths
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer

Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty - My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Here Comes the Sun

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff
Cheerios and Lattes
Natasha in Oz -Say G'Day

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Things I love about Saint Louis: Missouri Botanical Garden

This is the 6th post in my Things I love about Saint Louis Series. Check them out!

( This is a very picture heavy post. I can't help myself. I took 120 pictures. Consider yourselves lucky)

We are lucky enough here in Saint Louis to have so many amazing things to do, see, visit and eat. One of those is the Missouri Botanical Garden. It is a beautiful acre Garden and research center that you can walk through.

When J and I got engaged we knew we wanted an outdoor wedding since we felt closer to God out in nature than any other place we could think of. But we weren't crazy, we needed a backup area in case it rained. We had been to the Botanical Garden before and heard there were a few areas to get married. So we checked it out and decided on the Japanese Garden by the Lake and backup area in the auditorium.

The Missouri Botanical Garden is 79 beautiful acres in Saint Louis City that once belonged to a man named Henry Shaw. There is a Chinese Garden, the Climatron(big dome thing that is pretty warm and mimickes the rain forest), the Japanese Garden., the Children's Garden...there is a lot to see. It is pretty much like walking into the prettiest park you have ever seen. It is $8 for adults and kids 12 and under are free. Of course you can become a member and get discounts and free tickets to things. And if you are a Saint Louis City or County Residents and go before noon Wednesdays and Saturdays, you get in free. Not too bad.

We normally can spend about 2 hours there walking around, letting the kids play, and taking pictures. This weekend we got to see the Lantern Festival. Of course we went during the day, not at night. I heard it was even better then (and it was pretty pricey) but I wanted to take pictures of the plants.

There were beautiful lanterns and sculpture all over the Garden. They were made from a satin material and flexible steel rods as the skeleton. So colorful and intricate even in the sun.

They had two dragons made out of china plates,cups, saucers and other plate ware.

See... plates, cups, saucers. Pretty amazing stuff.

The flowers, trees, and plants here were just beautiful. You can't even tell we've had a drought in this area.

There are two things that K looks forward to when we come here...the sheep sculpture to sit on...

And the Children's Garden. There is a slide, cave, play store, jail, rope bridge, and other fun outside kids things to explore.

They also have some awesome sculptures there. And I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for a a sculpture. They are beautiful works of art and from a photography stand point, they are great models because they don't move :)

And she's my favorite...isn't she beautiful. I want her in my backyard so bad.

When my hubby and I got married here 6 years ago(ahh, the wedded bliss of it all) There was an exhibit by Dale Chihuly. He makes gorgeous works of art out of glass in different forms. Here are two images from our wedding album to show what was there. Our photographer took these..not me.

They were able to purchase some of his work that is still there in the main building and a few around the garden.

They have a few big events here every year like the Whittaker Jazz festival, Japanese festival coming up during the Labor Day weekend and the Best of Missouri Market in October. They are crowded so get there as early as you can. And there is an additional charge because it is a special event. We really enjoy this place so much so that we signed up for a membership this year to enjoy more of what the Garden has to offer.

Monday
What is the Gunny Sack -Making the world Cuter -Debbie Doo -DIY Show Off
DIY Shop - Lines Across My Face -I should be mopping the Floor
Great Fun 4 Kids

Tuesday
How to Nest For Less - Tip Junkie - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia -The Kurtz Corner
Sugar Bee - Romance On A Dime - Debbie Does Creations - Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
The Winthrop Chronicles

Wednesday
Thrifty Home - Someday Crafts - Sew Much Ado
- Junk in Their Trunk - Southern Lovely -SNAP

Thursday
Beyond the Picket Fence - Somewhat Simple - Live Laugh Rowe
Loving this Crazy Life - The Shabby Cottage
The Taylor House- House of Hepworths
Two In Diapers-Mommy Brain Mixer

Friday
Naptime Crafters - Stay At Home Nation
Young and Crafty - My Turn(ForUs)
Delicate Construction
Serenity Now
Here Comes the Sun

Saturday

Six Sister's Stuff

Cheerios and Lattes
Natasha in Oz -Say G'Day

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Things I love about Saint Louis: The Wabash and Pacific Railroad

(This is the fifth in the Things I love about Saint Louis series. Click here to find out what else I love about the STL)

After we had kids and our kids started to like trains( like at the zoo), our friend Brian introduced us to the Wabash and Pacific Railroad. It is a amazing little passenger, larger- than- life-scaled train that operates out of Wildwood , MO . Wildwood is about 45 minutes from downtown, 30 minutes from the suburbs where we live. There is a donation asked of $4 for everyone with kids 3 and younger being free. It's well worth how much fun the kids have.

J and girls headed to the train

It is nestled on an old train bed/tracks next to the Meramec river. It shares space with a paved/gravel hiking/biking trail which is part of the Meramec Greenway project. You will see lots of bicyclist, walkers, and hikers as you ride the train.

The train is about 3 foot tall and a little over 12" wide.(12 gauge... hey, I'm not a train person so it went right over my head the first time). It's basically wide enough for one adult and one kid to site next to each other. They have steam engines and electric. There's nothing like the steam blowing and the sound that it makes though.

Turning the engine around to attach to the train cars

The first train leaves out at 11:00am so we usually try to get there at 10:30 so we can be in line. This past visit we got there about 10:45 and by 11 the little waiting area was full and some folks were going to have to wait for the next one. I believe they have 3-4 locomotives but I only saw 2 or 3 lines of train cars to ride in.
On this visit, we went with our friends:Scott, Laura , HG, and DG from D.I.Y. Couple. Scott and J have been friends since high school. K loves HG and Scott. S , well, she doesn't really play with others yet. (maybe she's the quiet one)

K and HG waiting for the train

The crew

This beautiful little train operation is ran solely by volunteers who seem to really love what they do and are so nice to the kids. And it was so hot (triple digits)when we went that it makes what they do even more spectacular because they aren't being paid to endure that.

It's about a 2 mile ride(back and forth) through he woods, next to some bluffs and along the river until you get to the point where they have to stop and switch the engine from the front to the back of the train and then you just turn around in your seat and you are ready to go back. The ride and the turnaround took about an hour but it seems to vary every time we go. We even had to wait for a bit while the electric train passed us.

The kids had a blast and of course as soon as it was over wanted to ride again but we got them to leave with the promises of lunch and a playground. Since we had friends along, I got a good picture of the family and I don't look totally yuck in it. I definitely recommend this one for anyone, little or big.