St. Louis, Missouri is a fantastic vacation destination. We took a road trip to St. Louis, as well as Quincy, Illinois, to attend the wedding of my husband’s cousin William to his bride Jennifer.
On Tuesday morning after camping over the long Labor Day weekend, we packed up the car and headed west toward St. Louis, Missouri. We drove from Interstate 76 West to Interstate 71 South to Interstate 70 West through Columbus, Indianapolis and into St. Louis. The drive took about 8 hours and we arrived at our hotel in Edwardsville, Illinois just outside St. Louis.
Almost everything is free in St. Louis. On Wednesday morning we left early for a big day of attractions in St. Louis. First, we went to the Budweiser Beer Tour.
We had a great time learning about the history and process of making beer. We saw the Clydesdales and where they stay. We got to try selections of beers and other beverages not sold in stores. The free tour was a lot of fun. After the beer tour we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden
($8/pp)- I had a blast, my husband dragged his feet the whole time. If you are the kind of person that enjoys garden after beautiful garden with themes like Japanese Water Garden, Buddhist Temple Garden, Classic Rose Garden, English Garden..... etc, etc, you are the type of person that would love the Missouri Botanical Garden. If you don’t care to see a lot of plants, it is not for you. I personally enjoyed the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog ($3/pp) quite a bit. It features art and exhibits that focus on dogs of the AKC. As a dog lover, I enjoyed everything I saw. We finished our day at the Laumeier Sculpture Garden, which displays many modern art sculptures in a garden setting that spans acres which is free for all. There are some very interesting pieces in the sculpture garden and I suspect I had a much better time than my husband did.
On Thursday we had more free fun. We visited the St. Louis Zoo, which is free. Our favorite exhibits were the penguins and the giraffes, both of which felt like we could reach out and pet the animals if we wanted. 
We had a wonderful time. Next we visited the St. Louis Art Museum, which is also free. The St. Louis Science Center is free, as well. All of these places are situated around Forest Park, the biggest park in St. Louis. Once the location of the World’s Fair, there is plenty to fill a whole days worth of sightseeing! There is free on-the-street parking around the zoo so look for a spot before paying to park in the lot. We had a picnic lunch in Forest Park near the Boathouse, then drove past the Jewel Box on our way from the Art Museum to the Science Center and Planetarium.We enjoyed our best meal at Schlafly’s Brewery in St. Louis. My husband enjoyed the local selection of beers. The choices on the menu utilized local ingredients and both our choices were good ones.
On Friday, we drove from St. Louis to Quincy, Illinois where the wedding was taking place. Quincy is a lively river town with a few sights. We enjoyed the sunset over the bridges that cross the River, the rehearsal dinner held at a local pub and the small-town feel of Quincy. William and Jennifer got married on the banks of the Mississippi River with a beautiful ceremony. We enjoyed spending time with family at the lovely reception. On Sunday, we headed back home. The drive back took about 10 hours.We had a great time on our St. Louis vacation. We were able to do the entire vacation spending next to nothing- we converted frequent traveler points into free hotel rooms, saved restaurant gift cards and used them while on the trip and bought gas with a free gas card we earned through Speedy Rewards. AAA offered discounts on admission to the Botanical Garden an almost everything else was free. We had a great budget vacation!
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