St. Louis Day 5

We arrived a little earlier into St.  Louis than planned and the friend we had planned to meet had to cancel due to sick children. We needed to come up with a new plan.  Following the visit to the St. Louis Arch, we made the decision to visit the St. Louis Zoo. The park is advertised as free, but I feel this is a misrepresentation.  Yes, the park is free to get into initially, but then little fees are tacked on to see the sea lion show, visit the children's zoo, pet the stingrays, ride the train, and so on. You will also be charged 15 dollars to park your car.  I would also suggest going to the zoo if you visit early in the morning as many of the animals were hiding due to the late afternoon and summer heat. I probably would not visit this zoo again; however, it did give us something to do and there are some animals that you can see for free. 

On the other hand, though located near the zoo is a conservatory called the Jewell Box which cost only a dollar to see.  It is so lovely!  I should mention that the children had a wonderful time at the Arch in St. Louis.  The visitor center is run by the National Park Service and is free except to ride the elevator to the top of the Arch.  We skipped going up in the Arch since I had already done that with the older boys when they were little.  You can purchase your tickets online to skip the wait in line though had we wanted to go up the line wasn't too bad. 

The Zoo

The Jewell Box