Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Riverboat Cruises, Downtown St. Louis

 Photo credit: Sign Industry.com

Location: 50 S. Lenore K. Sullivan Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63102

Website: http://www.gatewayarch.com/experience/riverboat-cruises.aspx

There are 2 riverboats cruising down the Mississippi at the Riverfront. The Tom Sawyer and the Becky Thatcher. You have 2 choices of cruises to choose from- the one hour sightseeing cruise (adults $20, kids $10), or the 2 hour dinner cruise (adults $48, kids $20).

There are 2 levels and they serve food on both levels. The restrooms are only on the first floor. They are old and small. There is a 3rd level that is completely outside and the breeze and views are fantastic. There are lots of chairs so you can sit and watch the world go by. 






This is the dock where you wait until it's time to board. They have restrooms here, a gift shop, food, lots of places to sit and relax, and photo ops. You can walk up and buy tickets here or buy them online in advance. They also sell tickets here for the arch, which is about a 10 minute walk away.






 The Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher docked next to each other. 


They had jazzy music piped in, it was air conditioned, and the servers were very helpful. I highly recommend this for a fun family activity!


Monday, June 19, 2017

Ramona Lake Park, Berkeley



Location: 8940 Ramona Lake Drive, Berkeley, MO 63134

Website: http://www.cityofberkeley.us/topic/index.php?topicid=40&structureid=18

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This is an older playground but it still has life left in it. There are 2 playstructures, one for big kids and one for littles.




The smaller structure had slides, a bridge, a steering wheel, and bars and poles.





The larger one had basically the same things but more of them plus maze boards. 




The pavilion was next to the playground but it was small with no tables or chairs, which was strange.



I think one of these buildings had restrooms but honestly I didn't check. They were kind of far away too.


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Reed Park, St. John



Location: 3602 Edmundson Rd, St. John, MO 63114

Website: http://www.cityofstjohn.org/index.php/city-parks.html

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

Located on the west side of the City at the intersections of Edmundson Road and North Avenue, Reed Park is a small "pocket park" that was created when a resident donated two house lots to the City. The park has a playground with rubberized safety surfacing, and has a high fence surrounding it. It's a perfect place for parents to bring small children and let them burn off some energy.

This park is small but completely enclosed with a gate so it would be great for toddlers.  There's no signage but it's not hard to spot. Also keep in mind there are no restrooms.


 There is one play structure and some swings. 



 The play structure has 2 slides, and some bars and poles.


Plenty of parking on the street but no dedicated parking lot.

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Blackfoot Park, Florissant



Location: Canisius Ln and Gonzaga Ln, Florissant, MO 63031

Website: http://www.florissantmo.com/egov/apps/locations/facilities.egov?view=detail&id=13

Playground Ground Cover:  Dirt

This is a small pocket park. Very very small. It's just a big field and the only thing here is a slide and some bars. There is a picnic table and a bench also. That's it!




 That's my car, you drive in and then the road just stops lol. No parking or restrooms. 





 Lots of sidewalks in between the houses to get here. 


Florissant needs to update their website, because it says there is a lighted tennis court here. There clearly is not, I was just there yesterday and there's nothing here but grass so I looked at an online map. Sure enough there used to be one here. Guess it was old so they took it out. 


Friday, June 16, 2017

Loretto Manor Park, Florissant




Location: 1605 Patterson Rd, Florissant, MO 63031

Website: http://www.florissantmo.com/egov/apps/locations/facilities.egov?view=detail&id=23

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a strange park. It's long and skinny, along a major busy street with no parking or restrooms, and the equipment is really spread out. There's also some big electrical towers here as well. Overall just a strange place for kids to play. Because of that I would only recommend school aged kids to play here. St. Ferdinand Park is just a couple blocks away and they have 4 playgrounds, I would just go there!



 A lone slide



 Tiny play structure with 2 slides, a steering wheel, and some poles.


 2 sling swings and 2 baby swings. 






Monday, June 12, 2017

Trojan Park, Wellston



Location: 6154 Etzel Ave, St. Louis, MO 63133

Website: https://greatriversgreenway.org/trojan-park-st-vincent-greenway-now-open-wellston-community-explore-enjoy/

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This playground and splashpad is a wonderful addition to this area. Trojan Park is the result of a community engagement process that focused on desired amenities. The completed park features a modern playground, full-size basketball and volleyball courts, splash pad, a family picnic area, and extensive shade structures. There is also a full repertoire of outdoor adult fitness equipment.






They have musical instruments, slides, tons of cool climbers, I mean this place has everything. There are at least 6 structures with lots of different things on them to do. And there are lots of tables and benches with shade covers over them. I didn't see any restrooms though. Shame!






These last 3 photos are overheads from the architects website. I didn't see the splash pad running when I was there, not sure if it has certain hours or was just inactive or what.