Miss Kelly's Open Gym, Creve Coeur

Location: 12802 Olive Blvd, Creve Coeur, MO 63141 (in Bellerive Plaza)

Website: http://misskellysgym.com/index.html

There were one or two people working around the room helping kids on and off the balance beam and the bars. A few times they blew bubbles and the kids really enjoyed that. I don't know if it was because of spring break or what but it was packed when we went. They had one restroom in the gym area and one out in the hall.

Despite the fact that they didn't have some of my daughter's favorite equipment (trampoline and trapeze), she had a blast. They were really nice to my friend when she asked for a refund for her 11 month old. Under a year should be free but when she first came in they charged her $16 for her 2 kids. When the session was over she asked them about it and they refunded her $8. The staff was helpful and seemed to enjoy helping the kids.

This photo is older, check their website for current dates and times of open gym. It varies semester to semester.

 Rock wall

They had music playing and lots of balls out on the mats for the little ones

River Des Peres Park, St. Louis City

Location: 6701 River Des Peres Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63116

Website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/parks/parks/browse-parks/view-park.cfm?parkID=74&parkName=River

Playground Ground Cover: Poured Rubber

This playground has some nice features. Unfortunately, there's no signage and there's no parking. Also, the website says there are restrooms but I didn't see any. There is a building there that looks like it would house the restrooms but there are no signs and I didn't even see door knobs.

You can see here I just pulled into the tiny driveway off of River Des Peres. But my car is blocking the trail, which is pretty active. I saw lots of people running and riding their bikes and they had to go around my car. I didn't see any other area to park, which is a shame because this is a great playground. I even drove through the subdivision behind it to see if I could park there but all the houses had fenced-in backyards and it wouldn't be right to trespass to get to the playground. The city really needs to add parking so everyone can enjoy this playground!

All the landscaping is new, as well as the benches, trashcans, and sidewalks.

I've never seen this puzzle at a playground before. The kids worked on it for a long time.

The playground consists of just one big play structure and no swings. The structure has a very large spider web climber, several different slides, a rock wall, a bridge, a puzzle, steering wheels, a spinning circle, and lots of bars and poles. Everything has a nature theme of trees, leaves, frogs, and logs.

Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum, Cahokia IL

Location: 2300 Vector Dr, Cahokia, IL 62206

Website: http://www.airandspacemuseum.org/

We visited this museum on the way back from Eckerts. I'm glad we didn't go out of our way to visit because frankly it was a bit disappointing. I didn't really know what to expect, but I thought there would be more real airplanes. In actuality the museum is all indoors. It's just 2 rooms full of memorabilia. My kids are 5 and 3 and they just didn't enjoy looking at things in glass cases. I think this would be better suited for older kids. We saw a lot of historical artifacts which I found interesting, especially the Ozark Airlines area, because my stepmom was a flight attendant for them in the 70's. There is no entrance fee, but the man working did say I was free to leave a donation, which I was glad to do.

 This green and white plane used to belong to Howard Hughes.

Lewis Park, University City

Location: Bounded by Delmar Blvd. and Yale Ave., University City, MO 63130

Website: http://www.ucitymo.org/105/Parks

Playground Ground Cover: Wood Chips

This is a beautiful park. You can see it from Delmar but parking is a bit tricky. The street right before the park (Yale from the East) is gated, so you can't get in that way. I turned right onto Vasser Ave and parked at the red circle. There is a sidewalk there that leads right into the park. The playground is at the north end so it's not a far walk at all.

There are 2 play structures, one for toddlers and one for bigger kids. There are also 2 rocking things, 2 baby swings, 2 sling swings, and a beautiful lake with nice paths. There is a water fountain but no restrooms.

 Picnic tables and benches

The small structure has 3 slides and some bars.