Meet Me in St. Louis

Last week Lexy and I traveled to St. Louis and when we were not busy in our Board meetings, we had a blast exploring the local attractions, shops and restaurants in the city.  Here is a recap of some of our favorites!

Blueberry Hill:  We were so excited that Blueberry Hill was open that we braved the snowstorm and headed there for lunch on Thursday.  Blueberry Hill is a St. Louis landmark filled with pop culture memorabilia and is the home of legendary Chuck Berry.  Lexy and I both got the Veggie Burger with Provel cheese (a St. Louis specialty) and it was delicious!

Lunch At Blueberry Hill!

Crown Candy Kitchen: Opened in 1913, Crown Candy Kitchen is St. Louis’ oldest soda fountain and when we stepped through the doors it felt like we had stepped back in time! I had the egg salad sandwich and Lexy had the grilled ham and cheese- and both of us had just a tiny shot glass sized portion of her mom’s chocolate shake.  While we were there we also got to experience our first food eating (or in this case drinking) contest!  Our new BFF Steve decided to try to conquer Crown Candy Kitchen’s Malt Challenge- if you drink all five malts in 30 minutes you get them all free and get your name on a plaque. According to the plaque, someone was able to accomplish this in under 3 minutes! Alas, despite Lexy and my spirited cheering, Steve was only able to get three malts down before he got sick and conceded defeat.   If Lexy and I felt sick and groggy and miserable from the extra sugar we ate over the weekend, I can only imagine how we would feel after 5 malts!!!!

Lexy and our new bestie Steve at Crown Candy Kitchen

Carrie and Steve (and 5 malts!)

City Museum: If you are even in St. Louis, you MUST visit the City Museum!!!  Seriously, I cannot tell you how many times Lexy and I looked at each other while we were running around the museum and said, “this is the best place EVER!” The museum is like an amazing giant playground- where you could climb, run, explore, hang, swing- there was even a 10 story slide!  I wish we had worn heart rate monitors because by the time we left, Lexy and I were exhausted and I can only imagine how many calories we burned- who says exercise can’t be fun? Due to the snow, we were not able to explore the outside or roof areas, but next time we are in St. Louis we will definitely be back!

Lexy in a spinning top chair at City Museum

Carrie climbing through the floor at  City Museum

Green Bean: While Lexy and I did try to eat relatively healthy while in St. Louis, we did indulge in some local sweet treats (how can you go to St. Louis and not try gooey butter cake?) By the end of the weekend our bodies were rebelling about the extra processed food and sugar- we both had headaches, felt lethargic, and just gross! Luckily, we found Green Bean for dinner on Saturday night- and their healthy salads made with fresh, local ingredients were just the cure.  I had the Cobb-out salad and Lexy had the Pueblito- and honestly I cannot tell you how amazing the salad tasted- my body was definitely thankful to actually be eating something that was providing nutrients!

Ordering some healthy food at Green Bean!

Lexy's mom Carol insisted that power shopping was a sport, however, just to be safe I did fit in two runs at the hotel fitness center. Let me tell you it was really hard to get out of my warm bed (Lexy can confirm that I was not the happiest of campers waking up to run;) , but I felt so much more refreshed from running than I would have staying in bed for an extra 30 minutes.

Our next board meeting will be in the Oakland/San Francisco area in July- does anyone have any suggestions of healthy restaurants or must see/do sights that we should explore?