A Big List of Adventures
I have a new challenge for myself and I’m so excited to share it here!
Today I stumbled on a little article in St. Louis MetroMix suggesting 101 things every St. Louisian should do in 2011.
I’m always on a hunt for new things to do around here, whether it be a new restaurant or an annual event or a place to visit. So I flipped through the suggestions one at a time. I was surprised to see we’d already done over 20 of them!
But there were plenty of things we haven’t done, so I narrowed down the list, only eliminating those that were either impossible: 97. Pick veggies from your neighborhood garden…
…or were simply of no interest to me at all: 18. Ice Skate in Forest Park. No ice skating for this girl. At the beginning of this week I fell on ice. After a lovely trip to the Urgent Care and a handful of prescription meds, I am now certain that I am too old to be falling down. So no ice skating.
A few things on the list we’ve already done but would really like to do again, so I kept them on! With a few others, we’d already been there/done that, but maybe not the way the article suggested. For example – we’ve dined at Fitz’s plenty of times. But we’ve never ordered a root beer float. So it stays on the list.
So here’s my challenge: Complete 50 of the 70 things listed by the end of 2011 and blog every single one.
We’ll complete the idea just as it was suggested on the list, document it with my trusty camera, and then report back via a blog post. The blog posts will be marked under a new category – StL Adventures 2011 – so you can find them easily and see what you might like to try yourself.
The list is below. Have any ideas to add to it?
Even if you don’t live in the St. Louis area, I hope our adventures will inspire you to find little adventures in your own neck of the woods. Remember, it isn’t about spending big bucks on lavish adventures. It isn’t about impressing anyone with your cultural resume. It’s about getting out and taking advantage of what’s just up the road. It’s about trying new things, and pushing yourself, and making memories.
Here’s to a year full of tiny adventures! Cheers!
PS – We’d love company for any of these adventures! So if one sparks your interest, let me know and you can come along and then be a blog star when I report back!!
1. Catch a Cubs-Cards game.
2. Eat a concrete at Ted Drewes.
3. Attend the Taste of St. Louis.
4. Catch the Dogtown St. Pat’s Parade
5. Enjoy a Dorm Room Dinner at 33 Wine Shop in Lafayette Square. (These are held once a month and St. Louis’ top chefs are challenged to create a 5 course meals using only standard dorm room cooking utensils: microwave and hotplate, baby. )
6. Have drinks at Sanctuaria. (An StL bar with a true mixologist.)
7. Have a Root Beer Float at Fitz’s. (Fitz’s is a root beer institution. I’ve been a handful of times. I’ve never had a root beer float.)
8. Check out the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
9. Enjoy a Beer Shake at Bailey’s Chocolate Bar. (We’ve been to Bailey’s before and I adored it. Awesome little place. But I didn’t enjoy a Beer Shake…so I’ll have to try again.)
10. Take a Riverboat Cruise in from below the arch, down the Mighty Mississippi.
11. Order a BLT and a malt from Crown Candy Kitchen. (I’ve seen this on The Travel Channel and The Food Network. How ridiculous that I haven’t seen it in person.)
12. Watch a movie at the Moolah. (Been there, done that. It never gets old. We’ll need to go back for another.)
13. Eat Italian food on The Hill. (You don’t have to ask me twice. This is a fairly regular occurrence, but we’ll mix it up and try a new place.)
14. Visit St. Louis Wine Country – Hermann, Augusta or St. Genevieve.
15. Ride the Zoo Train at the St. Louis Zoo. (We’re regulars at the Zoo. But we’ve yet to ride the train.)
16. Catch a Blues-Blackhawks game. (Do you know what that would cost me?? I’m settling for any Blues game because I’ve never been.)
17. Take out a Paddle Boat from The Boathouse in Forest Park. (Did this once. Loved it. Will do again.)
18. Attend Soulard Mardi Gras. (Not since college…it’ll take some convincing to get me back there.)
19. Get pretzels from Gus’. (Very, very regular occurrence for us. But I can never get enough.)
20. Catch the live music brunch at Jimmy’s on the Park.
21. Stay overnight at The Lemp Mansion. (It’s haunted.)
22. Wait in line at Pappy’s Smokehouse for ribs.
23. Eat a burger at the White Knight Diner.
24. Attend PrideFest on South Grand.
25. Check out the Japanese Gardens at Missouri Botanical Garden.
26. See Chuck Berry in concert at Blueberry Hill.
27. Participate in the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure.
28. Buy fruit and flowers at the Soulard Farmers Market. (I love this farmers market. We go once every few months. So the next time I’ll be sure to get fruit and flowers : ) I’m also hoping to take my parents to the market since they’ve never been. So it’s a double challenge!)
29. Get Gooey Butter Cake from Park Ave. Coffee of Gooey Louie.
30. Attend Oktoberfest in Soulard.
31. Visit Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnsons Shut-Ins State Park.
32. Hike at Pere Marquette State Park.
33. Have a picnic at Laumeier Sculpture Park.
34. Order a Mile High Pie from The Blue Owl.
35. Relax at the roof top pool at The Four Seasons.
36. Play Giant Jenga at The Pour House.
37. See local band play a show.
38. Take Metromix’s $20 date night challenge.
39. Tour CityGarden.
40. Enjoy Mac and Cheese from Sweetie Pies.
41. Have dinner and wine at Vin de Set.
42. Spend a day on Cherokee. (Done this many times, but Metromix recommend a few places we’ve never visited, so we’ll give it another go!)
43. Order shaved ice at Mr Harry’s Carnival Foods. (Who knew?! Apparently this places serves only carnival fare…corn dogs, funnel cakes, the whole 9 yards.)
44. See a show at The Fox. (I’ve seen 5 shows at The Fox and I’m ready for another!)
45. Eat Aligator Tacos at Gulf Shores.
46. See live jazz at Jazz at the Bistro.
47. Order a martini at Chez Marilyn in Alton.
48. Have dinner at Chaumette Winery in Ste. Genevieve.
49. Eat bread pudding at The Dubliner downtown. (Might as well practice eating traditional Irish food before we head off to Ireland!)
50. Order a Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger at a Grizzlies Game. (I’ve never been to a Grizzlies Game – another double challenge!)
51. Celebrate Cinco de Mayo on Cherokee St.
52. Have stay cation downtown at the Four Seasons, Moonrise or The Hyatt. (Desperately want to do a Boudoir shoot at the Moonrise! Any takers?)
53. Catch the StL Auto Show.
54. Tailgate, then go to a Rams Game.
55. Make a day of trips to all the StL microbreweries. (Designated Driver needed please…)
56. Catch the Soulard Blues Band performing at the Broadway Oyster Bar.
57. Drink an avocado mango margarita at El Borracho.
58. Try a weird shot on Joey B’s shot list.
59. Dance at The Pepper Lounge.
60. Go to the Big Muddy Blues Festival.
61. Visit the Wildlife Bird Sanctuary.
62. Sip some locally roasted joe at Kaldi’s Coffee, a locally owned group of coffee shops. (There’s one on campus. I just haven’t been able to tear myself away from Starbucks yet.)
63. Enjoy a pizza from Pi Pizza.
64. Take free salsa lessons at Viva in the Central West End.
65. Visit the August A Busch Memorial Conservation Area. (I hear its good fishing…)
66. Sip wine at Mosaic in Lambert International Airport. (This year’s travel all involves flying out of O’Hare…hmm)
67. Have dinner at Top of the Riverfront at The Millennium Hotel.
68. Attend LouFest 2011 – an indie music festival.
69. Check out the Missouri History Museum and Twilight Tuesday. (Twilight Tuesdays is a free concert series on the lawn. My kinda fun!)
70. Catch a show The Muny in Forest Park.
71. Visit Cahokia Mounds.
72. Attend a beer dinner. (Typically a 5 course meal with each meal paired with a beer.)
73. Chow on a pizza from Blackthorn. (Haven’t been since college. Serious cravings going on…)
I added the last 5 myself…just things I’ve been wanting to do.
By the way, if these to-do list type things are up your alley, check out my friend Kate’s 25-by-25 list. She’s making excellent progress!
So there it is, the list is made, the race is on, let the adventure’s begin!!
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