When the hubby nerd was on the road last year with James Taylor, he experienced the weird and witty on his days off that were very intriguing. Now that he is home (for a bit), he is my tour guide for the eccentric and offbeat ventures.
Why St. Louis? The scales were tipped for St. Louis for our first trip of the Weird & Witty when I saw a fundraiser for the Audubon Society partnering with the gaming company, Stonemaier Games. The adventure was in motion.
When we pick a place to stay, we invariably pick an experience rather than just a place to slumber. We stayed at the St Louis Union Station Hotel. Boasting historical roots dating back to 1894, originally housing the prized Union Station travel center, the building was converted in 1985. The lobby was stunning and we spent some time there playing tabletop games. We played Between Two Castles of mad King Ludwig!
Nightly, we watched flowers sway, fireworks burst, and images dance around the 65-foot ceiling of the Grand Hall lobby in a state-of-the-art show. Created by Technomedia, an award winnings collaborator with Cirque du Soleil, the 3D light show is calming,
Brief walk through midtown led us to The City Museum, which is to expect the unexpected. City Museum is a hundred-year-old factory building in downtown St. Louis in which artists have re-purposed the pieces of old cities to build miles of tunnels, slides, climbers, bridges, and castles. There are secret passages, grand galleries, rooftop school bus, and hidden bars. We explored all the floors and up to the rooftop. There are a ten-story and five-story spiral slide. I opted for the five-story, but other than that, we tried them all!
Some standouts were the old St Louis architecture pieces laying about waiting to be transformed and the old pinball museum with an actual blanket fort.
We did find all the hidden bars.
On the walk back to the hotel were spied a Comic Book store!! We cannot resist an independent comic bookstore. Apotheosis Comics & Lounge had it all!
Day two was the St Louis Art Museum to visit the Degas and Van Gogh’s. That night we were invited to game designer, Jamey Stegmaier’s home to for a game night. We own most of his collection and elated at the opportunity. He offered to teach us Viticulture, the first game he designed. What a unique experience to learn a new game from the designer! It was such an extraordinary experience.
Over two decades ago, on our first trip together, we asked our driver to show us something not touristy (even then we sought out the weird and witty) and he took us a park that had a huge multi piece sculpture emerging out of the ground. Guess who we found in St Louis? The Awakening Sculpture! He was moved a few years back St Louis.
The next day was the fundraiser, and unfortunately, due to the flooding, there was no way to get to the Audubon society, so the event was held in an old bakery turned restaurant and brewery. We were not blue about the change of venue. Their food was fresh, and their beer was delicious. I enjoyed Old Bakery Beer Hibiscus Tart. In an adjacent room was the event. Fifty patrons played the game Wingspan, which is a card-driven, engine-building board game from designer Elizabeth Hargrave and Stonemaier Games. You play as bird enthusiast researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. A room filled with birders and gamers connecting and learning how to play the games drinking local ale!
And we always search out a butterfly zoo and we found one.
This excursion was brimming with the weird and witty.
Full review of Wingspan –
Till the next weird trip,
SuZann Smith
Nerdz Garage
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