Don’t fret. There are lots of fun things to do in St. Louis.

• On the banks of the Mississippi in downtown St. Louis is the “Gateway to the West”, or the arch. This is walking distance from the Hilton where we have blocked rooms. Visit the museum at the bottom and take the little space capsule to the top observatory. Don’t worry; you can’t really feel the arch swinging from the top. http://www.nps.gov/jeff/
  
• The Missouri Botanical Gardens are world class and a must see. The gardens include a Victorian maze, a Japanese garden, a climatron, a rose garden, and more. http://www.mobot.org/.
  
• Forest Park, in the heart of St. Louis, is one of the largest urban parks in the country. It includes lots of trails, interesting historic buildings, museums, and a wonderful free zoo. http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/.
  
• If you like American beer, you’re in luck. Anheuser-Busch is based in St. Louis and you can pop in for a tour. http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/stltour.htm.
  
• Baseball: the Cardinals are the local major league baseball team. They play at the new Busch stadium in downtown St. Louis – right next door to the Hilton where we have blocked rooms. They are playing at home against the Reds on Saturday, September 1st at 6:15 p.m., and against the Pirates at 1:15 on Monday September 3rd. http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stl/ballpark/index.jsp
  
• Other attractions:
• Laclede’s Landing http://www.lacledeslanding.org/ is the historic riverfront.
• The City Museum http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp is an unconventional museum designed by an artist.
• The Pulitzer Museum http://www.pulitzerarts.org/ is housed in a building that is itself a serene work of art.
  
• Fun Areas:
• Washington Ave downtown—a restored loft district, good place for restaurants and night life.
• Central West End (Euclid Ave & Maryland Plaza). A lively neighborhood in midtown St. Louis, with lots of small shops, galleries, and restaurants http://www.centralwestend.org.
• University City—the area nearby Washington University on Delmar has a fun college-town atmosphere http://www.ucityloop.com/
  
• Restaurants: check out the listings in Sauce: http://www.saucemagazine.com/splserch.php
• Downtown: Tony’s (on Market St) and Kitchen K 1000 Washington St. http://www.kitchen-k.com/
• Central West End: Balaban's, Bar Italia (streetside patio), Atlas, Terrine, Eau Bistro, Llewelyns (great burgers and pub food but kind of smoky), and Liluma (has a nice patio).
• The Hill: Lorenzo's Trattoria, the Royale (great beer selection, large outdoor patio), and Modesto for tapas.
• Soulard/Benton Park (near Demenil House): Niche, Sydney Street Café, Yemanga Brasil, and Venice Café.
• South Grand: Pho Grand, Sameem (Afghani), Mangia (Italian), Errato wine bar, and Sekisui sushi.
• Lafayette Square: Arcellia (Mexican), SqWires, Eleven Eleven Mississippi, and Vin de Set.
  
• Night Life:
• Downtown/Washington Ave.: Lucas Park Grille (live jazz & food), Copia Wine Restaurant (wine bar with open patio), and Dubliner (Irish-style pub).
• Central West End: Mandarin and Maryland House/Brennan (wine bar).
• U-City: Pin-Up Bowl—a retro bowling alley that stays open until 3 AM with an extensive martini menu.
• Lafayette Square: Square one brewery (good beer selection).
• South Broadway (good blues area): Broadway Oyster Bar (live music though not necessarily blues), BB’s, and Beale on Broadway.
  
• Day Trips:
• Pere Marquette State Park in Illinois offers views of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers http://www.greatriverroad.com/Pere/PereIndex.htm.
• If you’re interested in Native American sites, visit Cahokya Mounds in Illinois: http://www.cahokiamounds.com/cahokia.html.
• Fans of Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, can go up the river to Hannibal, MO, his hometown. http://www.visithannibal.com/index.html.
• Missouri’s own wine country is found near towns such as Augusta and Defiance, also located on the Katy Trail, a bike/hike trail that crosses the entire state of Missouri http://www.bikekatytrail.com.