The dates of June 25 and 26 had been circled on my calendar ever since the 2019 baseball schedule was released. The Oakland A’s had a rare interleave trip to St. Louis on their schedule, which seemed like the perfect opportunity to see them at a new Midwestern ballpark. Grandma and Grandpa, always up for a road trip and baseball, joined Emmie and me for the two-day, two-night trip south to Missouri.
We took a quick Starbucks break and switched drivers in Fairfield, then made our way to Wayland, Missouri, for lunch at Reed’s Grille. The restaurant had a strong Google rating, and as a locally-operated business, a welcome alternative to the gas stations and fast food outlets along our route. The food took a few more minutes than expected to arrive at our tables, but was generally worth the wait.
Lunch at Reed’s Grille in Wayland, Missouri, population 533.
After a brief stint at the hotel, Grandma and Grandpa dropped Emmie and me off at the North Hanley station, where we made the 30-minute Metro ride to downtown St. Louis for dinner at Sugarfire BBQ. Sugarfire has held the title of my all-time favorite BBQ restaurant ever since dining there on a work trip in 2016. My former co-workers Dan and Stacie joined us for dinner for some fun conversation to go along with the excellent food.
Emmie and I were decked out in A’s gear at the North Hanley Metro station.
Off the Metro, ready for dinner.
This fun, reflective road sign highlighted the BBQ at Sugarfire.
Emmie’s usually happy to pose for a photo, like this one!
We made the short walk to Busch Stadium and inside to our seats, about 12 rows behind the A’s dugout down the 3rd base line. The A’s had no problems handling the Cardinals, winning a decisive 7-3 ballgame. Emmie got her fix of sugar during the game via green cotton candy to Dippin’ Dots to a few sips of Coca-Cola. We also had the chance to catch up with my kindergarten classmate and long-time friend Brian, who coincidentally was in town for the game with his wife and five-month-old daughter.
Stacie, Dan, Emmie, and me at the Cardinals game.
An A’s employee saw our gear in the concourse and gave us a special #RootedInOakland lapel pin.
Dan and Stacie left after the 7th inning, but Emmie and I stayed until the end to see the A’s on-field handshakes.
Day 2
I spent Wednesday morning and early afternoon at Covo, a modern and convenient co-working space in downtown St. Louis. While I was getting things done for Neapolitan Labs, Grandma and Grandpa made a series of stops around the city, visiting the Zoo and IKEA, and eating lunch at the Hi-Pointe Drive-In.
Emmie and Grandpa with their meals at Hi-Pointe. Emmie had a hot dog covered with mac and cheese.
Grandpa and Emmie sat on a lot of sofas at IKEA!
We briefly reunited at a downtown parking garage before Emmie and I made our way to the Arch, while Grandma and Grandpa sought refuge from the unexpected afternoon storms. Emmie and I managed to get to the Arch’s underground visitor’s center without getting too wet, and after a quick perusal of the museum and gift shop, we got in line for the North Tram.
Emmie holds our tram assignment prior to boarding.
The Arch experience generally exceeded my expectations and was a hit with Emmie. The 50-year-old tram system was fascinating, described as a mix of elevator, escalator, and Ferris wheel. We joined two other tourists inside an egg-shaped tram car which transported us up 640 feet to the top. Once there, we took in the views of St. Louis, the Mississippi River, and Illinois for a few minutes before making the return trip back to the base of the Arch.
We took a selfie inside the egg-shaped tram car.
A window in the tram door let us see some of the gears, plus the stairs which are only used in case of emergency.
The storms had passed but rain lingered, so we opted for an Uber ride to dinner instead of a wet walk. Heavy downtown traffic meant pick-up and drop-off times were both later than the elusive Uber estimates, meaning we were a little past our scheduled time to reunite with Grandma and Grandpa for a second pre-game meal at Sugarfire.
Emmie, after running through some rain, waiting for our Uber.
The return trip to Sugarfire was just alright; the brisket remained solid but mac and cheese was not on the evening’s list of side options, and the sides we chose were generally underwhelming. While I once placed Sugar fFire atop my list of favorite BBQ restaurants, I’d be hard-pressed to rank it ahead of newcomer Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ in tiny Luther, Iowa, or well-established favorites like Kansas City Joe’s and Char Bar in Kansas City.
Just as the rain had hindered our walk to dinner, it also hindered the start time for the evening’s game. We arrived in time for the National Anthem followed by a lengthy ceremony to celebrate the World Champion St. Louis Blues. It was cool to see the Stanley Cup paraded around the warning track but generally, I was just ready for the baseball game to begin.
The A’s handled the Cardinals again, winning the Wednesday evening game by a score of 2-0. With the victory, the A’s now boast a 4-0 record when Emmie is in attendance. After an effortless walk back to the parking garage, we were on our way to our final stop for the night: Jeni’s Ice Cream. While Emmie, Grandma, and Grandpa would have been fine skipping the stop in favor of an earlier arrival at our hotel, we all enjoyed the ice cream.
Day 3
After two nights in St. Louis, we had an early wakeup call to go to the airport in time for our 6:00 a.m. departure for New York City. Emmie was fascinated by the fact our flight to New York was less than half of the length of our drive to St. Louis, and easy security, a terminal Starbucks, and an on-time departure made our time at the St. Louis Airport pretty pleasant.
