Daly family vacation, part 2...

Once we were Lincoln-ed out (not really, kind of, maybe), we headed down the interstate to St. Louis!

As you can see, it was a beautiful day to go up to the top of this awesome monument!  (I will mention, though, that there was at least 115% humidity...)

Before we went "to the top", we watched a documentary on the construction process.  These guys NEVER wore a harness-- hard hats and the occasional pair of safety glasses were it!  As we watched the movie, my hands were sweating, my heart was beating fast, I don't know how their wives made it through one single day of their hubbies being gone to work!  I would have been a nervous wreck.  But, not one person lost their life on the construction of the Arch!

This was a pretty cool wall in the visitor's center at the bottom of the Arch.  To the sides (which you can't see) there are to-scale versions of some other landmarks, like Mt. Rushmore.  The Arch towers above!  The wall also pays homage to the architects and engineers who designed the Arch.

Our car ride to the top was a thrill for these first-timers!   Here, Holly is yelling at me to get in the car, she's sure I'm going to get left behind!  The design of the car only took 2 weeks and is a hybrid of elevator, Ferris wheel and trolley car. 

At the top!  630 feet above ground!  The kids thought it was awesome to be up so high and see so far!

 The next morning before heading home, we toured the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.


This is a replica of the wagons pulled by the Clydesdales!  Emma could pretty much walk underneath without hardly ducking her head!  In this very posh stable, we also saw a horse that was too tall to be on the hitch, he was over the requisite 18 hands tall, he was 7 feet tall!!!

Beer or not, I just love assembly lines.  Seriously, I love assembly lines.  I could watch an assembly line for days.

The Brewery takes up 7 city blocks, we walked to one end and then took a trolley back to the visitor's center for two free samples!  The grounds were so beautiful and spotless.  I think in retirement I would like to be a tour guide here.  The commute might be too much, but by then they might have the personal jet-pack perfected and I can literally just "jet down to work"!?!?!?  We'll see...

So that's it for another year! 
Where are you going this summer? 
What's your idea of a great family vacation?  Fishing?  Sight seeing?  Shopping?  Visiting family?