Last weekend we loaded up the car and set out on a mini road trip. All four of us!

We intended to take this trip in April, over my birthday, but the weather was uncooperative so we decided to delay by a few weeks in order to snag more sunshine and blue skies along the way.

For our time away, I packed knitting, Pete packed books, Lupine packed art supplies, and Sage packed medieval armor.

What you prioritize when packing says a lot about you, don’t you think?

Our first stop was Cahokia, a fascinating place that Sage first introduced us to after reading about it in a book years ago. We’ve been here before, but it never ceases to fill us all with wonder.

How I spent my entire life only one state away from this historic site and only found out about it from my kid baffles me still. This ancient First Nations site is comprised of earthen mounds dating back to the 1100s. It’s worth a detour if you find yourself in the area.

Unfortunately, I neglected to bring my camera along, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Our next stop? A day in the city, working our way toward (and up!) the St. Louis Arch.

Why St. Louis?

As cities go, the kids are a little obsessed with this one. Our visits have always been hasty overnights on our way further south, and we have all wanted to make a trip just to visit without another destination on our agenda.

What do we love (aside from Cahokia)?

Let’s start with dessert, because: vacation. Our favorite ice cream shop on the planet is here (it’s possible that we visited twice in as many days). And of all the places our family has traveled, our all-time favorite attraction-that-denies-explanation, the City Museum, is here as well. (More on that later this week. Because the City Museum deserves its own post.)

This day though? It was all about the arch.

After two previous visits to St. Louis through the years, two attempts to go in and up the arch but both times finding it closed for construction or other NPS to-dos, we finally made it to the top.

Which, in case you were wondering, feels exactly like this:

I’ll share another post from the road later this week, as well as a peek at how we pack food and eat on a budget when traveling!