On our first Father’s Day we thought we needed to make it something special. This would be more than a meal, but a memorable moment with the kid.

“We could go to the Arch grounds,” I suggested.

“It’s under construction,” David said.

He was right.

We though through other places, checking out the old neighborhood we used to live in when we lived in the city.

“Benton Park is pretty in the summer with the lake,” I said.

David pulled out map of St. Louis.

“How about the zoo?” he said.

“That’s a great idea, hon.”

So we loaded up the SUV with the diaper bag and water bottles and headed for the zoo.

Luckily the zoo was not completely full since we arrived shortly after it opened. The St. Louis Zoo is also free, except for parking in their lot. If you don’t want to pay for that you can find street parking on the north side.

We headed in and we went back and forth carrying him in our arms. His eyes grew huge checking out all the animals. He was well awake to take it all in.

He seemed to enjoy seeing the seals and polar bears the most at the zoo. These two exhibits you can have the seals swim over the top and all around you in the tunnel. The polar bear is also easy to see behind a large glass enclosed wall.

We walked around until we became tired and headed for the gift shop. My son became enamored with a stuffed polar bear, a much smaller version of what he saw. I purchased it for him and put in his chair with him. He held onto it as we headed home. This was the best Father’s Day of my entire life, spending it with my recently born son!