We spent Father’s Day exploring a Victorian-era city park and receiving gifts from our son.

Presents and Breakfast

The morning began with Andrew giving us a Father’s Day card he made in class that he wrote his name in and included a rainbow of glitter inside.

Then he gave us a present, a wooden picture frame with a picture of him in the middle smiling with an ocean background. The frame around it had the words “I Love U” along with stickers around it. On the bottom of the frame was a multitude of different colors and sizes of shells. 

I made French toast for breakfast and then we started our day going into the city. We had thought about taking a hike in the wood, but it had rained so a park in the city with wide trails was the place to go.

Biking at Tower Grove Park

It was late morning so the early morning risers had already jogged so it was not busy.

David parked near MoKaBe’s Coffee House and we headed into the park. 

Andrew took his bike along and with many paved trails, this allowed him to pretty much go anywhere. 

He started off riding his bike along the cobblestone gutters along the trail.

Then he did some off-roading through the grassy fields. Luckily it had not rained here as much.

The park is known for its decorative pavilions dating from the Victorian era. One is done in Chinese or another sort of looks like a Circus tent. We went past a few as we wandered around the park.

Fountain Pond and Ruins

My favorite area is the large fountain pond. The bubbling stone fountain and limestone blocks around the pond are made from the ruins of the old Lindell Hotel. 

You can see remnant stonewalls and a doorway created by pillars by the front of the pond. 

Below the three-tiered fountain at the center are arch pieces and decorated stone pieces. 

I always like going by here and each time I notice something different in the ruins.

Lily pads

By this area are the water lily pad ponds, Andrew and I looked for frogs that might be hanging out on them. 

I pointed out to him the different flowers. The white ones with yellow centers looking like flower eggs. He sat down for a while and checked them out.

Amazingly enough, we saw a tiny baby turtle on one lily pad sunning himself in the noonday sun.

Another pond had huge elephant-ear-sized leaves on them and crowded the whole pond.

Pretzels for Lunch

We headed back to the car and lunch was from a St. Louis institution near where David and I once lived in St. Louis: Gus Pretzels.

 I went in and ordered some twists with a warm cheese spread and their cinnamon-coated pretzels for their warm sweet taste.

Andrew was more into the salt-encrusted ones, which allowed me to enjoy the cinnamon. It was a perfect way to end a trip to the city.