Our Saint Paul Vacation

Last year at the FANA fundraiser, we had won tickets to see Taylor Swift (the concert was amazing by the way!)  Included in the package was a hotel stay at Hotel 340.  Having never heard of this hotel, I looked it up online and discovered it was located in the University Club - the same place where Shane and I had our wedding reception 12 years earlier!

We decided to save the hotel stay for a family stay-cation to St. Paul to spend a couple days exploring the city.  Hotel 340 is a boutique hotel and does not have many of the amenities that we are used to - especially a pool!  Luckily our time was packed full exploring St. Paul and the kids didn't even mind.  After checking into our room and unloading our belongings, we hit the streets.  We enjoyed a nice walk along the mighty Mississippi, stopping to look at the fountains and statues along the way.

Eventually made our way to dinner at Wild Tymes.  The place was dead.  We made our own fun as we waited for the food to arrive by attempting to throw darts at the board.  Most bounced off but occasionally one would stick - which the boys loved!

After dinner, we walked down the block for a yummy treat at Candyland.  The kids each picked out a giant sucker.  Rose was a sticky mess by the time we got back to the hotel!

It was a bit of a rough night with 5 people sleeping in 1 room and a little Miss Rose who refused to stay in her pack-n-play.  She kept scaling its walls and ended up sleeping in between Mom and Owen once she finally settled down around 11:30 pm!

When the morning arrived, the boys went on an adventure of their own exploring the city while the girls stayed back to get caught up on their much needed beauty rest.

When the boys returned from their walk, we all headed to breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, we explored the University Club and even snuck into the ballroom to take a peak.

The entrance of the University Club

The lobby where we had our wedding social hour

The ballroom where we had our wedding reception

After checking out of our hotel, we drove down to Harriet Island to take a ride on the Padelford Riverboat.  We got there a few minutes early so we killed some time at a nearby playground.  Our two little sand lovers were in Heaven!

The boat opened for boarding soon afterward and we all scurried aboard to find a seat.  It was a packed ship!  There were so many passengers that they connected 2 riverboats together to fit everyone.

After sitting for half of the ride, the kids were ready to stretch their legs and explore the ships.

By the end of the trip, the kids were exhausted and we loaded the car bound for home.