Let’s just cut right to the chase. As the title of this post suggests, I went all out on my 21st birthday this year filling up my entire last week of classes attempting to find the best activities in the St. Louis area. I have spent multiple birthdays in St. Louis since I was in high school and have comprised a list of the best things to do to celebrate birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc in St. Louis. In addition to hitting up a Dave & Busters or driving down to Six Flags, here are some You’re all welcome.
Escape Room
Honestly, I’m kind of over it but I feel like it needs to be included. You can do an Escape Room in St Louis, they’re fun, they’re kind of played out, but go nuts.
Playing Darts at Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill is known for their musical guests which are no doubt entertaining and if you get the chance to go, they are definitely worth it. I went to Blueberry Hill to partake in a tradition I was very new to, throwing darts. I can’t lie here I still do not understand the scoring at all to darts I tried to get many people to explain it to me but it was still fun. The darts at Blueberry Hill require a deposit of I think $5 and you can play for as long as you want. Blueberry Hill has plenty of dart boards and they have really good food so there’s no need to rush. It’s free (unless you like lose all the darts?), it’s chill, it’s not that dangerous, and if you learn the rules get a league going make friends!
St Louis Zoo
Honestly what’s not to love! It’s free, there’s animals, there are slushies, the penguin exhibit is adorable, and it’s a great place for birthday parties regardless of age. Not sure what else I can do to sell it, it’s a Zoo. You probably know what a Zoo is.
Rent out the Carousel of Love at Peacock Diner
Okay I know what you’re thinking. Why is this girl obsessed with Peacock Diner? But honestly I can’t even tell you how many just married couples I have seen at Peacock in the late hours of the night it’s genuinely alarming. Full disclosure, I didn’t reserve the Carousel of Love on my birthday per say, I actually did it a month later, but with all the same people I tested everything from my birthday with so the results are still essentially the same. Anyone who has gone into Peacock Diner has seen the coveted “Carousel of Love” always empty with a “reserved” sign on the table. As a frequenter of the establishment, I took it upon myself to find out how to actually reserve this table and y’all, it’s wild. The table costs $50 to reserve and can seat up to 8 people for a minimum hour and a half. The table turns around and reveals a flat screen TV with access to Netflix and a Playstation 2. My friends and I chose to watch The Office and play Pac-Man while dining on our free onion rings- our choice of free appetizer- and I would highly recommend this experience to anyone. It is strange, seemingly out of place and for some reason weirdly nostalgic. I honestly don’t know why we don’t do it all the time.
Amp Up Action Park
When we went to Amp Up Action Park on my birthday, it was a Wednesday afternoon and my friends and I were the only group of people in the entire facility. At first, I’m not going to be misleading, it was wildly uncomfortable, but ended up being one of my favorite nights of my birthday celebration. Amp Up Action Park has everything (seriously, everything). We played laser tag, threw axes, raced go karts, went on a high ropes course, rolled around in human-sized hamster balls, ate nachos, and played arcade games for hours. On Wednesday evenings this place has unlimited laser tag for less than fifteen bucks which is definitely a deal but you are not experiencing this place if you don’t go axe throwing. Axe throwing should be the go to stress relief activity for every WashU student. Getting to do all the activities here can be pricey, but they are all really fun and I would recommend.
City Museum
Why are we not always at the City Museum all the time? The City Museum on my 21st birthday was honestly the best time I have ever had in my life. Not only do I recommend the City Museum, I think it should be mandatory for all WashU first years to attend. The City Museum is wonderful because it’s different every single time that I go. Many people steer away from the City Museum because of their fear of heights but honestly there’s so much to do even if you don’t want to climb up to the yellow school bus hanging off the side of the building or slide down 10 stories. The City Museum does host birthday parties, weddings, etc and you can rent it out for larger events but the building is so huge you can easily have a birthday party there without booking anything in advance. They also have so much food (seriously my friend Sabrina ate more food than I had ever seen devoured in such a short period of time). The City Museum is wildly high energy and fun, I would just recommend having one or two people assigned to make sure no one gets lost.
