Meet Me in St. Louis

Abstract

As the song says, "Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, Meet me at the fair, Don't tell me the lights are shining any place but there." We may not do the Hoochee Koochee and you may not find your tootsie wootsie but we will certainly be having fun. The American

Federation of Aviculture is going to light up the lights in St. Louis, Missouri with their 34th annual convention.

St. Louis is a city of many nicknames, among them is The Gateway City, and is steeped in history. It was the first leg of the Oregon Trail when people started moving west; hence it was called The Gateway City. It was named for a French King, King Louis IX and part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was the site of the first U.S. World's Fair as well as the Olympic games in 1904. The list goes on and on.

We are going to the zoo. The zoo is located in Forrest Park, the site of the 1904 World's Fair and one of the largest urban parks in the world, out sizing Central Park in New York City by 500 acres. The St. Louis Zoological Park is one of the oldest and largest in the country, ranking as one of the top five most visited zoos across America.

Another must see for tourists is the Gateway Arch, one of the world's most recognizable landmarks. For those brave souls who would like a real bird's eye view of St. Louis, there is an internal observation platform at the top of the arch. For a small fee you can enjoy a spectacular view and/or be scared out of your wits. I did it once and being claustrophobic did not help. It is definitely one of the things you may want to add to your list of things to do. Other points

of interest include Union Station, Grants Farm, Six Flags and for you baseball fans there is Busch Stadium and the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, they will be playing out of town while we are there but you can still see their home field.

There are so many things to see and do in St. Louis you will need at least an extra week to capture them all. In light of this, arrangements have been made with the hotel to extend our special rate to include three days prior to the convention and three days after the convention. Check our web site, www.AFABirds.org for updates and highlights. First, we give you detailed information on the zoo but if you can't wait, Google

St. Louis and be prepared to sit back, relax and read. 1.!.

Convention will be held at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel.

BE SURE TO REGISTER EARLY!

 

PDF