St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros

Another free day. My brother has to go to work, so again we got his friend to bring us downtown. This time we're able to get in the Science Center. Entrance to the museum is free, but we had to pay U$8 for parking. Some of the interactive exhibits are visibly old, but still fun to play with. The center also offers entertaining live science demonstrations for the kids.

After that, we went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. Our host is a member of the place, so our entrance fee of U$8 per adult is waived. The Missouri Botanical Garden is comparable in size to the Royal Botanical Garden, and much better. Upon entering the garden, the first thing you see is the Gladney Rose Garden and the Linnean House. Built in 1882, this brick greenhouse is the oldest continuously operating display greenhouse in the United States. Further ahead are the reflecting pools with the Chihuly pieces floating among the lilies. To the right is the Climatron, the world's first geodesic dome greenhouse. It's currently the venue for the Glass in the Garden Chihuly exhibition. (Another U$6.) For those who don't know Dale Chihuly, his colorful and innovative blown-glass works are just wonderful. To appreciate them better, I would suggest you attend the Chihuly Nights at the Garden on Thursday nights for U$15.

Moving southeast, you'll reach the Victorian Area with the Henry Shaw Mausoleum, the Tower Grove House with its herb garden, and the Kaeser Maze. Be careful here as we found a few snakes slithering about in the shrubs. To the west, is the massive Seiwa-en Japanese Garden. Covering 14 acres, it is the largest traditional Japanese garden in North America. Going northeast, you'll pass by the Lehmann Rose Garden. The roses are currently being re-planted, so not much to see here. Further on is the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Chinese Garden, which is closed for the moment, and the Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden.

For our nighttime entertainment, we went to the new Busch Stadium to watch the baseball game between St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros. As usual, parking near the stadium is a problem, but not to worry as we have front-row seats anyway. Actually, second-row seats. For U$180 per seat, it's not really cheap, but then again, the view is great and you can order anything on the refreshments menu as much as you like. Had I known earlier, I would've brought along my backpack. Again, this is my first time to watch a live baseball game, though I know the rules of the game beforehand. As with yesterday's baseball game, it's more of a social event where people talk to people during the many breaks in the game. The Cardinals won 7-0.