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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am trying to plan something for my siblings (me in DC, one in Chicago burbs, one in Green Bay, one in CA who will fly in) and our families in August.  Among our four families are four sets of parents and 11 kids, ages 4-17.  We would ideally like something with a mix of relaxation and adventure.  We like water activities, biking, hiking, shopping, and just hanging out.  It should be in the Midwest, preferably within five or six hours of Chicago, because one family can only come for four days so they don't want to travel too far for such a short trip.  For the rest of us, we'd like to stay seven or eight days.

Thanks for your suggestions.[/quote]

St. Louis. (Not kidding)

1. Free zoo. It has one of the best zoos in the US and it is free. There is a small charge for admission to the children's zoo and to ride the zoo train, but the rest of the zoo is free.
http://www.stlzoo.org/

2.  City Musuem. It's hard to explain, but it's sort of a permanent art installation/playground/warehouse space full of crazy climbing things and slides and rope swings and tunnels to crawl through. An architect converted a shoe factory and this is what happened. It's one of the best public spaces in the world. http://www.citymuseum.org/site/

3.  Pere Marquette State Park and Grafton, Illinois. If you like to hike and would like to see one of the prettiest parts of the Mississippi River, you can drive up to Pere Marquette. It's gorgeous. 
http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/r4/peremarq.htm

4. Shopping.  What kind of shopping? There is a crazy amount of outlet shopping.

http://www.stlouisoutletmall.com/
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=108

If you want nicer shopping go to Plaza Frotenac or the Galleria. 
http://www.saintlouisgalleria.com/
http://www.plazafrontenac.com/

5.  If you like to shop for antiques, Alton, Illinois has a great antique district. It's a historical town on the river and it's beautiful. 
http://www.greatriverroad.com/Antiques/altonAntiques.htm

5.  Lincoln Presidential Library and home.
If you don't mind a 2 hour drive, you can go to Springfield, Illinois and see the Lincoln Presidential Library and Musuem and Lincoln's Home. It's very cool and well-done. http://www.visit-springfieldillinois.com/Lincoln/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Lincoln

6.  The Arch. It's dumb, but you have to. 
http://www.gatewayarch.com/

7.  Elephant Rocks State Park. More hiking. Really great hiking about 90 minutes from St. Louis.
https://www.mostateparks.com/park/elephant-rocks-state-park

8.  Meramec Caverns. Super cheesy, but fun cave tour. The caverns are an old hide-out for Jesse James and his gang. 
http://www.americascave.com/

9.  St. Louis is short on beaches, but lots of people like to float the Meramec River in the summer. 
http://ozarkoutdoors.net/meramec-river-float-trips/

10.  Six Flags -- regular theme park, but it has a nice water park that is free with admission. 
https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis

11. Cahokia Mounds.  World Heritage site. This is a large complex of earth pyramids (aka mounds).  
http://cahokiamounds.org/

12. Magic House. This is a really, really good children's museum. 
http://www.magichouse.org/

13.  Tour the Anheusaur Busch plant.  You can see the Clydesdales and see the brewing facilities. You can also have a couple of free beers. 
http://explorestlouis.com/visit-explore/see-do/see-do-member/?mid=86

14.  Grant's Farm and U.S. Grant musuem.
The Busch family bought the farm owned by U.S. Grant. It was a private home and now it's a petting zoo for kids. The U.S. Grant museum, run by the National Park Service is next door. http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-heritage/grants-farm/
 
15. Places to eat: St. Louis has a fantastic food scene and there are lots of places to eat. Try looking in the Loop, Washington Avenue, and Soulard.

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