Traveling with Children: Grant's Farm in St. Louis

Animals, trains and beer and it's free. Grant's Farm in St. Louis is a find when it comes to affordable entertainment for the family. Grant's Farm, the historical home of Ulysses Grant and ancestral home of the Busch family, is a 281-acre spread courtesy of Anheuser-Busch.

Upon entering Grant's Farm, you ride a tram narrated by jovial guides who point out the flocks of Canadian geese, different breeds of cattle and bits of trivia such as koi fish can live to be 200 years old and are passed from generation to generation in some Chinese families. The relaxed train ride is low-key, for example, having a long-horned cow alongside the tram in the covered bridge is business as usual with a casual warning to keep our hands inside the train.

The "farm" houses endangered species. Grant's Farm has the log cabin that was hand built primarily by Grant. He named it "Hardscrabble." The cabin sits about one mile form its original location.

Historically, Grant's Farm is the site of the Anheuser-Busch holiday television ads where the Clydesdales pulling the red wagon through the gates flanked by bronze bucks. The front fences were built with * rifle barrels from the Civil War.

Grant's Farm has animal shows that are simple and fun. You can watch a parrot answer math questions and roller skate or a pot-bellied pig go through an obstacle course - all stunts reminiscent of a simpler time that continue to delight kids.

For children, Grant's Farm is fun because they have the opportunity to see the animals up close. There is a big pen filled with baby goats. For $1, children get a baby bottle and get to roam among the baby goats, feed them and enjoy having their shoestrings nibbled on by goats. Children can also feed the Grant's Farm camels and llama pellets.

The farm also has about 35 of the Budweiser Clydesdales. You may think, "It's just a horse," but once you stand next to a Clydesdale you can appreciate its size. The full-grown horses stand about six-feet tall and weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

For grown-ups, the Bauernhof is fun. Grant's Farm built its own biergarten where you can buy a lunch of bratwurst and try Anheuser-Busch products for free. This is an offering worth taking advantage of at Grant's Farm because you get the chance to sample products that have not yet hit the mainstream, or maybe they never will. You can try the Ultra Michelob Lime Cactus or fruity drinks such as a blueberry-pomegranate malt liquor.

The Bauernhof is also where you can see the stables and an interesting collection of carriages.

If you are in the St. Louis area, check out Grant's Farm. Admission is free, the entertainment is delightful, and it makes for simple, memorable fun with your kids. The one cost is parking, which is $8 for a car.