Dani and Janell in the penguin cave at the St. Louis Zoo during our 2005 vacation. It was so hot out this was the only place we could stand to be.

I think all of us have one ... a place of which the mere mention makes us cringe.

For my husband, my daughter and me, that place is St. Louis, Mo.

Now, I have nothing really personal against St. Louis. I know it's a cultural center with awesome architecture, fabulous nightlife, access to art, etc.

But sometimes a bad experience can sour you to something you might otherwise really, really enjoy.

Allow me to take you back to the summer of 2005.

My family and I used to take a sort of mini-vacation each summer. We'd pack up the van, and Andy, the kids and Andy's cousin Janell, who was a year older than our daughter Dani and was Dani's best friend and I would head off for some fun destination for a few days. We'd go to an amusement park or zoo; one year we went to Grand Traverse Bay, Mich.

In 2005, we somehow decided to take a four-day jaunt to St. Louis. We booked a cabin at the Jellystone Park Campground there, and planned an itinerary that included stops at the St. Louis Zoo, Six Flags and the St. Louis Arch.

We were going somewhere we'd never been before, and boy, did it sound exciting.

Who knew St. Louis in August was so hot?

The entire time we were there, it was over 100 degrees every day.

We went to the zoo, and it was so hot all the animals were in hiding.

We ended up hanging out in the penguin cave because it was cool in there.

We went to the Arch, and by the time we walked across the lawn to it our shirts were soaked with sweat and we were feeling woozy from the heat. We spent more time in the gift shop than we did looking at the Arch.

The hottest day of the trip was the day we went to Six Flags. It was 115 degrees.

Janell and Dani tried to go to the water park there, but you're not allowed to wear shoes and the pavement was so hot they couldn't walk on it. Standing in lines for rides was unbearable.

We spent the majority of that vacation in the air-conditioned cabin at the campground watching DVDs. It would have been a lot cheaper to just do that at home.

I'm sure St. Louis is a great place, but every time someone talks about it I shudder.

What's your vacation horror story?