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If you find yourself a Chicago Cubs fan at Busch Stadium during a Cubs-Cardinals series, don't let the sea of red shirts intimidate you. Sure, you will be outnumbered by Redbird fans, but take comfort in knowing that legions of fellow Chicagoans will be there to cheer or commiserate with you.

Whenever the Cubs play in St. Louis, Chicago residents by the carloads flock to the gleaming downtown perch of their team's age-old rivals. My son Jeremy and I have followed the Cubs to Denver, Milwaukee and Cincinnati, and this past July made it to St. Louis to watch them battle Albert Pujols and the rest of manager Tony LaRussa's gang. We snared tickets for two games, though one set was standing room.

We started our St. Louis weekend with a one-hour tour ($10) of Busch Stadium, a new park that opened in 2006 next to where the old Busch Stadium had stood since the mid-1960s. (Sadly, the vacant site is an eyesore.) Our guide regaled us with Cardinals lore, throwing around names like Musial and Schoendienst, Gibson and Brock. We visited the press box, posed for pictures in the Cardinals' dugout and filed through the exclusive Cardinals Club ($28,000 a year for a ticket, including food and drink).

The mighty Gateway Arch, by the Mississippi River, and dome of the Old Courthouse are visible from the stadium. Outside the ballpark, the statues of Stan "The Man" Musial and other greats afford plenty of photo opportunities.

The neighborhood around Busch Stadium is being developed as Ballpark Village, a community filled with loft apartments in old brick warehouses. The Westin St. Louis, incorporating some of these commercial buildings, is where the Cubs (and other visiting teams) stay.

Baseball fans drift over to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, a block from Busch Stadium. In an odd arrangement, it shares space with the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. Your $7.50 admission ticket gets you into both museums and even includes four frames of bowling.

Before the Sunday game, we had some extra time downtown, so we popped into the Old Courthouse, a free museum that spotlights one of the most important court cases in U.S. history. It was there in 1848 that slaves Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom. National Park Service rangers give tours and answer questions. We also killed some time in the lobby of the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, stopping to admire a huge framed collection of Cardinals baseball cards.

Our seats for Sunday's game were in the Redbird Club, a mid-level seating area that offers access to an air-conditioned (and pricy) food court. Choices range from Asian dishes and personal pizzas to specialty sausages, pretzel dogs and Philly cheesesteaks. Sweet treats include cupcakes, giant cookies and Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

One night we watched most of the Cubs-Cardinals game at Pujols 5 Westport Grill, the suburban restaurant/sports bar of Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols. We sat in the Trophy Room next to a glass case displaying Pujols' 2006 Golden Glove Award and the bat he used to hit his 100th home run.

During dessert we saw Pujols hit his 300th career home run (live vs. the Cubs) on one of the restaurant's 32 high-definition TVs. Earlier, the announcer had interviewed wife Dede Pujols about an upcoming Christian family night at Busch Stadium. Thanks to table speakers, the TV volume was perfect. Two booths in the Trophy Room have their own individual TVs.

Pujols' place also has outdoor seating in the plaza. Nearby is Ozzie's Restaurant & Sports Bar, the domain of Cardinals great Ozzie Smith, another baseball-themed eatery in Westport Plaza, a shopping-office-hotel complex in western St. Louis County, or West County.

Pujols and his family sometimes eat at his namesake restaurant, more often in the off-season, and they do a lot charity work in the St. Louis area. I enjoyed Albert's favorite chicken dish, the Arrozo con Pollo ($13.95), a heaping bowl of red-peppery chicken thighs with cilantro rice, a mainstay in his native Dominican Republic. My son had the Mile High Meatloaf ($14.95).

Jeremy and I had lunch the next day at the West County branch of J. Bucks, a group of classy American restaurants named after Jack, Joe and Julie Buck, the famous St. Louis broadcasting family. As sports fans know, Jack (1934-2002) was the Cardinals broadcaster for many years, and son Joe has carved out a national reputation doing various TV sports events. Daughter Julie is a local radio personality.

J. Bucks is cool and contemporary with dark woods and soft lighting. You'll find TVs only in the bar. Framed photos of Jack Buck with Joe DiMaggio and other legends decorate the walls. The menu offers everything from burgers and steaks to entree salads and stone-fired pizzas. A perfect finish to the meal is the Caramel Gooey Butter Cake, a fine example of this decadent St. Louis specialty.

On previous St. Louis trips we've stayed at a downtown hotel, but this time downtown was booked solid, so we got a room in Chesterfield, a well-off western suburb with rolling hills and leafy neighborhoods, a direct shot from downtown via Interstates 64/40. The enclosed Chesterfield Mall is a magnet for serious shoppers.

From our base at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center, my son and I explored some West County sights that never had been on our radar screen. We also had down time to enjoy the facilities of the attached Chesterfield Athletic Club, a huge complex with indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center and an outdoor jogging track, plus tennis, racquetball, basketball and volleyball courts.

Not far from the hotel is Chesterfield's Kemp Auto Museum, a display of shiny vintage cars, mostly Mercedes. You can choose a technical or historical self-guided audio tour. In a separate building, visitors can see restoration work being done.

Also in Chesterfield is Faust Park, part of the St., Louis County parks system. Among its treasures are the 1929 St. Louis Carousel, a working antique with more than 60 hand-carved horses, deer and chariots, and the Historical Village, a collection of 19th century buildings that have been transplanted to the site. Other Faust Park attractions include the Butterfly House and Thornhill, the home of Missouri's second governor.

On a pre-breakfast trek from the DoubleTree, I walked over I-64/40 and discovered an old cemetery tucked under some trees next to the eastbound entrance ramp. The graves of 25-30 African-Americans occupy the site of an 1846 church established for slaves. Rededicated and spruced up in 1999, the cemetery of the First Baptist Church of Chesterfield is unknown even to many locals.

Perhaps our greatest West County discovery was the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog, located in Queeny Park along a road lined with country estates in the tony community of Town and Country. It boasts the country's largest collection of art, artifacts and literature on man's best friend. From greyhounds and bloodhounds to pointers and bulldogs, the artwork will remind you of a pet that you've had or known.

Some of the paintings and sculptures are displayed in the 1853 home once occupied by Edgar Queeny, the president of Monsanto Co. Among them are a White House portrait of Barney and Miss Beazley, the Scottish terriers of George and Laura Bush.

The museum's Hall of Fame honors canines that have provided service or entertainment or achieved championship status in dog shows. Hollywood icons include Lassie, Toto and Rin Tin Tin. Also enshrined are the search-and-rescue dogs employed at the Oklahoma City and Sept. 11 bombing sites. The Vietnam War exhibit remembers dogs that served as sentries and messengers.

We also toured the Museum of Transportation, near Des Peres, with its vast collection of trains and cars. With over 70 locomotives, plus cabooses and passenger cars, it has the most complete collection of American rail power anywhere.

For tourist information, contact the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, (800) 916-0040, www. explorestlouis.com.