Missouri
I met some people from Columbia, Missouri at a Training Magazine conference Top 125 banquet, and they spoke very highly of their city- so I put it on our list of places to visit! We were in Columbia for 3 days, and it is nice, but Missouri is not for us- I was sneezing and allergic the whole time! On the way to Columbia we drove through St. Louis and could see the arch, but we didn’t stop to visit:
As you can see, it was very hazy! As we drove through St. Louis on I-80 we were shocked at the number of run-down derelict buildings- they went for miles! I mean no roofs, broken windows, etc. It was awful!
When we got to Columbia we did visit the University of Missouri which was the first state university west of the Missippi. These 6 columns are the traditional symbol of the University.
We also went by the football stadium:
Columbia has a great downtown, right next to the University, but the streets are a little tight for our giant truck!
We went to the movie to see Mission Impossible and met a nice couple who introduced themselves to us since we were the only people in the theater and they were the second people. There were only 4 other people by the time the movie started, and the theater had over 200 seats! It was huge. The movie was good and we recommend it if you like the Mission Impossible franchise- there was a little more humor than normal!
We visited an open house, and all I can say is WOW! The main kitchen had a huge kitchen island (note 8 chairs!)
When you opened the cabinet door next to the ovens it was a secret pantry:
The first floor was about 2500 square feet )normal stuff like living room, dining room, huge office and main bedroom/bath), and the basement was a tiny bit smaller, but it still had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a HUGE craft room (with glass walls and doors so you could shut it off as an office) and a HUGER (yes, it’s a word) game room, complete with a loooong bar (6 barstools) kitchen, pool table and TV area!
While the house was way bigger than we want, and more expensive, it wasn’t badly priced considering the size, at about $750,000. In general the prices were lower, bu tit is HOT and HUMID in the summer and COLD and SNOWY in the winter- not a retirement place for us!
On our last day we did laundry and then went to the Boone County Fair, which was right next to our campground! It was the smallest fair I have ever seen, with about 10 rides and games, 6 food booths, 2 small buildings for animal pens, 1 larger building for the kids craft displays and the Miss Boone County Fair competition. This was also the place where the Ham Contest entries and winners were displayed:
They use a scorecard to grade the hams on a scale of 1-5, and the categories include eye appeal, color, smoothness of the skin, fitting, trim, firmness, meatiness and aroma. It doesn’t look like taste is a part of the scoring!
The marines, army reserve and firefighters had tables, and there were a few local businesses advertising. There was also a lot of farm equipment displayed. We got hotdogs to eat– look how green the relish is! It was interesting to see this fair, and how much smaller it is than what I am used to!
Another weird thing about Missouri is how they name their highways- they are all named letters:
And towns are named after other places- there is California, Cuba, Mexico… I guess they don’t have a lot of imagination when it comes to names!
Our next stop is Kansas City, where we will meet up with Kyle and Janelle– can’t wait!