A Great State! (Missouri)

Member Name: alirigby

Product:	Missouri
Date:	22/05/02 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good scenery, lots of things to do

Disadvantages: no beaches!

Ok so Missouri is not on the top of everyone’s list of places to visit, it’s slap bang in the middle of the USA with no huge theme parks, beaches or sky-scraping cities, however it does have many redeeming features and a charm all of its own.
If you want to see how true Americans live and where they go for vacation, Missouri is the place for you.

Where is it?
Missouri, nicknamed the ‘Show Me’ state, is pretty much right in the middle of mainland USA (I always find it funny how some of my family there have never seen the sea!).
It is bordered by the state of Kansas to the west, Iowa to the north, Illinois to the east and Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma to the south.
The Mississippi River lies to the east of the state and the prairies lie north of the Missouri River (the longest river in the USA).

How to get there:
St. Louis is the biggest city and the cheapest airport to fly into. The only airline to fly direct is American (formerly TWA’s route) out of Gatwick, it takes around 9 hours.
Alternatively you can fly with other airlines and change, or fly to Kansas City (more of a hassle and longer). Kansas City to St Louis is around a 4 hour drive.
It’s about 5/6 hours drive from Chicago (very boring flat scenery – makes for a long drive!) to St Louis, 6 hours from Nashville, 19 hours from New York and a whopping 39 hours from Los Angeles.

Climate:
It has a continental climate: hot summers and cold winters and very variable springs and autumns. Tornados are common in this area!

St. Louis:
Although the state capital is Jefferson City, the largest city in Missouri is St Louis set on the banks of the Mississippi river and known as the ‘Gateway to the West’.
It is home to the white, ‘Gateway Arch’ which stands 630ft high beside the river. At the base of the arch is an interesting museum detailing the history behind Missouri, the
Indians and the Wild West. You can travel to the top of the arch if you like, you have to buy a ticket ($8 adults, $3 kids up to 12yrs) and then go up in a very small, cramped lift. Don’t go up if you don’t like heights; there’s a fantastic view but it wobbles and is a little scary and expensive! (It’s open 7 days a week)
There’s some good shopping in St Louis and Missouri in general; things tend to be cheap (and cheaper than in bigger cities elsewhere in the USA).
I have visited Union Station, which is a station redeveloped as a pleasant mall, with more than 100 shops and restaurants; I like it here as there are more individual, gifty type shops and it’s away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.
Other things to do and see are the zoo, the botanical gardens, Busch Stadium (home to the Cardinals –baseball team) and the Science Centre. There’s also a theme park, called Six Flags, which is meant to be worth a visit as it has some good rides apparently.
There is a light rail network in St Louis which is useful for getting around the city and between points of interest (it’s also very reasonable).
The Lake of the Ozarks:
Here in the Uk, we are pretty impressed with our Lake District; goodness knows why Americans travel all the way to Cumbria when the Lake of the Ozarks region is right on their doorstep.
This part of Missouri is well worth a visit; more than 1,150 miles of shoreline with plenty of opportunity for fishing, boating, water-skiing, picnics, swimming etc… and in good weather too! The scenery is beautiful and it’s great to hire a boat and pootle around the lake during the day in the sunshine.
A lot of American tourists do visit the area so it’s geared up for holidays (but not over-the-top); there are outlet malls for good discount shopping, lots of restaurants, go karting, mini-golf, proper golf, water parks and more…
It can be very
busy in the height of summer, but it’s nothing like other touristy parts of America. This is my favourite area in Missouri.

Mark Twain:
The town of Hannibal in northeast Missouri was home to the famous author Mark Twain (who immortalised the state’s riverboat culture in his books) and provided inspiration for his works such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. There are a number of museums and shops dedicated to him in the town and the local area.

Kansas City:
I have not visited Kansas City, so I can’t make much comment. It is situated on the State line between Missouri to the east and Kansas to the west.

Other places of interest:
Branson is Missouri’s entertainment city, a Mecca for country music fans – I’ve never been but it’s meant to be great fun!
Hermann is a weird town in central Missouri, established by German settlers it’s like a little bit of Germany in the USA (good for wine too apparently).
The meramec Caverns, south of St Louis, as well as being amazing natural features also made a good hideout for Jesse James and his gang after various robberies; public tours are available.
Missouri also has quite a large Amish community, a quiet group of people who believe in a plain style of life; you will see the odd horse-drawn buggy and people dressed in old fashioned clothing – it is an intriguing lifestyle.

Overall:
Missouri has a lot to offer the visitor, I always find something new to do each time I go. It’s best to go between June and October when it’s warm and the Ozarks are at their best.
I think it a far superior choice to say visiting Florida where all the other Brits go.

Other information:

Population: around 5.5 million
Time: Central (GMT - 6).

Summary: