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I live in Pittsburgh. In August I befriended a contemporary here in the Steel City who grew up in Mt. Vernon (in SWMO) and hasn’t been back in a couple of years. Since he doesn’t drive, since I love long drives, and since I’ve always wanted to explore the Show-Me State we’ve decided to spend a week in Missouri in 2019.
Here is a rough itinerary. Please help me tweak it!
Saturday, June 15, 2019
-Depart Pittsburgh in early-morning
-Arrive in Indianapolis, explore a bit, (maybe Fountain Square if anyone is familiar with Indy?), and spend the night
Sunday, June 16, 2019
-Depart Indianapolis in early-morning
-Arrive Springfield, MO in afternoon (~7-hour drive sound correct?)
-Nice neighborhoods? I like to park and stroll pleasant urban areas with big old trees, well-kept older homes, small neighborhood business districts, etc.
-Dinner options? Looking on Google Maps I found Black Sheep Burgers & Shakes near East Walnut & South. Does it live up to its 4.7-star online reviews? We’d likely make a reservation wherever we choose to eat for at least us and any of his Mt. Vernon family/friends that agree to drive from Mt. Vernon to Springfield to visit us.
-Accommodations? Emphasis on the cheap! Seeing Priceline deals for $70/night-$75/night for the Downtown University Plaza Hotel and the Holiday Inn Express. Thoughts on either?
-Breakfast options? Eying up Hurts Donut Company on Park Central West.
Monday, June 17, 2019
-Depart Springfield, MO in early-morning
-Arrive Kansas City, MO in late-morning (~3-hour drive sound correct?)
-Again, nice neighborhoods? Old Westport looks appealing! So does Hyde Park? Looks like some nice streets off of Ward Parkway? Also planning to check out The Plaza, West Bottoms, Downtown, and River Market.
-Some businesses that intrigue me are Blip Roasters (coffee), City Market, Kansas City Taco Company, Prohibition Hall (cocktails), Christopher Elbow Chocolates, Town Topic Diner, Succotash, and Texas Tom’s. Any good places to try barbecue to compare Kansas City barbecue to St. Louis barbecue?
-What is Crown Center, exactly? Should a tourist visit both it AND The Plaza or just one or the other? Will be spending two days in Kansas City.
-Is Kanasas City, KS exciting? Can’t find much about it tourist-wise.
-Some attractions that intrigue me are the WWI Memorial (including the skyline view), the Arabia Steamboat Museum, and Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. I love aquariums. How is Sea Life?
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
-Kansas City all day. See above for things that interest me. I’ll be doing whatever I couldn’t get done on Monday on Tuesday.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
-Depart Kansas City, MO in early-morning
-Stop briefly in Columbia, MO (grab a bite somewhere near Broadway & 9th?)
-Stop briefly in Fulton, MO (he wants to show me William Woods University, which is his alma mater).
-Arrive in St. Charles, MO in late-afternoon. Stroll Main Street and spend the night.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
-Depart St. Charles, MO in early-morning and then explore nearby St. Louis
-Again, nice neighborhoods? I’m thinking Delmar Loop, Soulard, Central West End, Lafayette Square.
-Clayton worth a visit, or is it just a generic edge city like Tysons Corner, VA?
-Some attractions I want to see include Gateway Arch, Old Courthouse, Soulard Market, Forest Park, City Museum, Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, and Missouri Botanical Garden.
-Business ideas for shopping, lunch, dinner, breakfast/brunch, coffee, etc.?
Friday, June 20, 2019
-St. Louis all day.
Saturday, June 21, 2019
-Depart St. Louis and drive straight back to Pittsburgh. If we’re feeling like we want more St. Louis we’ll stay one more night.
Indianapolis to Springfield is a hard seven hours, but yes that is about right.
For your older neighborhood walk, go to Meadowmere and Glenstone, use the large parking lot (it is Sunday, right?), walk north on Kentwood and explore the area north to Delmar, west to Pickwick, south to Meadowmere, and then back. There is an interesting little shopping area (emphasis on "little") at Pickwick and Cherry. The only larger old shopping districts I can think of are Commercial street (a few blocks either way from Booneville) or Downtown. And there is little shopping; mostly cafes, brew pubs, etc.
Black Sheep is burgers and shakes - fast food. $20 to $25 for burger, shake, and fries, but still fast food. If I wanted a sit down meal with friends in downtown Springfield, I'd go to Nonna's or Bambino's on Del Mar, not far from downtown. There are lot's of other choices. Lot's.
Really can't help on hotels as I always sleep at my house (!), although the ones you named are reputable.
Hurt's has a fanatical following and I don't understand it - its just donuts. They are open 24/7, and you can stop and get one for a snack anytime. I can recommend Aviary, First Watch (chain), Village Inn (chain), and Neighbor's Mill. If I was downtown I think I would go to Gailey's. Neighbor's Mill is easily the best take on Ozark's traditional breakfast foods.
Central Springfield to Central KC is 3 1/2 hours. Stop at Osceola Cheese in (where else?) Osceola, Mo. Really.
Crown Center is easy to skip. Skip KC, Kansas.
Kansas City is bbq world headquarters. It would take weeks to pick a favorite. Maybe choose from this list: https://www.10best.com/destinations/...ants/barbecue/ . May as well mention here that there is lots of really good bbq in Springfield as well.
Under the WWI memorial is the national WWI museum. Figure two hours. Or more. Nelson-Atkins Art museum is world class. Sorry, not personally interested in modern art, so I do not know about the Kemper.
The items listed in St. Louis are indeed worth seeing. Can't help you otherwise.
NOTE! You mention you love aquariums, but are leaving Springfield without seeing one of the premier aquariums in the US. Strongly consider staying in Springfield long enough to see Wonders of Wildlife | Springfield, MO .
Yes, I would go to Wonders of Wildlife over Sea Life. Sea Life is just a chain aquarium. Wonders of Wildlife is way more interesting. Don't miss that when in Springfield.
St. Louis...
Neighborhoods...what you have is great. The Hill would also be worth visiting. South Grand is full of international restaurants, neighborhoods bordering it are quite pretty, Compton Heights in particular, but also surrounding Tower Grove Park. (This is all close to the Botanical Garden, which is definitely a do not miss). A St. Louis classic for food would be Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard and the St. Louis Hills location would be a great stroll of old classic brick homes around Francis Park.
I think Clayton is worth a stroll, yes, or at least drive down Wydown from Skinker. Wydown is one of the prettiest streets anywhere.
Also, Maplewood would be a good stroll, with many fun restaurant options. Reeds is a recent favorite.
In the Loop, if you want to check out some cool old houses, you can check the area South, moving towards Wash U. Some great restaurants in that neighborhood are Publico, Seoul Taco, Salt and Smoke...and many more. Blueberry Hill is the classic old Chuck Berry hangout if you just want a burger. It's more of an attraction than amazing food (but I'm not a burger expert by any stretch as I rarely eat them).
Central West End is also full of restaurants, from the interesting to the chain places. It's been a while though, so I won't give a specific recc. You might check out the Chess Museum, HOF if that interests you. St. Louis has become the epicenter of American chess recently.
Downtown, you might also want to check out City Garden sculpture park, Veterans Memorial was just redone, the Central Library they redid and is amazing. The new arch grounds are superb. I like Cinder House in the Four Seasons hotel, but getting a drink at 360 in the Ballpark Marriott could be fun for you (will be absolutely packed if there is a baseball game though). It's a great rooftop view. My favorite grouping of restaurants downtown is along Washington Ave. Note that City Museum is very very cool and unique, but will be crowded and noisy Just be prepared for that. If you are off wandering the exhibits more than the climbing, crawling, amazing kid/teen playground, it will be quieter
Forest Park...if you enjoy zoos, you should definitely go. The Art and History Museums are also wonderful.
Some local classics...Charlie Gittos, Paul Mannos (so good but suburban strip mall location, but trust me!), Annie Gunn's (also suburban), Pi Pizza (all over), almost anything on the Hill (not Rigazzis though), Sidney Street Cafe
My favorite BBQ is Sugarfire here, but BBQ is not high on my list of favorite foods fwiw.
I'd suggest using AirBNB to find a place to stay. There are some super cute cabins in the area. We found one just barely outside Springfield, and my hubby and I are so in love with it! Galloway Cottage, I think it was. So adorable.
Hubby and I went down to Springfield for my birthday in July. There is a beautiful botanical garden "Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center" that is a very nice walk...and they have a cart train thing that will drive you around, too. Also, this may sound funny, but we went to the giant Bass Pro Shop there as well. There was a massive aquarium on site that we didn't get to visit because it was closing soon. They did let us step into the entryway from the store, though. Wow. Maybe next time!
Branson, if you're so inclined, is nice for entertainment. There is also a zoo that lets you pet animals of many varieties. I got to pet an albino armadillo. Haven't ever seen one alive up that close. Promised Land zoo, I think it was.
The Ozarks itself is vast and sprawling and full of so much. I saw a "castle" ruins up there and hiked around in the woods nearby.
Missouri has a lot of caves! You can find them all over the state. We went to Fantastic Caverns which actually will drive you through on a tour.
Oh. I second the Osceola cheese factory. Every type of cheese imaginable, and samples galore. Oh yeah. We noshed hard and walked out with a goodly amount of cheeses and meats.
If you go to Kansas City, MO, please be sure to see the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. World class, that is. Museum itself is free, but parking is $10 in the covered garage.
Hubby and I bring our own foods to save money, so I can't comment much on restaurants.
For one of the days in Missouri please find a good river to float. There are plenty of them and it's worth half a day on a canoe with a cooler full of drinks. Have fun!
In St. Louis, if you go on the Anheuser Busch Brewery tour the neighborhood nearby has some interest. The historic Lemp Mansion (very haunted) and Chatillon DeMenil mansion sit side-by-side. Cherokee Street is a revitalized neighborhood with cafes and bars (old working-class neighborhood). Benton Park is a classic old city park with some impressive (old professional class) homes.
I just wanted to drop in to thank you all so very much so far for your informative replies! I apologize it's taken me so long to respond, as work has been hectic recently.
My partner and I are officially going that week of June 15-June 22, as we have both been granted approval for the time off from our jobs.
Changes? Well, after thinking we'd be "rushing" St. Louis too much, as well as rushing time with his family in other parts of the state we're dropping Kansas City from our visit.
As it stands now we're leaving Pittsburgh Saturday morning. We're stopping for breakfast/brunch in Columbus and then heading to Louisville, where we'll explore and then spend the night. Sunday morning we'll drive straight from Louisville to O'Fallon, IL, where we hope to meet some of his relatives for lunch. From O'Fallon, IL it's driving straight to Mt. Vernon, MO to rendezvous with other relatives. Sunday night we'll stay in Mt. Vernon or Springfield. Monday morning we'll head to Jefferson City (briefly), as I've decided I want to photograph the state capitol building. Then it's up to Fulton to reunite with some of his college friends. We'll spend the night in Fulton and then proceed Tuesday morning to St. Louis.
We'll be spending Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in St. Louis now. We'll be departing Saturday morning to try to grab breakfast in O'Fallon, IL again with relatives, and then it's off to Cincinnati to spend the rest of Saturday into Sunday. Sunday morning we depart Cincinnati and come back to Pittsburgh.
I'm a bit disappointed we're not going to see Kansas City, but I'd rather do more of St. Louis and NONE of Kansas City rather than briefly see snippets of both cities. Our next Missouri trip to see his family can be more KC-oriented.
Some things I've decided we MUST do in St. Louis?
Gateway Arch
Soulard Market
Missouri Botanical Garden
St. Louis Museum of Art
St. Louis Zoo
Forest Park
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Old Courthouse
Is Union Station worth a visit? How about City Hall?
Neighborhood-wise I want to see Lafayette Square, Soulard, Delmar Loop, and the Central West End. Any others worth a stroll? Debaliviere Place? Skinker-Debaliviere? Dogtown? Dutchtown?
While we're going to be super thrifty the rest of the trip I sort of want to splurge to stay right Downtown for a hotel. We're leaning the Drury Plaza since it looks like it has a nice rooftop deck overlooking the arch as well as three free alcoholic beverages in the evenings per person and a free breakfast buffet in the mornings.
I know Shake Shack is a national chain; however, we don't have one in Pittsburgh, but they keep showing up in my Facebook news feed with tempting ads. Is it any good? I sort of wanted to patronize mostly local businesses in St. Louis, but I'd be willing to go corporate with Shake Shack if any of you would recommend it?
Overall we're very excited for this trip! I'm going to post again within a few days asking some more St. Louis-specific questions, as my partner has Mt. Vernon/Springfield and Jefferson City/Fulton covered. Thanks so much!
What you have listed are great places to see in STL.
The actual neighborhoods you mentioned, you might want to ask the regulars in the STL forum for specifics.
As for the arch, that's one of my favorite places to visit since I was a kid. An important thing would be to get your tickets to go up in the arch in advance. It's a popular attraction and can get booked early. Not that you'll need to months in advance, but when you find out what specific day you'll be there you may want to go ahead and get your tram tickets online.
Steel, its good to see you around. I'm one of the old timers from way back and remember you.
If you're still going to Springfield, I would recommend Casper's Chili for a burger shack. It has a lot of history in Springfield. Somewhere along the line, try and hit a Steak 'n Shake.
Union Station at the moment has a lot of construction. Our new aquarium is going up and will still be under construction when you are here. The hotel bar though has a nice light show
IDK the cost difference, but the Hilton ballpark is also worth considering for a hotel. The rooftop bar (360) is probably the best one downtown with a great view of the arch and the ballpark. Drury is a great value though with the breakfast.
Make sure to hit Washington Ave, City Garden, and the downtown Library while downtown.
I haven't been to Shake Shack, so IDK on that one
I might add Cherokee Street and the Grove to visit, and if you go to the Ted Drewes on Chippewa, St. Louis Hills is pretty classic St. Louis brick residential architecture and very safe. Also South Grand (international area, great spot to eat, close to MoBot and Tower Grove Park)...Compton Heights has some gorgeous homes to look at. Grand Center (theaters, symphony, contemporary art museum, SLU campus).
Maybe hit the Brewery tour? Eat at Lemp Mansion? Stroll through Maplewood (good local restaurant options there too).
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Just be prepared for that. If you are off wandering the exhibits more than the climbing, crawling, amazing kid/teen playground, it will be quieter 
No More KC; More STL
