6 hours in Columbia, MO

I'm starting a new blog segment I hope everyone will enjoy (title cred to NYT). If you know me at all you know I like to explore (or wander as some people like to say); it doesn't matter if it is down the street or a few countries away.

What to see: University of Missouri Campus

Due to poor planning on our part we only had an hour to walk around campus, so we hit the highlights: francis quad, the columns, tiger spot failure, memorial union, MU student center (Brady improved).

Money Spent: zero for me (my sister spent $1.50 for a window decal at the bookstore)

Lesson learned: Leave plenty of time to walk around Campus and time for the downtown shops.

the Francis Quad

sitting on the Columns

more Columns
Tiger spot failure

What to eat: Shakespeare's Pizza

Ok, this is where we kinda went wrong. We thought we could go to Shakespeare's downtown at 5pm and get pizza in time for the 7pm game. With a line out the door and the time estimation sign pointing at 1 hour and 1/2 + wait for pizza, we thought it was time for plan 2. So we went to the Westside location... still busy but we got our pizza in less that an hour and half.

What to order: large wheat crust pizza with pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom

Cheesy garlic bread

Diet Coke from the fountain (I love fountain drinks done right and Shakes has both Coke and Pepsi products and they have fantastic cups and fantastic towel napkins)

Money Spent: $27 for a large pizza, cheesy bread, 2 pops, 1 beer, and a water (friend brought coupon for free cheesy bread)

Lesson learned: On game day go for lunch... or start at 4:30

awesome cups...

What to do: Mizzou Men's basketball game

My sister and I are both graduates of the University of Missouri, but her being two years my senior had never gone to a Mizzou game in Mizzou arena. We are both big basketball fans and the Tigers are looking good this year and a trip to a game seemed necessary. I didn't get to sit as close as I did in my student days, but the game was a lot of fun and the Tigers won easily 81-58.

Money Spent: Upper Corner ticket to Mizzou Arena $14 (including handling fees/service charges) to watch the Fastest 40 minutes in basketball

Lesson learned: Buy tickets in advance. There seemed to be plenty of tickets, but we waited to buy (to figure out who wanted to go with us) and the game became a sell out.

What else to eat: Sparky's Homemade Ice Cream

Sparky's was a favorite of mine senior year at Mizzou. My family has a thing for ice cream and since my sister was graduated and moved out of country by the time Sparky's opened up I decided we had to stop by.

What to order: Sparky's is known for their unusual flavors, use of local suppliers, and alcohol ice cream mixtures. I had one that incorporated all three with the "bourgeois and ghirardelli" selection. The ice cream was red wine flavored (from Les Bourgeois Winery) with chocolate slivers. The first taste was interesting but the ice cream soon grew on me. My sister had butter pecan and said it was good.

Money Spent: $2.75 for a full cup

Lesson Learned: Not a lesson we had to learn the hard way, but Sparky's is closed from January to February. If we had visited two days later we would of been out of luck.

the mascot out front