First, I was born and raised in a town near Columbia, Missouri, so I am somewhat familiar with the area. Second, I haven’t been there in about 12 years, so I’ve pretty much forgotten everything about Columbia.
Anyway, I am going to visit family this weekend and am bringing along my partner. It’s just a short trip designed to introduce him to my family. I’d like to show him a memorable time while there. The last time I was there, there was a winery nearby in Rocheport. My partner adores wine and I thought we could do that. I don’t know what the winery is called, but I know exactly where it is.
I figure that should take a few hours. But what should I do with the rest of our 3 day trip? We’re both into art, outdoor concerts, live music, nature.
Also, I thought we’d top off an evening at a local gay bar. Do they have any in Columbia?
I’ve been to Columbia exactly twice, once to pick up a dog and once to drop off the dog. I don’t know anything about the nightlife, but there was a big park of some kind called the Cosmo Park or something like that; it seemed like a good place for outdoorsy stuff.
Les Bourgeois is the winery. I’ve been there a few times, and had a lot of fun. It’s a good place to learn about Missouri wines and their history, and it has very nice scenery if you just want to sit down, relax and drink.
There’s also plenty of outdoor-sy things for you two to do - assuming the weather’s good. The MKT trail is nice if you fancy a walk, and there are several parks and nature areas in the region.
For live music, try The Blue Note or The Music Cafe. Not too many concerts going on now, though, being the summer and all.
For the rest of your time, visit the University of Missouri’s Museum of Art & Archaeology, catch an independant film at the Ragtag Cinemacafe, or wander around downtown campus and browse through the shops (check out Cool Stuff - it’s full of. . .cool. . .stuff).
Finally, I believe that Styx is a gay bar, although it’s been years since I’ve heard anything about it, so I make no guarantees that:
a) It still exists.
b) It’s still a gay bar.
c) There will be anyone else there (again, being summer).
There was one there in October last year. Sperfur hosted a dopefest at her house and a bunch of us went to a gay bar ( I don’t know that name ). It was a blast.
If you have a rental car, I would suggest leacing some morning around 10:00am and going to Hermann, Missouri along I-94. All you need to do his hop on Highway 63 south (it turns into I-94) and don’t stop until you get there.
The road follows the Missouri river bottoms and Katy trail. It also dodges up through some of the cliffs and provides a scenic ride for about an hour until you get to Hermann. Once in Hermann, there are shops…many wineries, and enough to do for an afternoon.
It would make a great day trip that shows some more scenic parts of the state with an interesting river town with a strong German heritage.
Well, I know I stumbled across this too late for your trip, rostfrei, but I did want to tell you that Styx closed a few years ago and is now the Thirsty Turtle II.
I love to wander downtown. If you come back, I also recommend Cool Stuff, and right next to that is the Peace Nook.
There’s also a fantastic vegetarian restaurant/juice bar on (I think) 9th street called Main Squeeze. For excellent, inexpensive greek food, try the International Cafe on (once again, I think) 10th. (I’ve very close - maybe one street over if I’m wrong.) Village Wine and Cheese is also very good on the corner of 9th and Broadway.
Thursday nights in June and September offer a downtown Twighlight Festival, which is something fun to do if you’re here during the week. Email me next time you’ll be here and we’ll go to SoCo! I’m sorry I missed ya this time around.