Columbia, Missouri
With so much to see, one could spend more than a
weekend exploring Columbia, Missouri. This Midwest gem is located in northern
mid-Missouri, 120 miles west from St. Louis, and one of my favorite places to visit.
As a college town, the city has a reputation and a huge emphasis on education
but its main street charm with art stores, coffee shops, makes the trip
worthwhile.
My first stop was Fretboard Coffee, located on
Walnut Street, is a family owned business that prides themselves on “each cup
of rich, harmoniously blended Fretboard coffee that touches your lips will be
roasted just for you”.
Meeting Austin,
the Barista, was really fun! He created a Chia blend
with espresso and topped it with a heart! Delicious! Austin has a sense of heartfelt passion
that shows in his work!
Next stop was meeting Sami at the Root Cellar
Grocery. Their mission statement is to support Missouri’s diverse farmers and
artisan food products by providing a high-quality outlet for consumers. They are
a retail grocery store in downtown Columbia that features Missouri-raised farm
and food products. It was fun listening to Sami, explaining the grocery’s Box Program with passion. It is a weekly food subscription program to make
healthy, local eating convenient and affordable. I agree that buying local food
changes everything. Sami was delightful!
As an avid crystal admirer, my trip was made complete by checking the local
crystal shops. The Wild West store was the high point of my trip! I loved
talking with Don, the owner as he has many years of experience with crystals
and gems. I bought a beautiful Chinese turquoise necklace that I treasure!
When planning my trip, I came across Boone
County Museum & Galleries located at 3801 Ponderosa Street. It is a
non-profit organization committed to preserving and interpreting local and
regional history. By the early 1980’s, the Society drafted plans for the museum
and began to seek public support for its construction. It was completed almost
entirely with private contributions, volunteer and donated materials. In 1994,
the Montiminy Gallery was built highlighting the work of regional artists. I took a walk around the beautiful grounds to
see an Italianate style house that was built in 1877, also found on the property was
a carriage house and a lake. Talking with another admirer, I learned of a
Heritage festival they have in September. That is definitely another reason to
visit again soon.
These are just the highlights what I saw on this
trip to Columbia. The different variety of places really intrigued me to come
back soon to explore more of their diverse city.
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