Last month, Alex and I flew to Missouri to see the Florida Gators play the Mizzou Tigers at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Before we had kids, we used to try to go to one away game each year. We love the camaraderie of going to an away game and it’s fun to explore other college towns. At this point, we’ve been to most of the schools in the SEC, but we still hadn’t been to Mizzou and with the conference changing, we decided this was the year to go! After a stop in St. Louis, we drove the short two-hour drive to Columbia on Friday afternoon.

Thanks to a couple of friends who attended Mizzou, we came armed with recommendations. Our first stop Friday evening was dinner at Shakespeare’s Pizza, a local institution. We entered the restaurant to a lively atmosphere, packed with students and visitors for the game. The pizza was excellent and the beers were large. I hadn’t looked at the website going in, but apparently the wheat crust is great and you have the option to request thick or thin, as opposed to the usual medium crust.

Our next stop was Harpo’s for cocktails. Harpo’s is a popular place to go on gameday weekend, as it is a massive sports bar with over 30 large TVs, six full-service bars, an all-season rooftop, and a nightclub. We made friends with a group of Gator fans who it turned out had several friends in common with us from back home. The Gator Nation really is everywhere! The bar was just starting to get packed with college kids when we left and we could tell it is a lively spot!

Another local institution is Booche’s. When it first opened in 1884, Booche’s was a billiards hall — no liquor, gambling, or women allowed (until the 1970s). Even though we already had dinner, we each got a late night cheeseburger. The burgers are bigger than a slider but smaller than a normal burger, and are served on a modest square of wax paper without a plate or utensils. If this is your dinner, you’ll want to order more than one – and make sure to bring cash as cards are not accepted!

Kickoff was at 7:30 on Saturday, so we had some time in the morning to explore the area. We parked at the Le Bourgeois Winery and walked for a few miles on the Katy Trail (part of the Lewis and Clark Trail) in nearby Rocheport, about a 20 minute drive away. The hike was very pretty, meandering through the forest and then following an old railway along the Missouri River. The trail took us through Rocheport, a quaint, historic town where Lewis and Clark stopped and traded with Native American tribes.

After our hike, we had a glass of wine at the Le Bourgeois A-Frame Winegarden. I loved the encouraging sign on the steep uphill portion of the end of the hike! We were lucky to visit the A-Frame on its final weekend of the fall season. It’s a lovely place to have a picnic and wine with ample seating and a river view. Because it was the last weekend, they didn’t have much left in the way of food, but we tasted a few wines and then bought some snacks to enjoy with our glasses of Missouri wine.

After changing into our gameday attire, we walked around campus to experience a Mizzou gameday. The campus is gorgeous and we enjoyed stopping at some of the iconic spots, such as the Columns and Jefferson’s original gravestone. The Columns on Francis Quadrangle originally supported Mizzou’s first campus building — Academic Hall. They survived a fire and are now one of the most famous locations at the university. Jefferson’s gravestone was donated by his descendants to the University of Missouri in 1883 and bears an epitaph that reads:

Here was buried
Thomas Jefferson
Author of the Declaration of American Independence
of the Statue of Virginia for religious freedom
& father of the University of Virginia

We enjoyed a late lunch and drinks at Campus Bar and Grill, another lively spot on gameday. It’s worth noting we were some of the only fans from the visiting team, but the home fans were friendly, the food was delicious, and the service was quick. We were lucky to grab a table on the patio as the restaurant was packed pretty much the entire day.

After some tailgating with the St. Louis Gator club, it was time to head into the Zou. Although we didn’t win the game, we had a fantastic experience. I was impressed with the Missouri fans and enjoyed seeing their traditions and cheers. It was cold, but comfortable for most of the game. It’s worth mentioning that if you’re from the South, you can bring a blanket into the game. It wasn’t something I thought about, being from Florida, but I would most definitely have brought one in had I known!

On Sunday morning, before heading to the airport and home, we got breakfast at Goldie’s Bagels and Shortwave Coffee and went for a brisk walk on a popular nature trail nearby.

It was a successful college football weekend (well, minus the loss!) and we checked off another college town off of our list. Do you travel for college football? What are some of your favorite schools to visit? Please share in the comments!

RECAP

Eat/Drink

Shakespeare’s Pizza, 225 S 9th St, Columbia, MO 65201

Harpo’s, 29 S 10th St, Columbia, MO 65201

Booche’s, 110 S 9th St, Columbia, MO 65201

Le Bourgeois A-Frame Winegarden, 14020 W Hwy Bb, Rocheport, MO 65279

Campus Bar & Grill, 304 S 9th St #100, Columbia, MO 65201

Goldie’s Bagels, 114 S 9th St Suite 102, Columbia, MO 65201

Shortwave Coffee, 915 Alley A, Columbia, MO 65201