With the launch of http://www.explorestlouis.com/pets/ and a grow­ing rep­u­ta­tion as a city that embraces pets, St. Louis con­tin­ues to evolve as one of the most pet friendly travel des­ti­na­tions in the United States.

Dred Scott. George Washington Carver. Scott Joplin. Buck O’Neil. You might be famil­iar with the names, but have you been to the cour­t­house where Scott, a slave, sat after he suc­cess­fully sued to earn his free­dom? Have you walked the grounds where Carver devel­oped his love for agri­cul­ture? Can you hear the music play as you imag­ine Joplin sit­ting at his piano and com­pos­ing “The Entertainer” or pic­ture what O’Neil’s accom­mo­da­tions might have been like for road games? If you answered “no” to these ques­tions, it’s time for a visit to Missouri, a state rich in African-American cul­ture and a great loca­tion to learn about the peo­ple who strug­gled to gain free­dom, fought to make con­tri­bu­tions to soci­ety, put their own stamp on a gen­er­a­tion and sim­ply wanted to get in the game. The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/och.htm plays an impor­tant role in the his­tory of African-Americans in Missouri and in American history.

Dred Scott. George Washington Carver. Scott Joplin. Buck O’Neil. You might be famil­iar with the names, but have you been to the cour­t­house where Scott, a slave, sat after he suc­cess­fully sued to earn his free­dom? Have you walked the grounds where Carver devel­oped his love for agri­cul­ture? Can you hear the music play as you imag­ine Joplin sit­ting at his piano and com­pos­ing “The Entertainer” or pic­ture what O’Neil’s accom­mo­da­tions might have been like for road games? If you answered “no” to these ques­tions, it’s time for a visit to Missouri, a state rich in African-American cul­ture and a great loca­tion to learn about the peo­ple who strug­gled to gain free­dom, fought to make con­tri­bu­tions to soci­ety, put their own stamp on a gen­er­a­tion and sim­ply wanted to get in the game. The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/och.htm plays an impor­tant role in the his­tory of African-Americans in Missouri and in American history.

Most peo­ple think girl­friend get­aways are for warm, sum­mer months, but that’s not always so! Just because it’s cold out­side doesn’t mean you and the girls can’t get away for a lit­tle indoor fun. Not only do many Missouri attrac­tions offer group oppor­tu­ni­ties and rates, but more and more are offer­ing spe­cial girls-only events and packages.

Dress for the weather and get set to watch majes­tic eagles by land or Lake dur­ing the 12th annual Lake of the Ozarks Eagle Days, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 9 and 10 am. – 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 10. The event will be spon­sored by the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau, Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Osage National Golf Club.

It’s more and more dif­fi­cult to stretch a dol­lar these days, and there’s noth­ing harder to deal with than bored kids who just want “some­thing to do.” Well, there are lots of things to do in Missouri that don’t cost a dime and will keep the kids happy and occu­pied. You just need to know where to find them.