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Health & Fitness

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

Visit St Charles, MO, one of the oldest cities "West" of the Mississippi.

With uncertainty in the economy, and gasoline hovering near $3.50/gallon, this blogger decided to "be a tourist in his own town". He visited St Charles, MO, one of the oldest cities "West" of the Mississippi River.

As a brochure proclaims, St Charles has been "welcoming visitors for over 200 years!" St Charles is reachable on 5 exits via I-70; however, this blogger prefers to drive I-270 to the Page Avenue Extension and follow the signs to the Riverfront there.

This way he passes the  and , the tallest building on the river. Not only does the Family Arena have a schedule of shows, but they are trying to sign the to play there. Ameristar Casino has a nice location and a beautiful hotel if your gambling goes into the wee hours and you have winnings.

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The destination however is Main Street with blocks of free parking (up to three hours) and easy access to both the along the Missouri River with part of The Katy Trail or the almost 200 businesses that cluster near it. St Charles was the of Missouri and the original building is a few blocks away on 2nd Street.

Scores of restaurants and bars line the cobblestone streets in original buildings dating back two centuries. Many of the buildings have plaques with their dates and original purpose. is famous for its desserts and liver and onions while is housed in a quaint, balconied building.

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Boutique shops, like , , and , line Main Street, 2nd Street, and Highway 94. Farther North is Frenchtown, with its antique shops and Civil War Museum. There are even foodie shops like and .

Main Street Happenings occur every weekend in June. "Sunday Funday", June 3, has "burgers" as its theme and takes place from 1:00-6:00p.m. in the 100-200 blocks of Main Street.

is noon-1:00p.m. on Saturday, June 9.

On Sunday, June 10th, there is a choice between the "Rendezvous Concert" at the First Missouri State Capital or "" in Frontier Park, both at 7:30p.m.

Finally, "get your shake on" with "As You Like It", Shakespeare in () Park nightly at 7:30p.m., June 21-23 and June 29-July 1.

Visit www.historicstcharles.com, for more details!

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