Claire, the creative force behind Sloan+Themis, has put together a weekend full of food, entertainment and more – take it away Claire!

Being a Cape Girardeau local is a fairly recent thing for me. I spent part of my childhood 90 miles south of here. We would often travel back and forth to Cape for dining and shopping. After college and living in big metropolitan areas like Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago, I had a job that offered me the opportunity to live anywhere. So I chose here. Most of my big city friends thought I was nuts. But I can say it is the best decision that I have ever made. Five years later, I own a business here and enjoy all the area has to offer.

Saturday
 8:30 a.m.: If you’re out on a Saturday day morning, get breakfast at the downtown Riverfront market. I’m obsessed with the baklava booth — everything is made by a real Greek granny from scratch. So Erik and I always stop by before finding some coffee. We buy our produce for the week and talk to our hip and happening buddies there.

9:45 a.m.: We usually stop in at Curious Goods to see what Uncle Charlie has new. It is such an unusual shop with funk vintage stuff. My all-time window there featured velvet Elvis painting with these massive gold end table from the ’70’s and fringy lamps.

10:15 a.m.: Getting fresh air is always important so I recommend walking Broadway downtown to see the sculpture. My favorite is the statue by local Sculptor Nathan Pierce. It’s a small one in comparison to the ones he has had in Little Rock, Chicago or Atlanta, but still very cool.

11:00 a.m.: At lunch time swing over to Burritoville. It has something for everyone from meat lover to meatless options.

11:30 a.m.: After that you will need dessert and the best place to go is the Corner Grocery on Broadway and Middle for Kentucky bourbon balls. They won a state award for their amazing confections.

11:45 a.m.: Now shop! I go to Main Street for the afternoon. I love the collection of small shops and the diversity of products. My past shopping hauls from downtown have been pretty epic including a squirrel nut cracker, a scientific card catalog, tunics from Stash, vintage rings, chandeliers, designer dresses, and much much more.

5:30 p.m.: For dinner, I’ve found a new obsession… Ciao, it’s out on Kingshighway on the way from Cape to Jackson. I love the spicy eggplant with toasted baguettes!  For me it is just a meal in itself. I’m also a huge fan of the Cornish Game Hen when they have that for the special. 

8:30 p.m.: Time for O’Beer:30 at the Broadway Biergarten. I always try to resist the Bavarian pretzel with little success. Erik enjoys the selection of beers and the lively atmosphere. 

9:30 p.m.:  A romantic walk back down Broadway to where we live.

Sunday
9:00 a.m.: The Breakfast of Champions: Erik and I take our coffee and yogurts to the riverfront and watch the boats, joggers and dog walkers go by. It is really relaxing this time of day.  We’ve even seen bald eagles at that time of day.

10:00 a.m.: We suit up and go hiking. I don’t know if many locals know about all the great hiking stops. Our favorite are the wilder, more untamed areas, like the bird sanctuary north of Cape or the long trail at Trail of Tears park. Erik is an expert hiker and used our local terrain to help train for hiking the Appalachian Trail last summer.  We take snacks with us and have lunch in the woods.

2:00 p.m.: See what is hopping back downtown. I never know what I’m going to find just around the corner. There were two ladies last weekend processing alpaca wool on Spanish Street right outside the yarn store owned by my neighbor Dawn. It was fascinating to learn about the animals and how the wool becomes yarn. Funny enough the yarn that day came from an alpaca named “Steve Jobs”, which not surprisingly is one of the most productive critters on Dawn’s farm.

4:00 p.m.: If the family dog Santino is in town, we take him out to the City Dog Park. He can play for hours. We tend to talk to the other owners and have made some friends there.

5:00 p.m.: Now we are mighty hungry so we head to Pho 8 for some noodles. I was so excited when it opened last year because I would have to drive to Nashville to get real Vietnamese food.

6:30 p.m.: Everyone is wiped out. So we end our perfect weekend is Cape sitting in the loft downtown. Drinking ice tea and watching people walking and interacting downtown.

Thanks to Claire for showcasing such a fun weekend in Cape Girardeau!  If you were showing a visitor around our river city, what spots would you hit?



National Travel & Tourism Week runs May 2-10, 2015, and highlights the impact travel and tourism has as one of America’s largest industries. Learn more here.