About flights, try to get one with only one plane change. Gary says he prefers to route through Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW) than through Chicago (ORD). Make sure you specify Springfield MISSOURI (SGF) as there are several Springfields in the US. Springfield is a tiny airport with only 8 gates, none of which get used simultaneously. You can’t get lost there. In fact, it’s kind of refreshing in its simplicity.
I’m sorry to say that you’re visiting arguably one of the most beautiful areas of the country in what has to be the most dreadful month of the year. We do have winter here, and it can be just awful. Last year on February 12, we had an ice storm. But just as easily it could be 60F/16C. One never can tell. But there will be nothing green, it truly is winter and the nights will be very cold. If we’re lucky it will be nice outside and you can take walks and visit the trails and Nature Center and trek through the parks. If not, we’ll hang out inside and find things to do.
What is there to do here? Well, there’s a little bit of everything here. Downtown Springfield is experiencing a renewal and has lots of art galleries, wonderful restaurants, cute shops, and a good night life. The Discovery Center is great fun for the under 12 set. The rest of Springfield is quite spread out and is mostly utilitarian. One thing not to be missed is Bass Pro Shops.
40 minutes south is Branson. It started as a country music town but now it’s become a tourist destination for the midwest. It is the off season, but there are still things to do, such as the IMAX Theater, The Butterfly Palace, Predator World, Titanic Museum, Talking Rocks Cavern, Wings of the World, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, plus arcades, bumper cars, outlet malls, and all the trappings of a tourist town.
Springfield has no public transportation to speak of and taxis are kinda pricey. So renting a car might be a good idea if you’re not bringing your own, which of course, doesn’t apply to the UK contingent. Luckily, we’re planning on the wedding and reception to be downtown and that’s all within easy walking distance. are a couple hotels downtown (fancy conference hotel and cheaper
Holiday Inn Express) and the one Bed and Breakfast that we have, Walnut Street Inn. (Unlike the UK, our B&B’s are quite luxurious, for getaway weekends and such.) I’ve reserved 4 rooms at Walnut Street Inn, all in the Carriage House, just in case. You can take one of these or grab one of the others downtown. I wanted to make sure we had nice rooms reserved and nobody ended up staying in a doggy motel across town.
We live about 8 min drive from downtown. Alek (15) is a gamer freak would be thrilled to share with anyone wanting to play. Katie (13) knows all about the mall, makeup, Twilight, and all things teen and angst. Plus, she can babysit. Lanie (9) never stops moving and would love to share her dressups, ride bikes, jump on the trampoline, play games, and do crafts. If you’re interested in any of those sorts of things, we suggest you talk with them. As for the adults, well, we always find things to do.
I’m just throwing things out here, I have no idea if any of this will be relevant or helpful. But if you have any questions, just ask Gary. He knows what to do
