Springfield

MO to WI Epic Road Trip - Part 1: St. Louis, MO to Springfield, IL

MO to WI Epic Road Trip - Part 1: St. Louis, MO to Springfield, IL

So many Springfields and we aren't even talking about an episode of the Simpsons!  
I am excited to share my travel adventures from Missouri to Wisconsin, an Epic road trip for work and fun.  First up, St. Louis, Missouri to Springfield, IL.  #LetsGo

Make sure you never miss out on an adventure for #reallife posts, sign-up to receive them conveniently delivered to your inbox!  Also, would it really even be an adventure unless your trip planning was scribbled on multiple sticky notes and possibly looks more like a treasure map? #JustSayin

Springfield x3

We recently moved from near Springfield, Oregon, to now Springfield, Missouri (check out the Moving Adventures blog series here).  When it came to planning this travel adventure, I saw that I would be traveling near Springfield, Illinois, and decided it should be added to the list for sure!  

P.S. Do you know which of the Springfields the TV show was based on?  Answer...

We have even had an Airbnb guest accidentally book with us at our Ozark Farm Stay at Freedom Ridge not realizing they had selected Springfield, MO, and not Illinois.  Oops!  

Here we go now, off to new Springfields and beyond!

First Stop, St. Louis

I had about a three-hour drive from Springfield, MO up to St. Louis (STL).  Of course, I had to stop there, I can't drive right past a National Park and not visit!  

As you navigate to the park, you will be directed to the north edge of the large Gateway Arch National Park near Laclede's Landing where you can find a few private parking lots ranging from $6 to $10 (option 1 and option 2).

If you traveled a great distance with a fur baby, then take advantage of the
Laclede's Landing Dog Park there under the bridge to stretch their legs!

Next, take a stroll down the historic cobblestone streets and look around to spot murals and other STL paintings:

Depending on the lot you park in, you can walk downhill a block or two to see the mighty Mississippi River and the many historic bridges that cross it there.  The Eads Bridge was my favorite, so beautiful!  Click image below for the history of this landmark bridge:
Walking through the park grounds was lovely including the shade from the trees on a hot summer day.  Under the arch, the Saint Louis Brown Stockings Vintage Base Ball Club was playing a game.

Though I enjoyed the walk and seeing the Old Courthouse that is adjacent, it was a sad day to be a free American citizen banned from the national treasures you so cherish in the National Park system.  Here was my day... 

Remember, if you have ever been denied access as I was, or missed getting a stamp for your 
Passport to the National Parks, you can write to or email the park from their official website and the contact information there to request one by mail for the date that you visited!   

Have you visited this iconic Gateway to the West?

Springfield, Illinois

Another 90 minutes up the road to my newest Springfield adventure and my very first carillon.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?

"A carillon consists of a series of at least 23 tuned bells, played from a keyboard that allows expressiveness through variation in touch. The player, or carillonneur, can play a broad range of music—from arrangements of popular and classical music to original compositions created just for the carillon. Carillon bells can be heard throughout North America, in cities, at churches, on school campuses, in public parks, and in many other places where people gather."  Source: 
The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America 

My first in-person carillon experience was at the 
Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon in the historic Washington Park.  While I didn't get to experience it being played live, it did ring wonderful sounds to count the passing time.  Grab a picnic lunch and head down when they are having one of the many events when it will be playing (click image for website and event schedule details)!

An important side note about driving to Washington Park... it involved a Hidden Entrance.  So yes, it's required adventure material when it starts out like that!

Next stop, embracing my inner foodie and experiencing an iconic Illinois dish named one of the most-quintessential plates in the Prairie State — and at one the best spots to serve it.

The Horseshoe

It's dinner time and I'm ready to head down to the Dublin Pub to try out the famous horseshoe.  What is it you ask?

From one of my favorite sources for adventure planning, 
Atlas Obscura described it this way:  "Sometimes there is a dish so iconic, so legendary, that unearthing its history becomes a journey into local lore, forgotten recipes, and thrice-cut potato wedges. In Springfield, Illinois, that dish is the Horseshoe."
"The Horseshoe is a drunk-food dare dating to 1920, when Chef Joe Schweska of the Leland Hotel threw two thick-cut slices of bread on a sizzle plate (aka the anvil), topped it with a thick slice of horseshoe-shaped ham and french fries (the nails) and doused the whole thing in a white sharp-cheddar sauce inspired by Welsh rarebit. Today, any respectable restaurant in Springfield, Ill., serves a version, though they tend to include nuclear yellow cheese, frozen fries, and any variety of meats — think corned beef, ground beef, Italian sausage, bacon, or steak. There’s even a breakfast version where hash browns stand in for fries." Source: 
Food Network

In honesty, I tried ham and white cheddar pony shoe.  It was the smaller portion and still a ton of yummy food!

So there it is, part 1 of this adventure!  

Which of my experiences resonated with you?  Comment below!


Information courtesy of Echo Schneider


Meet Echo Schneider, Chief Adventure Officer

 
Overworked, burned out, and with waning loyalty to an industry that had lost its way and was no longer true to itself.  Of course, career burnout was at an all-time high in my sector and amongst the worst in any field.  It wasn’t all even just about work, though my perfectionism often got the best of me there more than other parts of my life.  I look back and see that I was overwhelmed and questioning so many areas of my life.  Was I doing the right things? From diet to products I bought, from how I was involved in the community to time I was spending with family, and from how I was walking out my faith and showing up in a meaningful way to my world. In this craziness is where I found myself.
 
Healthcare (watch my fingers make air quotes as I say that word and use the term loosely at best) in the US had long been bought and paid for and was no longer masking their symptom management and disease maintenance focus.  It had lost its focus on health; they could give you a pill or cut you open.  But to nurture your health and foster your body’s God-given ability to heal itself, they no longer knew how to do that.  Or worse, no longer desired to be in the business of prevention and healing.
 
As so many professional people were doing in the modern economy, we, as healthcare professionals, we’re doing more with less.  Mandatory overtime, poor ergonomics, and complete lack of an environment to practice self-care were the norm.  And to make it worse?  Because of our specific industry, we added in a loss of our medical freedoms just to stay and do our jobs.  The days of job security were long gone, and I watched in fear as friends and colleagues in sectors across the board were being laid off just to help top leaders move the stock up for shareholders.  How terrifying that this could be the reward for lifelong dedication and hard work!
 
At home, it didn't feel much better.  I fought to find a non-existent work-life balance and to be present while feeling exhausted (have you ever come home from work to fall asleep on the couch and finally be awoken when your Mom calls? Tell me this isn’t just me!).  I was disappointed in myself seeing my self-care fall away, time with friends and family slipping by, and I wasn’t spending the time I wanted serving with my church family or in my community.  
 
Add to that the confusion and frustration of what should have been simple daily choices.  What foods should I be eating? Is this trendy thing something I should try?  Wait, is the product good or bad, I paid more for it, but I feel like I saw an article on them that there was a recall or they were green-washing.  So frustrating and such a time-suck trying to keep up and have the health and abundance our family deserved!  I felt like at every turn that I was running to keep up and felt like I ultimately just found more of the same lies in the name of profits, and more ways my health was ultimately paying the price, yet again.
 
How could anyone thrive in this culture when even those who were well educated and seeking out something better faced with such daunting challenges?  I know, first-world problems, but I longed to create something more, a legacy for myself and others.  To break generational chains and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it stuck in this rat-race.
 
Set the stage for that something.  I have, for so much of my life, been interested in learning, growing, and being a student of personal development.  From an investment with top leadership development companies through their programs for years to Law of Attraction to Conscious Language and so many others, I was finding the mentorship and teaching I needed to make the changes I so desperately desired.  
 
There wasn’t an overnight shift or an immediate awareness to change, but I began to find my path slowly and as a result, was investing myself in new ways.  I was raised by a wise and visionary Mother who had shown me what it was to be an entrepreneur.  I always admired that title and was drawn to it in many ways.  As I dabbled in businesses from my youth through college and beyond, I was picking up pieces of freedom and a stage where I could work for myself to create something new.  
 
As the years went on, I kept pushing myself in that path.  I was helping others, and I was welcoming a team of like-minded friends and family to come with me.  This was possible; we were doing it!  It wasn’t easy, we were doing a side-hustle while still being full-time professionals and wives and Mothers, but we were doing it none the less.

I'm so excited to have found a platform to speak truth. To show up for others in "true health" in ways that I didn’t know could exist when I started down this path.  But I know now that we don't have to settle any longer.  Any of us, friends!  It's time to live the great adventure that you were made for.
 
Now it’s time to move beyond business beyond vocation.  Now we are building a blessing.  That has so many meanings, one being the definition of “a herd of unicorns,” in case you didn’t know.  I was given the title of ‘unicorn’ from a dear friend when she came to know me and saw what I was capable of achieving.  And now it’s my turn to see that light in you.  Join me, and together, we can create a community and movement with a vision to change it all.
 
I don't care what your background is.  What education you received growing up in business, finances, or medicine.  Those things don't matter.  We are walking a new path to freedom in all areas of our lives.
 
I'm writing a new future and destiny for myself and my family, and I won't journey alone.  A mentor taught me to carry the confidence that God has called me to rise, but I will not rise alone.
 
I'm reaching out my hand to you (don't worry, I recently used a plant-based hand sanitizer) so that you are not alone; we will do this together!  
 
You are so worthy.  
 
Your family and your dreams are worth it.  
 
Together we can do this, but you must take the first step. ðŸ‘Š

I can't wait to connect with you via text, email, or on social media!

Contact

Copyrights © 2025 held by respective copyright holders, including Adventures 4 #RealLife ~ Echo Alexzander.