Columbia, Missouri: The Ultimate Vacation Spot when You Want to Get Away from Metropolis
Yes, I was so sick of Los Angeles that I booked a flight to get away from the city of concrete, to a city in the Midwest, where there is an abundance of nature. And since I had a friend from Missouri who visited LA a few months before, I decided to go there. I imagined it would be a great place to relax, experience a different pace of life, and just see more of the country. Sure enough, it was. A little too much, if there is such a thing.
When I told my friends in LA that I was going on vacation to Missouri, they laughed. They thought I was joking. Why would someone who was born and raised in LA, who is a creature of big cities, go to Missouri for vacation, And it is not even St. Louis, mind you. It is Columbia, Missouri, close to 2 hours away from St. Louis. Just how I imagined it, the city was all green and endless sight of trees and no tall buildings in sight. It was almost the opposite of Los Angeles. Yes, there are similarities, both cities are hot, but Columbia was extremely humid, humid to the point that I sweat just by walking half a block. Which leads me another difference between the 2 cities: the women in Columbia do not wear makeup…whether that is because the makeup would drip right off due to the sweat or because they are not concerned with superficial things like cosemetics, the majority of women do not wear makeup. This was a pleasant change for me, as I myself, did not worry about having to put on makeup. And the majority of people did not go to the gym…another big surprising contrast from LA.
Everyone seemed to be relaxed, in a slower pace, and just not stressed. I am sure there are occasions when people are, as with life comes stress, but the difference was that people are not hurrying everywhere, driving crazy, being in a bad mood. People were down to earth and just plain genuine and friendly…and not the fake kind of friendly.
What was also interesting was how people chose to pass time. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that there are not that many places/things to choose from, but it seems like all they do is drink. Drink at local low-key college pubs, breweries, or most popular in their own homes, creating crazy drinking games. My personal favorite is 40 fingers, which apparently is taping 40 ounce beer bottles to your fingers and downing them. Now, my friend in Missouri was surprised I was not aware of such games, but none of my friends back home has ever heard of them either. Although, I was not fortunate/unfortunate (depending on the way you look at it) enough to participate in such a game, I had to just marvel at the creativity that sitting at home with drinks had devised up.
But the environment and scenery was the biggest contrast…the fact that there was soo much nature and green. The tallest building in Columbia was probably the tallest building at the University of Missouri, Columbia (or Mizzou as the locals call it). And the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were gorgeous! To have a river big as that surrounded by a flush or green throughout the middle of the city is so much prettier than the thin stream of the Los Angeles River between concrete running across the city.
Granted mosquitoes and other insects attacked me, but the city was beautiful and was surrounded by nature, peaceful and relaxed. Missouri, in its own sense, is what a vacation destination should be, relaxing and chill.
