Road trippin' worth the drive

Less than 1 hour away

Chester, Ill.

Everybody knows Chester is the hometown of Popeye, right? The famous cartoon character was inspired by a young man from Chester, created by Chester-native Elzie Segar in 1929. Every year the town celebrates its Popeye heritage with the Annual Popeye Picnic. The festival includes tours of the Popeye Museum carnival rides, dances, sports and more. Event runs Friday through Sunday. For more information visit www.popeyepicnic.com.

East Prairie, Mo.

Catch a glimpse of history at Big Oak Tree State Park's Living History Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Craftspeople will be on hand demonstrating hide tanning, spinning, woodcarving and trapping. The park is 15 miles south of East Prairie. For more information, call (573) 748-5340.

Less than 2 hours away

St. Louis

The Sheldon Art Galleries, located at the Sheldon Concert Hall, gives visitors a history of jazz in St. Louis with its "City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973" exhibit. The exhibit is based on the book of the same name, the first full-length volume on the history of St. Louis jazz, and features archival photos, posters, period advertisements and artifacts. For more information visit www.sheldonconcerthall.org.

Less than 3 hours away

Memphis, Tenn.

Elvis remains alive 30 years after his death with this small exhibition of photographs from the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art permanent collection called "Elvis is in the Building." While you're in town, make a stop by Graceland, where Elvis' 30th death anniversary was recently commemorated. For more information on the exhibit call the museum at (901) 544-6200.