TAKING THE GRAND TOUR: CAPE'S ATTRACTIONS ARE MANY, BUT NOT ALWAYS EASY TO GET TO

Amusement parks, no. Museums, parks and monuments, yes.

That is one way to summarize what is available for the spur of the moment, drive-by visitor to Cape Girardeau.

It isn't always easy being a lone tourist in the Cape Girardeau area. The attractions are there, tourism officials say, but getting to them can sometimes be tricky.

Say you are driving along Interstate 55, see the Cape Girardeau sign and decide to pull over and have some fun. Luck and timing are important right about now.

Some attractions aren't open to the general public, aiming instead for the motor-coach trade. Those that are, such as many of the small museums in the area, have limited hours of operation or are only open a few months of the year.

A reporter's calls Friday to several tourist attractions went unanswered.

Greg Macke, who owns Black Forest Villages, says it is too expensive to open the site to the public every day without the Oktoberfest or some other event to pull visitors in.

"Eventually it would be nice to be able to have it open on a daily basis," he said.

That doesn't stop people from coming, especially on the weekends. The St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway, open weekends April through October, pulls in about 20,000 people a year. Black Forest Villages draws 10,000 to 12,000 people a year.

About 400,000 people are expected to visit Cape Girardeau this year for a variety of events, including conventions, concerts, shows, fairs and exhibits.

And while they are here, they will visit restaurants, shops, theaters ... and the museums, the train and downtown Cape Girardeau, and everything else, said Kim Groves of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There are no amusement parks or theme parks available on a daily basis, said Bob Hoppmann, chairman of the CVB board.

Weekend events like the crafts shows and Riverfest, as well as the area's parks "are really one of our biggest draws for the groups and conventions that we bring in," he said. "We just don't have a lot of businesses in town that you could call a tourism place."

It also depends on how you define tourism, Groves said. "We've got a lot of people who come in for the ice rink or the skating rink," she said. "We're particularly busy when the Illinois schools are on spring break."

She said CVB staff regularly direct visitors to places like the Big River Grandprix go-cart track, Kids World and other such sites.

And history, which the Cape Girardeau area has in abundance, brings in lots of people.

"You wouldn't believe how many people come in just to tour the cemeteries," Groves said. "If they're into genealogy or history, they really enjoy coming here."

The Mississippi River, including Riverfront Park and the Wall of Fame and port area, also draw a crowd, she said.

"Go to Riverfront Park and I guarantee you'll find people from all over," she said. Groves said, "They usually find it before they find us."

And, yes, the Rush Limbaugh tour, featuring the radio and TV personality's childhood home, school and other sites, is still a hot prospect.

"I've given out those brochures this week," Groves said. "We've got people from Wisconsin and Florida and Texas and Michigan coming for that."

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN

The Cape Girardeau area offers many tourist attractions, but not all of them are easily accessible.

The Glenn House: The restored Victorian home is open for tours Sunday through Thursday from April through December.

St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway: The train runs April through October on weekends and holidays, or as chartered.

Oliver House: The two-story federal-style home in Jackson is open Saturdays from May through December or by appointment.

Black Forest Villages: Two nineteenth-century style village feature craftsmen, arts and crafts, demonstrations, music and food, but they're only open to the general public for special festivals in April, May and October. The rest of the time, they're open for group activities and tours by appointment.

ON THE OTHER HAND, lots of sights can be seen -- and are, by thousands of visitors every year -- rain or shine, year 'round.

City and County parks, featuring playgrounds, swimming, fishing and picnic areas, plus historical sights, including Cape Rock Park and the park at the Common Pleas Courthouse.

Gallery 100: Open weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m., with exhibits by local and area artists.

Jake Wells Mural: Featuring the growth and development of Southeast Missouri and the Mississippi River, the mural can be seen at Kent Library on the Southeast Missouri State University campus seven days a week.

Old McKendree Chapel: The oldest Protestant church west of the Mississippi is always open to visitors and is still available for services.

Riverfront Park: It's hard to shut down the Mississippi River, and you're in the heart of historic downtown Cape.