Cruisin'

This year marks 20 years since the World Series that seems to have cemented Kansas City's arch-rivalry with St. Louis. Maybe some bad calls were made. We can't rightly say -- we were, like, 8 years old at the time. But, hey, guess what? We won. Kansas City. Won. Who won? We won.

Anyway, as we were saying, now that two decades have passed, shouldn't we begin making peace with our brethren in St. Louis (sore losers, all of them)? We suggest starting small, with perhaps a summer road trip.

The drive along eastbound Interstate 70 (a trip that takes only three hours and 57 minutes) is not known for its pleasures. But its pleasures are many, and we intend to extol them.

The Elvis Is Alive Museum

We know what you're expecting here. Hours of operation. And for that reason, we transcribed the sign on the door just for you: "Hours of Operation: Open most days at about 9 or 10, occasionally as early as 7, but sometimes as late as 12 or 1. We close about 4 or 5, but sometimes as late as 11 or 12. Some days or afternoons, we aren't here at all, and lately I've been here just about all the time, except when I'm someplace else. But I should be here then, too." You don't need to carve out a big chunk of time for the visit. A few minutes is all you really need -- or probably want -- to spend in this place. It's small, and it smells as though it contains cigarette ash older than the King himself. But it's worth stopping in to consider things from the perspective of one who really, truly, sincerely believes that Elvis is alive. The museum display includes a coffin with a pompadour-wearing mannequin inside it, a slew of references to "Lisa Marie Presley" (always in quotation marks), a list of the top ten reasons to doubt the King's death, and lots of yellowing newspaper articles.

St. Louis Museum of Contemporary Art

This was our first stop in St. Louis proper. Upon exiting from the highway, we were immediately struck by how much more truly urban St. Louis feels than Kansas City. Once parked, we entered a beautiful, modern, natural-beige building (designed by Brad Cloepfil) with lots of sun coming in through gigantic windows positioned to avoid casting light directly on the art itself. Clever, huh? Housing only temporary exhibits to keep things fresh, the museum contains no permanent collection and instead holds up to four high-profile shows at a time. The gift shop -- Muse -- is well-stocked and contains items by local and national artists. Yoshitomo Nara yo-yos are shelved alongside cards by the St. Louis-based Firecracker Press (St. Louis' answer to Kansas City's Hammerpress). The café, Tempt, sells artfully named paninis and salads. The art on display during our visit (and through May) was as amazing as the building -- in particular, the Los Angeles-based Ruby Osorio's Story of a Girl (Who Wakes, Far Away), with its elaborate, unframed tableaux literally overflowing onto the walls. Once we realized that the handful of people silently following us with their eyes were plainclothes guards (and not just total weirdos), we relaxed considerably, newly confident that we were not starring in the opening scene of a zombie movie. What a relief. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, with extended hours and free admission on Thursdays. Regular admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors with ID, and free for children 12 and younger. 3750 Washington Boulevard, 314-535-4660, www.contemporarystl.org.

Laumeier Sculpture Park

This place is truly what it purports to be -- an "open-air museum." The art displayed here is big. You can even walk inside some of it. Midwestern weather patterns being what they are, some days are better than others for visiting this museum, but St. Louis natives -- who get to see the art in all weather -- are the lucky ones because so many of the sculptures change with the position and intensity of the sunlight. Unlike indoor museums, where everything but the visual side of the art is controlled, this outdoor museum welcomes a variety of sensory experiences, including smell. That's right. You can smell the art. One piece, Jackie Ferrai's Laumeier Project, smells distinctly like soda. Or is it pop? Open daily from 8 a.m. until half an hour past sunset. Indoor galleries and a museum shop are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. 12580 Rott Road, 314-821-1209, www.laumeier.com.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Imagine what the Powell Gardens would be like if they were located in the most bustling part of Kansas City's downtown. You are only beginning to picture what it's like to walk through a gate separating a busy St. Louis street from the lush, green Missouri Botanical Garden. In addition to the winding paths that lead visitors through outdoor mazes of flowers, plants and trees, there are several special indoor nooks: a tea garden inside a greenhouse, displaying the flowers whose petals and leaves are more frequently seen in teabags than sprouting from branches; a Climatron, which contains a sweltering tropical garden-in-a-bubble; and the Tom K. Smith gazebo, made of red cedarwood, from which visitors are encouraged to observe wildlife. Because the Climatron is not the only place where intense heat is likely to be experienced, we'd like to alert you to the English Woodland Garden, which is primarily a shade garden. Open 9 to 5 daily and until 9 p.m. Wednesdays Memorial Day through Labor Day. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and is free for children 12 and younger. 4344 Shaw Boulevard, 314-577-9400, www.mobot.org.