Kelly Thomas

I'm a fan of St. Louis sports teams and an alumnus of Mizzou. I like following regional development (mostly the WestPlex) and love traveling to Disney World.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@chris_stritzel The Battlehawks game isn’t until Sunday, but still a great weekend for downtown and events. 🙌🏻

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@chris_stritzel I’m a bit older, so I’m a slightly ahead of you and your map. I’m up to 40 states. Just 10 more to go for me!

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

In addition to that, in 2025 I also visited several other parks:
Knott’s Berry Farm
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Over Georgia
Worlds of Fun
Enchanted Forest
Silverwood
Busch Gardens Tampa
(as well as my home park of Six Flags St. Louis)
(and Sea World Orlando in Dec. 24)

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Wow, I just realized I’ve already been to 10 theme parks since 2026 began, and that was all by early May.
Magic Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
Animal Kingdom
Epic Universe
Silver Dollar City
Dollywood
Kings Island
Six Flags St. Louis
Six Flags Over Texas
Where to next?

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@FoodPleaser Yes, it’s one of my favorite flavors of ice cream! I got this at my local Six Flags recently.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Wentzville seems to be attracting a lot of new businesses lately. Also possibly coming soon are Dutch Bros, Gioia’s Deli, and Swig. I’m not sure if those have been approved yet or not, though:

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

It appears that Dave’s Hot Chicken may possibly be coming to Wentzville in the shuttered Jack in the Box location at 1992 Wentzville Parkway (along West Pearce Blvd.) if approved. It’s on the June P&Z agenda.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Construction seems to have begun this morning on the new Bryan Rd. Lee’s Famous Chicken Restaurant in O’Fallon. I’m excited for this, as I recently discovered Lee’s and love it!! 🙌🏻

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Last Fall, O’Fallon approved a new Lee’s Famous Fried Chicken restaurant to be built on Bryan Rd. next to Dutch Bros. I went to check one out in St. Peters last night and went back again this evening. I’m mad at myself for not trying it sooner!! I’m now excited for it to open.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

This morning I took a drive out to the rural area of western St. Charles County, and I saw the progress of this gigantic new home being built off Benne Rd. near New Melle. It’s been under construction for awhile now, but it’s looking great.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@DisneyFoodBlog I stayed at All-Star Sports in January and had a great experience.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@honeymoon250 I have done all 20 of these things. I still do some of them…especially paper maps.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

The Cambria Hotel is starting to rise at Streets of Caledonia in O’Fallon. It has an interesting construction technique for this development. They’re stacking pre-built hotel rooms above the first floor, so it’s getting built very quickly.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

I am up in Troy once or twine a week visiting family, so I’m just dreaming here, but I want the area to flourish as it grows.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

With the growth of both Troy and Moscow Mills, it would seem like the community would benefit from some additional recreational amenities. I discovered that an old short line rail route used to exist. A trail to connect both downtowns via much of that right-of-way would be nice.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Another abandoned rail line used to connect Moscow Mills to the south side of Troy, as well, so a network of trails could connect as the communities continue to grow. Lincoln County is a fast growing county. I’m doubtful any of these ideas happen anytime soon, though.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

@mikebrockmeier @25YearsAgoLive @RealSTLChatter I had thought about mentioning the newspaper thing, too, but I thought nobody would believe me, so I’m glad you did, as it was definitely part of my memory of this event, too. 😀

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

Now that I’ve been back over there, that’s technically South Main Street….oops.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

The northside of O’Fallon finally has a @QuikTrip!!! It opened today on North Main Street (a couple blocks north of I-70). 🙌🏻 I believe this marks the 6th QT within the city limits of O’Fallon.

[Kelly Thomas @kthomas314]

The new @QuikTrip on Main Street in O’Fallon is coming along nicely. Pavement is going in on the south side of the lot, so opening shouldn’t be too far off. Meanwhile, grading has begun on Wentzville’s newest QT, so hopefully it opens later in the next several months.