Born in Hannibal and raised in Vandalia, Missouri, Dea Hoover knows her way around the back roads of Missouri. She’s accustomed to hearing the familiar mantra, “Are we there yet?”—thus the name of her full-service tour operation in the city of St. Louis. In 2008, Are We There Yet?, LLC expanded its operations with the acquisition of St. Louis’s first local receptive tour operation, Discover St. Louis,
LLC, founded in 1975. Most recently in 2024, she expanded operations and also serves as a full-service travel agency. She is the best-selling Reedy Press author of STL Scavenger and Hannibal: A Walk Through History. She loves speaking to groups and creating enthusiasm for the locale she presents. Dea and her husband, Declan, work together and live in The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis because it reminds her of a small town in a big city.