Meet Me in St. Louis......

Sunday, September 30th - OK, I just couldn't resist the film reference.  Many, not all for sure, will remember the 1944 Musical starring Judy Garland, Mary Astor, June Lockhart, Margaret O'Brien, etc. about the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis.  Over the years we have been in St. Louis several times and have actually been to Forest Park where the fair was held, and all over St. Louis....we've been to the Arch, Busch Gardens, Grant Farms, and all the main attractions at least once, if not twice.  So what to do that we haven't done before?

Before I answer that question let's cover Sunday's travel from Strafford, MO to St. Louis, MO.  We departed Strafford RV Park around 8:30am in order to cover the 188 miles to St. Louis.....OK, actually nearer to Fenton, a suburb of St. Louis, by Noon.  The weather was dry, and the road was smooth.  As we got closer to St. Louis the terrain became hilly, and the Interstate went UP, and DOWN.  Around Noon we reached our exit and had 12 miles to go.  This was a tough 12 miles.....very narrow, two way road....often I had about 12 inches on each side of the coach for 9 of those miles.  Fortunately the last 3 miles had a nice shoulder, which made a little easier driving.  As we rounded the bend approaching my bother-in-law's 2 acres with a barn where we were going to park our coach for two days,  much to our surprise, we saw Creig, Elaine's brother, was there with Elaine's sister's daughter and her two daughters who served as a small cheering section as we slithered into the narrow gate, and on to the grassy area behind the barn.....now I just have to figure out how to exit....haha!  Seriously, it should not be a problem when we depart tomorrow.

A very cooool barn....

Creig and the girls also had a lunch ready for us....talk about arriving in style!  Originally we had thought we would be dry camping, but after I got the coach leveled Creig told me his neighbor (home on the far side of the barn) was offering an electrical outlet for us, so who am I to turn down 20 amps of power.  I had to run about 100 feet of electrical cord over to his house, but all is good.

After lunch we talked for a while then decided to head over to my niece, Heather's home for dinner later that evening.  After they left I took a shower, shaved, and took a short nap, then watched a little of the Ryder Cup, which the USA managed to lose after ending Saturday with a big lead.

We had a good time at Heather's home, and enjoyed spending time with her husband, Ron, and her three children, Justin, Dawn and MacKenzie.  A little later Creig's wife, Kay, arrived with one of their daughters, Kaytlin, who is a Senior in High School.  So, it was a nice evening with family, good food and conversation.

Monday, October 1st - I got TLE up around 7:45am as I knew Heather would be coming by on her way home from her morning job at the local school to discuss the day's plans around 8:30.  She and TLE decided we would meet Heather later around 11:30am to go hiking at Lower Meramac Park, which is located along the banks of the Meramac River.  But, before that TLE and I decided to take a bike ride into the local town and back, around 8 miles, just for the exercise.  After we got back we changed clothes and headed down to the Meramac River, about 12 miles away to join Heather and Creig for a hike along the river.

The mighty Meramac

After a nice 3 mile hike we had a picnic lunch, and then Heather headed home before heading back to her job, and then I got to drive Creig's Triumph TR8 for about 15 miles through a maze of twisty, windy back roads running up and down the 5 speed transmission, but rarely getting above 3rd gear.  Triumph produced the TR8 for two years beginning in 1980 with a V-8, and dual exhausts.  After I drove for a while Creig got in the T-Bird with TLE and drove, and then TLE got in the Triumph and drove for a while.  We spent about an hour running through the back roads around Fenton before stopping at Sandy Creek Covered Bridge, a State Historical Site.

Creig and TLE

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge

The covered bridge is no longer in use as the road has been re-routed, but it appeared structurally sound, and ready for traffic.  After the covered bridge we headed over to Mastadon State Park, the site of the Kimmswick Bone Bed where the full skeletal remains of a Mastadon were found many years ago.    

By the time we finished touring Mastadon State Park it was around 4pm, so we decided to head up to Schlafly's Bottleworks in downtown St. Louis for a couple of brews and some appetizers before meeting up with Heather again at 3 Margaritas Mexican Restaurant in Fenton for dinner.  Schlafly's brews everything from Pale Ale to Porter, to Oatmeal Stout, and Pumpkin Ale, plus many others.  We enjoyed sampling their Porter, Oatmeal Stout and the seasonal Pumpkin Ale.  All three were great, but the Pumpkin Ale was exceptional!

Schlafly's Bottleworks

Around 6pm we headed for 3 Margaritas for dinner.  I was still a little full from our Schlafly's run, so I just ordered a single Taco and a single Chili Relleno a la carte......the Relleno was 3 times bigger than any one I have ever had, and was by far the best I have ever had.  We parted company with Heather and Creig around 8:30 and headed back to our "home".  We'll meet up with them again for breakfast before we again roll our wheels east to Campbellsville, KY.

What a great day that just kind of evolved into a very fun, and adventurous day.  Tomorrow,  off to "Infinity and Beyond!"

Thanks for stopping by!