A Little Bit of Missouri

After visiting Dorthey, Toto, and friends in Wamego, I decided it was time to get out of Kansas and continue east to Missouri. As I neared the border, the wind picked up, and without a nice welcome center like in Kansas, I didn’t have much motivation to stray too far from the highway. I blazed through Kansas City and didn’t stop until I hit St. Louis. I was hoping for a roadside attraction to call to me, but I got nothing.

Pulling into St. Louis, it was late in the afternoon and the sun was starting to drop. I decided to find a place to stay so I could see a bit of the town before dark. I tried to book a room at the Last Hotel, but their system was down and they were unfriendly and unable to help me when I called. I drove to the hotel to see what it was all about, but once I got there, realized it wasn’t where I wanted to be anyway, so I got lucky! Suddenly a last minute deal popped up for the Live! by Lowe’s Hotel at the ballpark, and it was perfect! I ended up with a sweet room overlooking the park with the most comfy bed that felt like a giant cloud. The employees couldn’t have been nicer. Highly recommended if you want to stay in downtown St. Louis!

After settling in, I headed out for a walk towards the 63-story Gateway Arch. Again, I was living right and the sky was gorgeous for about 10 minutes when I arrived….then the clouds disappeared. The park around the arch and up to the Old Courthouse was beautiful too! I would have liked to ride the tram to the top of the arch, but running low on time and wanting to see a bit of the town, I skipped it. Maybe next time!

From the arch, I walked up Market Street which is lined with a couple parks, and home to several cool sculptures and statues. I even got to get into someone’s head!! Crazy, this is my second time literally being inside of someone’s head…the first was last year in Riga, Latvia.

Last, I made a quick loop up the street to see a cool building and around the ballpark before sitting down for some much needed sushi!

The next morning, after an amazing nights rest, I hit the road and headed towards Memphis, TN. Just short of the border, I saw a sign that called to me…The Cave Winery! I love caves and I love wine, so I decided this would be my off the highway jaunt in Missouri before it was too late. The vineyard is in Ste. Genevieve, about 10 miles off of I-55 in the middle of nowhere. What a beautiful surprise! The tasting room is fairly new and plain, but Debbie, the bartender was great and told me a bit about the family that started the winery and each of their special wines, including a Norton wine made from the Norton grapes. I learned it is state grape of Missouri, and was apparently the grape sent to France to save the wine industry after a huge crop loss at one point! If you’d like to visit, see www.cavevineyard.com.

After I did a tasting and purchased a bottle, which is the mandatory entrance fee for the cave, I made my way down the trail to see what it was all about. It was too chilly for sitting in the cave, but I’m sure in the heat of the summer, it would be an amazing spot to relax with a glass of wine! Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get a “cave kiss” (a drop of water from the cave ceiling)!

And with that, I headed down the road towards Tennessee, only stopping to get pics of a couple more cool old trucks.

Until next time, peace, love, and hugs,

Michelle