Our travels Sunday found us on the banks of two rivers, the Missouri to begin with and the Mighty Mississippi to end. We left the Marriott in STL in a spacious coach (coach, not a bus) and headed west along I70 to St. Charles. It, like our more familiar St. Mary’s City, was another “First Capitol”. We had a very nice tour of the restored city on their little trolley:
with commentary by a very knowledgeable guide, a lady who has been doing it for 25 years and really knows her history of St. Charles.
A complicated one it is, with the city being under rule of the Spain, France, and then the Germans. As you all know, it entered the Union as a state in 1821 as part of the Missouri Compromise. Accordingly there are buildings that display characteristics of all its mixed heritage, and several examples of each were pointed out. We then were “turned loose” for lunch and shopping. We met FOJTE and wife for a lovely lunch at the Garden Café ala Fleur, a little place with a large patio which the weather allowed us to take advantage of. We were seated not far from the spot where Lewis and Clark started their famous expedition (we know knew). The fare was sort of standard café offerings, sandwiches from Reuben’s to Burgers, salads from Caesars to fruit, and a few small plates. We were immediately informed that Tiffany would be taking care of us for lunch. Oh, well, it’s a friendly small town. We decided on a cheese plate to start with, and ordered drinks. I found a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, an IPA style (beer brewed in the UP of Michigan) of beer with a lovely label of a rainbow trout. I noticed after my second bottle that it was 7% alcohol. MFO went with a Mirassou Chardonnay (a disappointment) and FOJTE took a Paulaner Oktoberfest Ale, and his wife chose some Peach Iced Tea. Service was, well, slow, but it was a pleasant afternoon and a good people watching place. We shooed tiffany off a couple of times and then ordered a half and half for the flutters (white chicken chili/reuben; potato soup/tuna salad;) a bowl of same for MFOJTE, and a wrap with raspberry chipotle (which was nice to pronounce) for FOJTE. After another longish wait the cheese arrived, somewhat disappointing, but still an okay starter, and after another interlude the food appeared. It was pretty good, especially the soups. A pleasant afternoon and after a couple of those 7% beers, the gentle coach ride to Hannibal seemed pleasing.
We started out on 70 west bound. We were impressed by the development of western STL which now extends to Wentzville without cessation of strip malls, centers, various little businesses, almost everything but trees and fields. We could remember when Wentzville was “out there”. Turning north on US61 the sprawl finally gave way to rolling hills and some color although rain showers were intermittent. Along the way our trip leader gave us some background on Hannibal and Samuel Clemens. A little nap interceded somewhere in there, and after coming through the “new” part of Hannibal we arrived at the historic part of the city. Our accommodations there were scheduled to be at a riverfront B&B, which was resurrected from its former life as a well, look at the color of the light over the sign.
Trepidation began to creep in as we ascended a stair to the rooms, which confirmed their former use. Just a hall with a series of doors, with colorful names.
We were given the purple passion room, and although it contained a shower which some of the rooms did not, was a bit, well, rustic.
We reluctantly accepted the room and changed into duds appropriate to DFD and then attended a little reception in the board room of Samuel Clemens’ boyhood home museum. We had sort of a private tour, seeing some of the original Norman Rockwell illustrations used in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
We then walked a block down the street to the Ole Plantation Restaurant, which has been in business since 1976.
They are not usually open Sunday evenings, but made an allowance for our tour party. I think my “just fits” comes into play here. It’s obviously a long time venue, and has lots of pictures of “the old days” on the walls together with various memorabilia. Being a typical river town, floods play a large part in their culture, and there were scenes of high water, and the owner showed us how all the outlets were place on walls above a pretty healthy flood stage. We were seated at a single long table, with paper place mats (conveniently giving us the number for Shawn’s Bobcat Service, a dog grooming service, and a couple of local gift shops), and rolled up silver. Their specialty is smoked meats, and this evening our choices were: Beef, Ham, Brats, or Pork. That’s it. Pick your protein. All else falls out. MFO ordered the Pork, and I took the Brats. There was an iceberg salad bar (fits) and a selection of Bud products along with Fitz’s soft drinks. Sides were not elective and included green beans with bacon and onion (and garlic?), corn, and potato salad. After all selections were made and trips to the salad bar completed, entrees started to arrive (five at a time!). Just fits, the beans and corn were of the canned variety, the potato salad Germanic with vinegar, air bread on the table. MFO’s pork was generous and cut in long strips with sauce, and I was surprised that my Brat was just that, only one brat, not Johnsonville length, but maybe almost a foot long. It was nicely browned and had some very mild Kraut atop. The flavor of the Brat was not spiced at all, but had a nice beefy taste. Dessert was included either a German chocolate or apple pie. MFO did the chocolate, and I the apple. Winner me, fresh juicy apples. Since we were the only patrons of the restaurant, the owner gave us a little history of the town and the restaurant’s role. A fun evening, showing the advantages of being a part of a group
Tomorrow we recount the evening's rest at LuLa Belles and our re acquaintance with the railroads and its result, plus Today's (Monday’s) adventures. Oh yeah, we were more than
DFD
No comments:
Post a Comment