WST (Western States Trek) Day 2: Wineries and John Corey

Breakfast at the Best Western Plus was okay but nothing at all great. Sausage patties are hard to ruin but the eggs looked like small perfect pressed discs and tasted as flat. Salsa was required to make them palatable, though they were edible.

We set off for St. Louis with the intention of driving by the Arch in hopes of finding a postcard for Caleb. The Arch in the distance was tantalizing.

Although traffic was not awful, the highway construction was such we decided Big C didn't really need a visual image of the Arch. However, I took this as we zipped across the river

 Of course, I had to capture two other St. Louis landmarks as well: 

 And 

 Then we headed south on 94 to Defiance, Missouri and the first of our winery visits. We stopped in the middle of nowhere at a "Scenic Turnoff" 'cause neither of us could guess what could be scenic...as I exited the van, FB said, "Must be the Missouri." Once again, he's correct:

We discovered Defiance is considered "The Gateway to Missouri Wine Country" and was first settled by David Darst in 1798 who received a grant from the Spanish for land adjacent to that granted to Daniel Boone! So, following the signs, we bypassed the winery and visited Ole Dan'l's home...the one in which he died.

Backtracking a few miles, we toured Chandler Hills Vineyards. Freed slave Joseph Chandler built his home and businesses (farming, blacksmithing, iron-mongering and draft-horse loaning) in 1881. The current vineyard was established 8 years ago and when it was built, all kinds of historic "debris" was unearthed and is displayed. 

 

We lunched on superb sandwiches and glasses of wine on a raised, covered patio overlooking the valley toward the Missouri river. You can see I really enjoyed my glass!

 Over the next several hours, we visited Sugar Creek Winery and Wine Country Gardens in Defiance

 

and Blumenhof Vineyards and Winery in Dutzow, where we learned Baron Johann Wilhelm von Bock settled in 1832 because Daniel Boone had chosen the area and Boone was famous in Germany in 1785. And when Lewis and Clark stopped by in 1804 to visit Dan'l, the nearest town La Charrette (today, Marthasville) was the last settlement they passed on their way upriver! 

 

We decided to call it an adventure and head off for the Interstate and the Quality Inn at Concordia, Missouri. On the way, we caught up on tape with John Corey and the evil Kahlil in THE LION. Kahlil has knifed John's wife during a skydiving event and John is with her in the hospital... And we arrive at the Quality Inn. Old motel. No elevator. Clean but minimalist. Dinner: salad and wings. 

Today's conversations included how each of us has sat in driveways to hear the end of a book on tape, how teenagers are essentially the same as when we were there, how we can still hear Mom and Dad in our heads, tug boats vs tuna boats (turned out I dated an employee of the rival tugboat company - Moran - from Jacksonville), what's the best way to cook chicken wings and never stay in a hotel that costs less than $60 a night.

We decided my travel agent friend, Audrey, should organize a tour of this area: couples fly into St. Louis, go to a ball game and/or the brewery and tour the nearly 20 wineries within an hour of Busch Stadium. Neither of us had any idea St. Louis was synonymous with wine!