Well, it’s been 4 months since my last post. During those 4 months we parked the RV on our ridge lot at the Mountain Falls Luxury RV Resort in Lake Toxaway, NC. We visited as often as we could, but were pulled in many directions over the summer. We had Hot Air Ballooning events to participate in, a wedding in Poughkeepsie, New York to attend and we welcomed our newest grandchild into the world in Atlanta. We celebrated the Solar Eclipse with friends at our place in Hiawassee, GA. In between, we caught up with family and friends in and around Atlanta. In the end, we never stayed in one place for more than 7 nights. In fact, most of the time we spent only 2-3 nights at a location. While it was an exhausting summer, we enjoyed every minute of it. We recognize how truly blessed we are to be healthy and to have the means to travel.

Now we are back on the road, and looking forward to staying in one residence for the next 6 weeks, with the exception of an overnight excursion here and there.

We left Lake Toxaway, NC just before sunrise on Tuesday, September 5^th. We drove just over 12 hours to St. Louis. We went through a couple of thunderstorms between Nashville and Knoxville. After that it was smooth cruising. We arrived at the Sundermeier RV Park in St. Charles early evening. We had a large pull-through site so we didn’t have to bother unhooking the car right away. Instead, we broke open a bottle of wine and heated up one of my favorite dinners; Aunt Lena’s Chicken. I cooked extra the last time I made it and froze some for our trip.

In the morning we drove into St. Louis. We found the city to be eerily quiet. Literally, we only saw a handful of cars and people out and about. It seemed like a Sunday afternoon, but it was Wednesday. Granted, it was during Labor Day week so maybe many people were on holiday.

We toured the Old Courthouse, a Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The courthouse was the site of the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850. Dred Scott and his wife Harriet were slaves who sued for their freedom. They were granted it in 1847. However, in 1850 the Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property, and as such, had no right to sue. The decision hastened the start of the Civil War.

Virginia Minor’s case for a woman’s right to vote came to trial in this courthouse, in the 1870s, as well. The Old Courthouse is a beautiful piece of architecture. You are able to tour it on your own at no cost.

We also took a tour of the Economy Museum, located in the lobby area of the Federal Reserve Bank. The museum is interactive and quite interesting, but a little boring for us.

Following our museum tour we met up with a friend of Charlie’s, whom he had not seen for many years. We enjoyed visiting with Diana over pizza at a local restaurant and then headed back to St. Charles.

We took a walk through Historic St. Charles, a quaint neighborhood of shops and restaurants along cobble-stoned streets. With the weather in the low 70s, the walk was very pleasant.

In the evening we met up with a couple, John and Debbie, whom we had previously met on a Viking River Cruise in Europe. We had a great evening with them, exploring areas we would not have otherwise seen. We traveled across the Mississippi river on the Golden Eagle Ferry and then across the Illinois River via the Brussels Ferry. We ended up at Aerie’s Winery in Grafton, Illinois. We enjoyed a spectacular view from the balcony, while sipping wine and snacking on flatbread.

Following sunset, we continued our journey along the river’s coastline. Our friends then decided that we needed to experience Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air in Alton, IL for a late dinner. The story behind this legendary place is interesting. In short, Anheuser-Busch opened this place as a drinking establishment in 1921 and called it Bon-Air. Ten years later it sold to the Balaco family and then in 1981 it sold to Eddie Sholar (alias Fast Eddie). Fast Eddie changed the place quickly. It quadrupled in size and became one of the most popular bars around. About 20 years ago Eddie added a food menu with basics such as burgers, hot dogs, shish-kabobs, brats and fries. Today, the prices of those food items remain the same as when they were added to the menu. Half pound burgers are $1.99, for example. We had a great time and loved sharing new river and dining adventures with John and Debbie.

Today we are heading towards Colorado. More on that later…..