We learned several interesting facts about grapes during our visit. First, the wine-makers on the south side of the river refer to the red grape that is grown in Missouri and Arkansas as the “Norton” grape. On the north side of the Missouri River, the grape is called “Cynthiana”, as it is in Arkansas. They are, in fact, the same. We also learned that Bommarito, our favorite red winemaker, buys his grapes from Tom Post in Altus, Arkansas. Robbler also buys Cynthiana/Norton grapes from Post. Nick Bommarito applauded Tom Post as a premier wine grower. And, if you’ve never tried any Post wines, you should. Some are pretty good and Mount Bethel Winery (also owned by one of the Post Family) makes a darned good Merlot.
Highway 94, on the north side of the river, is a beautify drive through the Missouri countryside. The
German and Italian presence is most clearly demonstrated by the
incredibly beautiful little churches, both United Church of Christ and
Catholic. They are sparkling white with tall steeples and immaculate grounds. The
countryside is also immaculate with beautifully mowed yards, well-kept
homes and not a speck of trash on any of the roadsides. Oh, but if Arkansans were as neat . . .
We also visited two sites memorializing Daniel Boone, who moved from Kentucky to Missouri just after the turn of the century, around the age of 65. According to our tour guide, he was pretty much broke and when the Spanish offered him 860 acres in Missouri, he accepted. His
son, Nathaniel, came ahead of him and renegotiated the location of the
land and in 1803 they began building the Boones’ new home. It took seven years for Daniel and Nathaniel to build the house. He was, indeed, a remarkable man. He lived to be 86 years old.
We
have always loved finding little “dives” across the country that offer
good food at great prices and have local characters to entertain us. We did find such a spot in Hermann called the Sharp Corner Tavern. Linesteen was amazed and was an instant fan when he saw hand-made hamburgers with all the trimmings on the menu for $1.35. That meant that two burgers with fries and iced tea chalked up a bill of only $4.20. Rachel Ray would love that, just as Linesteen did. Don’t ask how many times we ate there during our stay.
On
our last night in the campground, a small Winnebago pulled in and we
saw that there were two people about our age who would be our neighbors
for the night. Jerry noted that they were speaking a foreign language. They were not pulling a car but did have bicycles.
Not long after they arrived, they hiked off into the distance. Jerry decided to build a campfire. Upon their return, the woman commented about what a nice fire we had so we invited her and her companion to join us. They did so and we learned that they were from Germany and have been touring the U.S. by motorhome since last September. Jochen
Stockbrugger is a retired orthopedic surgeon and his wife, Monika
Kramer, teaches English and sports in the German public schools. She took a year off to be able to tour the U.S. Interestingly, they bought their motorhome in Florida and will ship it back to Germany at the end of this month, when they return home. We
had a delightful time visiting with them about a variety of topics
including politics, medicine, schools, taxes, and cost of living. They like America and hope to return for a similar trip in a few years. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and vowed to stay in touch and to call them when we visit Germany. We will definitely keep our word on that one.
One other activity Jerry enjoyed while camped in Hermann was running his gas-powered monster truck throughout the park. He loves “Revo” and, thankfully, he now has time to enjoy it. You should have seen the crowd he drew . . . adults and kids alike.
One fluke, so far, is that on June 30 we requested our mail be sent to Hermann. As of July 7, it still has not arrived. When I called our forwarding service to inquire about why it was taking so long, I learned that they had sent it to Hermann, Maryland (MD), instead of Hermann, Missouri (MO). The address they used did include the correct zip code but who knows if we’ll ever get it.
On
Saturday, July 6, we left Hermann via Highway 19 crossing the narrowest
bridge I think I’ve ever been on – especially in Bubba. It
was a white knuckle adventure but I’m happy to report that we still
have all four corners and both side mirrors, thanks to Jerry’s expert
driving skills. We’re headed for Hannibal, MO – Mark Twain country.
Happy trails to you – til we meet again!
