Trains, Wine, and Beer

We put on our lederhosen and rode the train to Hermann.  Hermann is a German settlement near Jefferson City.  I lived there when I was in elementary school for a few years.  Hermann draws many tourist to it's area wineries and breweries.  The kids and my parents rode the Amtrak train and Brad and I drove a car to meet them.  We took a tour of one of the more popular wineries, Stone Hill.

 

Here, baby O had to kiss this tree.  She is full of one liners this summer.  Our favorite is still when she saw a black bear in Canada and straight faced said, "Yeah, I can fight that." 

 

Vineyard. 

Brad took this photo.  He is so trying to beat me in photography skills.  He won't win.   

 

 

 

These next photos are in the underground cellars.  The walls have charred marks from fires that had to be set in the '60's to burn all the mushroom spores.  Mushroom spores you say?  Yes, this was a major winery prior to prohibition.  When prohibition came through, they found a new way to be prosperous.  Mushrooms were becoming a big market and the cellars were the perfect growing environment.  Long story short, when new owners took over, mushrooms were out of hand and fires were set to kill the spores so wine making could once again happen in the cellars.  Cool right?  Yup, cool!  

 

Here we have some Nortons in their second year of aging.

 

 

 

Love this picture, so industrial in such an old place.   

 

 

 

It was so dark in most of the following pictures that my aperture required a longer shot.  I obviously can't keep still long enough for the light allowance and you will see a lot of blurry movement.

 

This is one of the few larger barrels that still had from after prohibition.  It is about 6 feet  high. 

 

 

They let the kids climb into one.  The guide said that they used to have the kids climb in to clean them.  Turns out that the kids were coming out intoxicated from the fumes!  Ha!  Who knew. 
Av and little E tried it out. 

 

 

Couldn't help myself.  Vintage industrial.  My new favorite look.  This will be framed in my house somewhere, count on it. 

 

 

This is the only barrel that survived prohibition.  It was so dark back in that space that I couldn't stand near still enough to get a good clear shot.  Wish I could go back and try over and over until I got it right. 

 

Another dark space where I was not still enough.  I loved the composition opportunity of this shot, if only it was not blurry.  It is a grape press.  It survived prohibition because someone put apples in the top saying it was an apple press instead.   

 

The brick buildings are so beautiful here.  I took way too many.  When I get this one home, I am going to have to tweak the color on it.  Too much sun.  Oh well. 

 

 Cool old building housing this brewery.  They were hosting a wedding that night.  FUN!!! 

Hermann was a two thumbs up day trip.  Brad and I rode the train back to Jefferson City with the kids.  I think I could do train travel more often.  So enjoyable. 

Sounds like I need to stop.  Brad is talking to my mom like I am not around, saying things like, "All she does is type on the computer.  Wish she would help put dinner on the table.  She is no help at all."  That is my cue. 

This week...Brad and I retreat to St. Louis, Cardinal ballgame, my sister flies in for a visit. Till then....

Guily Party

 

Turns out there has been a visitor to my mom and dad's yard lately.  She has been playing in the fairy garden and getting into my dad's "critter proof" bird feeder.  This time I have it on film.....

 

 

My dad let her know how he felt about her antics with the bird feeder with his CO2 pistol.  I hate to break it to him, but she has been back again lately.  He wrapped the pole with fly paper as a deterrent.  We'll see how that goes.  Maybe we will wake one morning to find raccoon skin stuck to the fly paper. 

Queen's High Tea

Each time we visit we make a special trip to Versailles to the tea room and the fancy queens high tea. We choose a pot of tea for each of us and are served a wide selection of tiny sweets and savories. With the size of everything one would thing a quick trip through drive thru would be necessary after leaving, but surprisingly we are always full and usually take leftovers home! Because it is a fancy occasion, we made ourselves some fancy fascinations like they wear in England. Here are the girls ready for tea.

 

After tea time we went out to their gardens and took some pictures.

 

 

 

Baby O decided to go Elvis on us with her smile.

 

We had to have one last picture together. However, I had to find someplace to prop my camera. It is sitting precariously on a garden fixture.

Tomorrow we head to the country.... River time, natural springs, floating, fishing, and Jolly Cone!

 

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Birthday Party Water Balloon Fight!!!

 

My brother and his family were here at my Mom and Dad's house this week to visit. All the males went to a Cardinal baseball game one day. Lucky guys. Since the kids aren't near each other to celebrate birthdays through out the year, I thought we should start a yearly birthday party for all of them. We had a giant water balloon fight, hot dogs, mac and cheese, and cake. It was so much fun. Imagine singing the happy birthday song and everyone inserting 6 names at once. Hilarious! Here are pictures of the water balloon fight. We filled 4 coolers with ballons and opened fire. My mom volunteered to be the photographer, so I am actually in some pictures!

 

 

My brother and his typical sense of humor.

Watch in the pictures for random floating water balloons.

 

 

 

Putting a balloon down each others suits was a favorite game.

Here is where Isaak threw one at close range and I faked being shot and collapsed. My nephew giggle so hard. Turns out my few seconds in the grass gained me a tick that I discovered later that night. I don't think I have mentioned yet how bad they are this year. Everyone seems to think it is because of how wet the Spring had been. Needless to say, Brad is not happy about it. He HATES ticks. Sometime I will tell you about how my sister tortures him with ticks.

Ellis had endured many attacks, can you tell?

At one point I had to institute some law and order (remember that control freak thing I have).

No one was safe.

 

When all the balloons were gone, Brad turned on the hose and made a rain storm. Perfect end to a perfect party!

Tomorrow all the girls go to the Queen's high tea.

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I Love Fishing!

I don't think I have ever had the opportunity to say how much I LOVE FISHING!  Now, I know I currently live in Alaska.  Apparently it is the greatest place to fish.  I beg to differ. 

If you have ever fished a Missouri stream, lake or pond, I guarantee that you will understand why they are the best places to fish.  Ever.  There is a peacefulness in fishing.  The breeze bringing the sounds of nature as you sit quietly, your senses open wide and awake.   My Papa's friend has a large lake in the country that we have fished over the years.  Early on Father's Day, I got to go with the "boys" to go fishing.  Really, I just told them I was going too.  I'm just that way.  You should know that by now.

Anyway, my Dad, my Papa, my four kids and our cousin packed up and off we went.  Some went in the boat, some fished the dock.  I stayed on the dock (that is where the fish were).  The moment our worms hit the water, fish were biting!  I was the bait and fish girl.  I don't mind.  I cast out lines, baited hooks and removed caught fish to the stringers.  Between my Papa and myself, we were not without something to do.  I only had time to snap a couple of shots during fishing time (which required me to clean my camera after we finished due to fish guts). 

 

Here Av is getting fishing tips from his great grandpa.  We all learned from Papa.  

 

Baby O's first fishing trip!  She caught the first fish.  (I caught the biggest one.)

This is the only picture I was able to get of someone's fish on the line.  The rest of the time I was a busy girl!

 

 Baby O loved to fish with her Poppy.  My Dad was so patient with her wild beginner casts.  She did not hook a single person. 

 

 

 

 

All the kids packing it up and heading out.  We caught a good mess of fish.  Fried them up a couple of nights later and filled our bellies.  Large mouth bass, blue gill and sun perch make for a wonderful feast! 

Everyone wanted a picture with the fish. 

 

 

 

 

We also had a rule... You catch it, you kiss it.  We almost had Baby O convinced that if you kissed your worm before you cast it out, it would be lucky and catch you a big fish.  She wouldn't buy it.   

The stringer was too heavy for her to lift, so Isaak helped hold it up.

 

 

Isaak almost got close enough to kiss that fish. 

 

 

I always kiss my fish.  Probably why I am a successful fisher-woman.  Probably not, but that is the story I'm sticking with.   

The crew...

I love watching the kids discover and explore the natural spaces around them as well.  Little E and Baby O spent a great deal of time figuring out the floating wood pieces that were washed ashore from recent floods. 

A perfect end to a successful trip... a prairie field full of purple cone flowers.