It's been nearly forever since I've had an adventure to report on, and the one I finally had last weekend was a doozie, full of drinking and gambling -- I was a real Jezebel! DMan was right there with me the entire time, so I guess he was a Jezebob, huh? We had an absolute blast -- can you tell from the photos?!
Belmont Winery, Leasburg, MO:
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| Lunch: Toasted cannelloni bites, spinach-artichoke dip with baguette, and Brave Heart red wine (a new favorite!). Delicious! |
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The beautiful event patio at Belmont -- they have awesome bands on Saturdays!
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| Brought home two Brave Hearts and a Bella Rosso from Belmont. |
http://www.belmontvineyards.com/
After lunch on Friday at Belmont Winery, we drove on to our hotel, the Four Points Sheraton, at Fairview Heights, IL. Very nice place and we even had a Jacuzzi tub right in our bedroom (for a few dollars more, of course)! Villa Marie Winery in Marysville, IL, was our next stop for a tasting. They were out of the wines we were most interested in, but we still found two we liked. What a beautiful place for weddings or special events -- very highbrow! Then we were off for some lowbrow supper at Lotawata Creek Southern Grill. DMan found the place on the internet, and I swear, I've never seen so much food in my life brought out on one plate! Wish I would have gotten a picture before I dug in to my Ultimate Pork BBQ sandwich, but no, I wasn't quick enough. Suffice it to say that I ate half of my sandwich and felt swollen like a tick! He had salmon and shrimp, cole slaw, and they brought a WHOLE PLATE of fries as his other side dish, which I helped him eat and shouldn't have. I thought I would drown from being so full when we climbed in the hot tub back at the room! We slept good that night.
Fairview Heights, IL:
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| DMan's Cardinalmobile in front of the hotel |
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| Archview Red and Gateway White, souvenirs from Villa Marie Winery. |
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| Lotawata Creek Southern Grill -- see all the people waiting outside? Every time we went by, the parking lot was full and there were folks waiting to get in! The food is that good!! |
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| Southern casual motif at Lotawata Creek. |
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Drinking wine and watching the Cardinals game from inside the Jacuzzi tub! This was a first for me!!
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Saturday was rainy and cool, but we road tripped to St. Louis anyway. The City Museum was an adventure all in itself, so many things to explore and do and we couldn't even venture to all the outside exhibits because of the rain. Ballpark Village is fantastic to visit no matter the weather or even whether the Cardinals are in town -- they weren't or we probably would have gone to a game. DMan has to be their #1 Fan, at least half of his wardrobe is Cardinals' attire!
We were super lucky that the rain quit in time for catching the Saturday night horse racing at Fairmont Park. We drank beer, ate hot dogs, and gambled with abandon (that is a whole $40 for me -- Jezebel is cheap!).
St. Louis City Museum:
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| Huge catfish in that aquarium! |
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| A hall of mirrors -- so cool! |
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| See what I mean about the Cardinal's clothes? |
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| Relics from demolished buildings |
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| DMan was fascinated by the glass doorknob collection! |
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| Ever see a Ronigoyle before? |
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| Scary!! |
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| Baseball memorabilia -- of course DMan would find this exhibit! |
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| Couldn't get outside and climb on these pieces, but since I'm afraid of heights it is probably just as well. I'd hate for some little kid to have to climb out and help me down!! |
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| You can climb up the spiral staircase and slide down 10 stories! Too spooky for me, especially with the pipe organ playing like in "Phantom of the Opera"! |
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| A golden weiner man -- don't know why they have it on display, but it cracked me up! |
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| Spinning tops you can ride and can't fall out! |
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| I did brave the three-story slide -- WHEE!! |
Ballpark Village:
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| Ballpark Village on a dreary Saturday |
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| Lunch at the Brew House: spicy lobster tacos, loaded baked potato fries, Stella Artois for me, beer sampler for DMan -- yums! |
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DMan on the second floor in front of the giant TV on the first floor -- amazing how clear that picture is!
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Fairmont Park in Illinois:
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| Saturday night horse racing at Fairmont Park. We sat right in front of the finish line! It was constructed in the early 1900s, modeled after Churchill Downs. |
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| Inside Fairmont Park, the TVs were broadcasting races from all over that you could bet on as well. |
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| Me telling DMan to quit bragging about how many races his horses were winning! He won more than he bet, a good night! Me? Not so lucky. |
We made one final stop on Sunday at Trader Joe's in St. Louis before heading home. We scored snacks for the road, 12 bottles of wine, and a six-pack of beer for around $100! We have got to get a Trader Joe's in Springfield -- please??
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| A fabulous Barolo for only $14.99 and that was the most expensive wine we bought -- Trader Joe's, we need you in Springfield!! |
