With that in mind, day 1 got off to a fun start. We started off with cinnamon rolls from a local zmerchant; individually wrapped and ready for eating. Let me back up a bit. One of our couples on the tour had been trying to encourage their daughter to come on the trip but she wasn't very much interested in going somewhere with no idea of where she was going. About a month ago she called and said, "Sign me up. I want to go." She didn't want her parents to know about it, though. So an idea was hatched. She would serve the cinnamon rolls in a clever disguise so they wouldn't recognize her and then spring the surprise. Litle did we know what a totally shocking disguise she had on. It was hilarious! No one had any clue as to whoour server was. After finishing her trip through the bus she revealed herself to her parents who were understandably surprised she was there. Even more surprised when she took a seat behind them and announced she was going with them. What a great start!
We heard of a relatively new restaurant near Dixon, Missouri, recommended by the Convention & Visitors Bureau, that we thought we'd try out. When we were putting the tour together we had explored a number of lunch options but couldn't find exactly what we were looking for. Enter Michael Scheffer, owner of DiTrapani's Italian Bistro. Generally when we book a meal location we have an Idea of what we want and how we want it. Not so, this time. Michael had a few ideas se we trusted him to (in his words) set the bar high with our first meal stop on the tour. Our faith in Michael was rewarded with a wonderfully prepared and delicious meal of Salad, Chicken Parm, Cheese Tortellini Salsicia, Cavatelli Alfredo and fresh Broccoli. Bread pudding topped it off. Did I mention the fantastic view of the Gasconade River and Vally from the full-view picture windows of our dining room? Breathtaking! Michael did indeed set the bar high and we will be back.
Mother Nature has a way in putting her hand on even the most well thought out itineraries and making her presence known to all. Alton, Illinois was our next stop with a drive along the Great River Road to the Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton. Three weeks ago this road was unpassable due to heavy rains and the flooding of the Mississpi River. We kept close watch on the news reports as well as contact with Sissy at the Alton CVB and Erin at the Lodge for indications that we may need to adjust our tour. The river receded, the road cleared and we were on our way. We arrived at the Lodge in time for a bit of a freshen-up and on to a delicious Fried Chicken dinner with all the fixins served family style to our group. Again, with full bellies (a common theme on our tours) we headed back to Alton to meet up with Pat from Bluff City Tours who gave a wonderfully informative tour of Alton, capped off by a photo op with Alton's favorite son, Robert Wadlow, or rather a life-sized statue of him. All 8 feet, 11.1 inches and size 30 shoes of him. His story is interesting and sad at the same time. A larger than life (literally) person who passed away much too young. We again followed the River Road back to our lodge for a restfull night's sleep and eager to start the next day's fun.
Want to see we're up to next? Follow us on our website www.travelmasters.org where we have a live feed of our Facebook page or catch up with the next blog post.
No comments:
Post a Comment