Romancing the Roads (5 page)

Mark Reichle and his wife, Nancy, own the Southmoreland. Mark prepares the breakfast, and what an exceptional, gourmet breakfast it is! Available from this most special bed-and-breakfast are homemade pies for special holidays as well as barbecue. Southmoreland on the Plaza is a must-visit, and the prices are most appropriate for the delightful experience you will enjoy.

Museums

There are
also many impressive museums:

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

4420 Warwick Blvd.

816-753-5784

www.kemperart.org

There is free admission and free parking. The Kemper Museum is small but delightful, and the art is impressive.
Café Sebastienne
(816-561-7740) is one of Kansas City’s leading restaurants. Many kudos to executive chef Jennifer Maloney, who provided a delicious lunch in exceptional surroundings. Lunch included four types of bread, cucumber soup with a slight hint of almond, tomato mozzarella tart with basil pesto on arugula with a saffron vinaigrette, and grilled Moroccan lamb sausage (merguez) with saffron, stewed onions, peppers, and couscous. For dessert the chef’s signature chocolate budino (
budino
is Italian for “pudding”) was delicious. This treat is sometimes described as a “flourless chocolate torte.” Describe it anyway you want, it was amazing. The coffee was perfect, and I was told the special flavor was derived from roasted pecans.

Science City at Union Station

30 W. Pershing Rd.

816-460-2000

www.unionstation.org

Nelson-Adkins Museum of Art

4525 Oak St.

816-751-1278

www.nelson-atkins.org

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

1616 E. Eighteenth St.

816-221-1920

www.nlbm.com

Kansas City Art Institute

4415 Warwick Blvd.

800-522-5224

www.kcai.edu

Driving Diva Factoid:
You will discover that I-70 is one of the straightest roads in the United States. There are probably others, but this one is long and straight. The bucolic scenery all around you looks like a Grandma Moses picture, full of flat farmed fields.

Humorous Sighting:

Atlasta Motel

17395 Hwy. 87, Boonville

660-882-5770

This hotel has twenty-five units.

Hermann

This place
is unique, picturesque, inviting, caring, and special. How did I find out about Hermann? A public relations friend in Clayton told me if I was heading east from Kansas City, I should stop in Hermann. Promptly researching, I found the town and discovered that Hermann is Missouri’s B&B capital (with forty properties) and home to
Stone Hill Winery
. About three hours from Kansas City and an hour from St. Louis in the Missouri
River valley, Hermann was founded by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Settlers thought they would find farmable land but instead discovered harsh ground. With true German tenacity and ingenuity, they planted grapes and developed vineyards that subsequently became very successful. Unfortunately, fate brought Prohibition, the Depression, and then a war that prompted hostile feelings toward the Germans. In spite of these adversities, Hermann remained an original, which was its saving grace. It is a picture-book community with rolling hills, original buildings, and church steeples accenting the landscape and sky.

Lydia Johnson Inn

204 Market St.

573-486-0110

www.lydiajohnsoninn.com

I spent my first night in Hermann at this inn. I was greeted by Betty Hartbauer. She and her husband, Chuck, are the innkeepers. Immediately I felt at home. My room was on the main floor. For more of the story, see below.

Stone Hill Winery

1110 Stone Hill Hwy.

800-909-9463 (WINE)

www.stonehillwinery.com

Anxious and curious, I headed for my scheduled visit to the winery. I followed the signs up a small hill pass with manicured grapevines and parked in the designated area. Little did I realize what I was going to experience. Fabulous would be an understatement. I was amazed by how many other people were also there. The parking lots were quite full. Without further adieu, here is the history of the winery, itself as special as the wine it produces.

Stone Hill Winery is truly a family operation. Established in 1847, it became the second-largest winery in the United States and, by the end of the nineteenth century, was shipping over 1 million gallons of wine per year. The underground arched cellars were the largest in America. Then, in the 1920s, Prohibition brought the winery to a screeching halt. The vaulted cellars were then used to grow mushrooms!

In 1965, Jim and Betty Held, with their four children in tow, bought Stone Hill and started the long and arduous process of restoring the winery. What a job they have done! Today, they produce more than two hundred thousand plus gallons of award-winning wine on their 182 acres with the help of their state-of-the-art equipment.

Two of the Held children are on board—all hold degrees in enology and viticulture (the sciences of wine making and grape growing.) Also on board is one of the country’s best winemakers, Dave Johnson.

In 1979, with the same care they use in producing wines, the Helds restored the winery’s former carriage house and horse barn, preserving as much of the original decor and ambiance as they could. They did a great job, and the
Vintage Restaurant
(573-486-3479) serves thousands of delighted guests, who order from a menu that includes many German specialties as well as steaks and fresh seafood. I was fortunate to have dinner here with Jim and Betty Held. I definitely give both the dinner and the unique setting accolades.

Be certain to plan a tour of the winery and see firsthand the arched cellars and production facilities, then, of course, stop in the wine-tasting room. Here you will readily see why the awards to the winery have been ongoing. There is also a very sensibly stocked gift shop.

Driving Diva Factoid:
There are two other Stone Hill Winery locations in Missouri, one in New Florence at the junction of I-70 and Hwy. 19 and the other in Branson.

After a wonderful Stonehill evening, I returned to the Lydia Johnson Inn, driving through a totally quiet, peaceful town. I enjoyed a pleasant night in my cozy room. The next morning, since it was just me, I insisted on not breakfasting alone in the dining room but joined Betty in the kitchen. Breakfast was delicious. It was so much fun to talk with Betty as we sat at the kitchen table. I enjoyed her homemade Lydia’s Strawberry Custard Muffins and even received a copy of the recipe.

Wine Valley Inn

403 Market St.

573-486-0706

www.wine-valley-inn.com

A bit more “downtown” and also termed a bed-and-breakfast, Wine Valley is definitely more of an inn. It is in Hermann’s historic Begermann Building, and when I was there, it was operated by Gloria Birk and Pamela Gillig. They have retired. From the stories I heard, getting the inn to where it is today entailed many challenges. The eight beautiful suites are not fancy, just very nice. Every suite has a kitchenette, dining area, and television. Five come with a Jacuzzi-style tub. My accommodations were delightful, cozy, and creative. My one suggestion would be to have a door on the bathroom. Maybe there is one now. A full, complimentary breakfast is served every morning on the first floor. There is an elevator if needed. Make a reservation and enjoy.

Discover Hermann by walking around and stopping in the shops. What fun and what a friendly group of people! Some of the places I visited included the following, but there are many more, so walk, discover, and enjoy.

Stuff & Nonsense

114 E. Fourth St.

573-486-4444

Back Home Again

307 Schiller St.

573-486-0581

Antiques Unlimited

207 E. First St.

573-486-8860

Seasonal Treasures & Gifts

226 E. First St.

573-486-0803

St. Louis

St. Louis
is a true hub city where several major interstates—I-70, I-55, I-44, and I-64—meet. I was surprised to discover how many other major cities in nearby states are truly just a stone’s throw from St. Louis. Check your map.

For my first visit to St. Louis, I had the hotel fax me specific directions, something everyone should consider when venturing into a city for the first time. (Their directions were excellent.)

St. Louis Union Station Marriott

1820 Market St.

314-621-5262

www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/stlus-st-louis-union-station-marriott

Built around St. Louis’s old rail station, the hotel uses as its lobby the famed
Union Station Grand Hall
. Inside and out, this old train station is magnificent. Built in 1894 and once deemed the largest and most beautiful terminal in the United States, it has been completely restored, from its barrel-vaulted ceiling with Romanesque arches to its stained glass windows and ornate moldings. So much happened at this station that a self-guided walking tour will bring much of this magnificent structure’s history alive. (Discover the secret of the
Whispering Arch
.) Also on-site are restaurants, specialty shops, marketplaces, stores, and (unbelievably) a one-acre lake. Although the name has changed since I was first there, the bones and ambiance of this pleasant hotel are still most appealing.

How Things Were and How They Have Changed

Fred Harvey
left England in 1850 and came to America at the age of fifteen. He held many jobs, one as postal clerk and agent for the Burlington Railroad. He traveled a great deal and was absolutely disgusted by what was served at restaurants in railroad stations. He hatched and soon implemented a brilliant idea. The Burlington Railroad didn’t subscribe to it but told him to contact the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe—the fastest growing railroad in the West.

In 1876, Fred Harvey took over the restaurant at the Santa Fe depot in Topeka, and history was made. His name would become synonymous with good food, clean restaurants, and an all-female staff soon called the “Harvey Girls.” To become a Harvey Girl, a woman had to have a high moral character, be between the ages of eighteen and twenty, attractive, and intelligent, and had to vow not to marry for a year after employment. A housemother chaperoned the girls and enforced their 10 p.m. curfew. MGM made a movie titled
The Harvey Girls
staring Judy Garland. Fred Harvey, thank you, even though only a few recognize your name and acclaim.

Gateway Arch

Do not leave St. Louis without visiting the Gateway Arch on the St. Louis riverfront. The story of its construction is fascinating. In order to get to the top of the arch, one must ride in a small, four-seat “compartment,” an experience not for the claustrophobic. There is also a museum with several displays pertaining to westward expansion.

Clayton

I had
no idea what I was getting into. I had only read about Clayton in hotel brochures. After map studying, I decided this probably should be a stop. I had been to St. Louis and done the sights, so it was time to “discover” Clayton—a well-kept secret. Clayton is an upscale “suburb” with a business area. The streets are clean, the people are friendly, and during my stay, the weather was summer perfect.

Clayton on the Park

8025 Bonhomme Ave.

314-290-1500

Clayton on the Park was a state-of-the-art luxury hotel and residential property with the logo “Where Style and Comfort Collide.” I mention this property because is was outstanding in every way possible. It has been converted into a luxury retirement property. So be it . . .

An added perk to this first visit was the
Jazz Festival
(www.stlouis.com/festivals) in
Shaw Park
in Clayton.

Driving Diva Factoid:
As St. Louis grew, Clayton developed. The area that became Clayton was derived from donated farmlands owned by two Virginians: Ralph Clayton and Martin Hanley.

Seven Gables Inn

26 N. Meramec Ave.

314-863-8400

www.sevengablesinn.com

This National Historic Landmark property has much potential. There is a blend of styles with nothing fancy or ostentatious. It is friendly and convenient to downtown Clayton. While staying there, I discovered that a lot of the staff has been there for years, and there is a definite family feeling. There are no elevators, so one must use the steps. They are obviously original but have now been carpeted, making the actual step tread narrow. I found it a bit hazardous; plus, the small design on the carpet can play tricks on the eyes.

There are thirty-two guest rooms, six of them on the main floor, providing easy access if required. My room was large and had the usual amenities. The bathroom was nice, and though the decor colors were dark, all was clean and the bed comfortable.

I tried (several times) to get firsthand updates but received no response. As of these edits, I learn that a lot has been redone, but I have no specifics. The
Molly Darcy’s
, a popular Irish Pub, is on the property. I felt comfortable with the parking arrangement. Valet service is available, and the parking area is just across the street.

Shopping Discoveries

The ScholarShop

8211 Clayton Rd.

314-725-3456

www.sfstl.org

Across from the
St. Louis Galleria Mall
(www.saintlouisgalleria.com), this sizeable shop specializes in “new and gently used designer and brand name clothing and accessories for the entire family—all at resale prices!” Proceeds support area students through the
Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis
(www.sfstl.org), “a non-profit organization that provides access to higher education to members of our community without financial resources.” I definitely arrived on the right day—just a little late. If I had only known!

Immediately, I knew this was my type of store, but little did I realize how much so. I walked in and was immediately handed a large brown grocery bag. My perplexed expression provoked the response, “Everything you can fit in the bag will be $25!” I smiled and quickly refrained from charging around like a bull in a china shop. Within a blink of an eye, my bag seemed half full. Suddenly someone came over and informed me that if I folded or rolled items tightly, I could fit more in the bag. Grateful for the tip, I was thrilled by how tightly I could suddenly roll items! I was in hog heaven!