Enjoying the view...

Small Afternoon Road Trip

Last Sunday was beautiful out (although rather on the hot side) so we decided to drive out west to Augusta Brewing Co. & Beer Garden for lunch. It is located on the KATY Trail in Augusta, therefore they attract a lot of hikers and/or bicyclers. They also have live music on Sundays. Heading out on the highway we saw a lot of others with the same idea.There are always lots of motorcyclists on this road, all year round. When we got to the Brewing Co. we walked over to find a table on the deck. Luckily, one was being cleaned off just as we arrived. They had a special called a Brewski,
which is your choice of 4 different beers served in 6 ounce glasses.
We each ordered Hefeweizen, Tannhauser, Grand Cru and 1856 I.P.A.
They also have a Honey Wheat, Hyde Park Stout, Augusta Blonde Ale and Rocket Root Beer.
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The Hefeweizen is one of my favorites.
It looks hazy because this beer is unfiltered
and some of the yeast causes the haziness.
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The Tannhauser is described as
an Americanized version of an English Ale.
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The Grand Cru is also unfiltered - it's their version of a Belgian Blonde.
They said it starts with "the sweet aroma of ripe apples and pears
and ends with a sharp dry finish and mild hoppiness." I describe it as delicious!
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The 1856 I.P.A. is RDG's favorite - it's very hoppy.
They brew this in the old world style.
Beers had to be "well hopped for the long trip from England to India."

As I mentioned, we had planned on having lunch
but since it ended up later in the afternoon
we ordered the Meat & Cheese Platter.
The sausages are locally produced
and they had both domestic and imported cheeses.
It also comes with some whole wheat bread and crackers,
along with their Tannhauser Mustard.
It's an excellent appetizer with the beer! Upstairs the live music of the day was a bluegrass band
called Lickin' Pickin' and they were very good. Here's a close-up of the band
where I was testing out the zoom lens on my camera.
Pretty good zoom!As you can see, RDG liked all of his choices in the Brewski.
Not to mention, our appetizer basket is empty too! From the deck of the brewery
you can look down to the tables in the Beer Garten area.After leaving the brewery,
we stopped in at our favorite winery, Sugar Creek.
Well, it was on the way home!
This shows the gazebo where the bands play each weekend.
During the summer, they also have different bands play on Friday nights,
with torches to light up the night.
As you can see I have my stack of cooking magazines with me.
We have found some terrific recipes while listening to music
and enjoying wine at this winery.
This time we found a recipe in Food & Wine (June 2007)
for brisket called Barbecued Brisket and Burnt Ends.
We found it to be the best brisket we have ever barbecued!If you look to the left, from where I was sitting, you can see up the hill to where all the grape vines are growing. Behind the gazebo is a field for growing hay. Sometimes we have seen cattle grazing over there too.
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Northeast of the winery is the Daniel Boone Judgement Tree Memorial. The Daniel Boone house is not too much farther down the road, approximately 5 miles, but we have not visited there yet. I was told by my eye doctor that it is beautifully decorated at Christmastime. We always have meant to visit at that time - maybe this year! Anyway, Daniel Boone moved to Missouri around the turn of the 19th century where the Spanish had given him a land grant. While he was a magistrate he held court under a huge elm tree that was known as the Judgement Tree. The original tree is long gone but another tree was planted near where the actual tree was.The highway takes us through the small town of Defiance. There are taverns on both corners of the "S" curve where lots of bikers congregate on the weekends. One is Terry & Kathy's Tavern and the other is Dave & Jacquie's. They both have live music most weekends. Farther up the road we sometimes get produce from one of the locals. The vegetables are left out front with a money jar and the honor system. I'm still looking forward to some good tomatoes!
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Finally, we are heading east over the Missouri River on the Daniel Boone Bridge.
This bridge takes us from St. Charles County back to St. Louis County.
RDG commented that this is the first barge we've ever seen here.
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Now it is Sunday again and we're not sure where we are going but it's another beautiful day!

Winery Kitty Wednesday

The last time we drove out to the winery it was beautiful out but quite cold.
Here is the view from the porch. We found Phantom and CC waiting for dinner. Love those crunchies! I put my Mardi Gras hat down while I was taking pictures
because it was windy out and I thought it might blow off.
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CC snuck up on it from the rear.
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Then she had to check out all sides
of this strange unknown on her porch.
I guess it was OK with her since she just walked away
after all the sniffing was done!








The sun was setting over the river on our way home.
It was simply beautiful.
Friday Ark has boarded yesterday,
Kate in the Kitchen is hosting Weekend Cat Blogging,
and Carnival of Cats is at Scribblings
So, it's time to visit all those cats!

WCB with Winery Kitties

We went to our favorite winery last weekend after the ice storm.
Here is a picture of the tree at the entrance...
And here are my guest kitties,
Phantom (as in "of the Opera")
and her daughter CC (as in "Curtain Call") And more pictures of CC from earlier in the month.

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Don't forget to visit all the other cats:
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Friday Ark boarded yesterday,
Cat Blogosphere is hosting Weekend Cat Blogging,
and Carnival of Cats is at Enrevanche