Grape Stomp at Stone Hill Winery

As you may have noticed, I traveled for work a lot this summer.  On one of the Saturdays that I was home, we decided to make our first trip to Hermann.  We had read that Stone Hill Winery was hosting a grape stomp, so we decided to check out our first one.  We invited Jean along for the ride.

The town of Hermann is an old German town here in Missouri which is at the heart of Missouri wine country.  It sits on the banks of the Missouri River.

Stone Hill Winery is perched dramatically on a hill overlooking downtown Hermann.  It one of the most popular wineries in all of Missouri.  Originally established in 1847, it was once the nation's second largest winery until Prohibition.  During the Prohibition era, the winery was converted to a mushroom-growing facility until the resurgence of Missouri's wine industry.  That actually began with the reopening of Stone Hill Winery in 1965.

This is the home of the tasting room as well as the large gift shop area.  Stone Hill actually offers six free tastings during your visit.

Across from this building sits the winery's original stable and carriage house.  The beautifully restored building is now the winery restaurant.

I should have paid more attention to the grape stomp announcement.  I looked up the start time as 1:00 p.m., but never considered that it might only last two hours!  We arrived fifteen minutes after it ended at 3:15 p.m., so we still haven't made it to a grape stomp.

You can see the bed and breakfast that I want to stay at when we visit for a longer period of time!  From the pictures, it has stellar views of the Missouri River.

Visiting Indianapolis

Indianapolis was scheduled at the last minute, so I flew home from Minneapolis around 8pm, and then left the next morning before 8am.  I should have just slept at the airport!

I love sports stadiums, so I always go find them when I visit a new city.  After the airport, my first stop was Colts Stadium.  I even gritted my teeth and bought something in the gift shop for Tony's co-worker.  I just kept telling myself that I was supporting Addai, not the Colts!

Home of the NCAA!

It is located in a beautiful park area downtown.  I enjoyed walking around for a bit.  Also, downtown Indianapolis was hosting a national high school drum line competition that week.  It was fun to see the groups walking down the streets playing!

State capitol building of Indiana

Statue outside of the Native American museum

Indianapolis is less than a four hour drive from St. Louis, so I would love to make it a weekend trip with Tony.  I would love to visit this museum, but I just ran out of time.  Plus, it would be fun to see a Colts game at their beautiful stadium!

Coolest children's museum ever! 

After seeing the billboards of the dinosaurs, I knew that I had to visit this place and get postcards for the kids!

Bumblebee from the most recent Transformer movie.  The museum had it reprogrammed so that he rotates around and makes announcements.  The kids were all just mesmerized by him.

Mall of America

No trip to Minneapolis would be complete without a trip to the Mall of America.  It's hard to describe the sheer size of this mall.  When seven Yankee Stadiums can fit inside a mall, it's a little much!

A few quick facts about the mall -

• More than 520 stores
• It would take you 86 hours to visit the mall if you spent just 10 minutes in each store
• 25 rides and attractions can be found in the indoor amusement park
• Up to 14,000 people are employed at the mall 
• More than 40 million visitors each year

I was chatting with a family at one of our events, and we started talking about the MoA.  From what they told me, locals really never shop there.  It's primarily a tourist thing.  Weekly flights arrive from China and Japan.  Shuttles take the passengers from the airport across the street to the mall.  They shop, stay overnight in one of the hotels that is in the parking lot or attached to the mall, and then fly back out the next day.

As you can imagine, the mall is made up of several floors.

I loved the crystals!

Tony's reaction when he saw this picture - "Oooooohhhhhh.  I've heard of these stores!"  He was quite sad to learn that I didn't even go inside.

Forget the carousel, this place has an entire amusement park complete with several roller coasters!

Dora and the Spongebob characters were out taking 

pictures with the kids.

What mall would be complete without an 18 hour mini golf course?

There's a little sign that says that more than 170,000 legos have been lost in the LEGO play area.  Maybe to discourage stealing?

He was my favorite of the LEGO characters.

Tony loves ninjas, so I had to take a picture for him.

No shopping trip is complete without a trip to the aquarium.  For your convenience  there are large lockers to rent all over the mall.  Just drop your bags off and head to the aquarium!

It's a 1.2 million-gallon aquarium that is sadly unimpressive.  Especially given the cost of admission, but everyone knows that I am a sucker for aquariums.  Honestly, save your money.

First Impressions of Minneapolis

My next stop for work brought me to Minneapolis.  This was my first time to visit the Twin Cities, and I must say, this is a gorgeous area.  I can see why so many people tolerate the miserable winters to live in such an amazing city.  While everyone else was experiencing 100+ temperatures, it was in the low 70's!  I was traveling with a colleague, and we made a pact to eat all of our meals outside while we were there.

The downtown area is beautiful and thriving.  Our first night, we had dinner downtown at an Italian restaurant Zelo.  http://www.zelomn.com/

They had a great outdoor area, so we enjoyed people watching.  I was surprised and entertained by how many pedicabs there were for the area.  Also, the food was amazing.  It is located in a very old, historic building that has been renovated with a distinct artistic eye.  If you ever find yourself in Minneapolis, I highly recommend this restaurant.  Order the bruschetta!

I was also surprised to learn how many major companies like Target and Best Buy were headquartered in downtown Minneapolis.  There is actually a Target store downtown that is connected by a sky bridge to the company headquarters.  I would drive out of my way just to not have to work at that store!

The Mighty Mississippi

I was surprised by how many people didn't realize that Minneapolis sits on the banks of the Mississippi.  The actual start of the river is still a few hours north of the city.  I actually drove across the bridge to St. Paul so that I could walk along the banks of the Mississippi, and take a few pictures of the downtown Minneapolis area.

Minnesota Twins Stadium

This brand new stadium just opened in 2010 and is located in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.  I have to admit that I can't stand the look of it.  I have futuristic looking stadiums.

More pictures from the Mississippi.

Lake Calhoun

Minneapolis is famous for their lakes, so I had to take some time to visit a few that were near downtown.  Lake Calhoun was a beautiful area with a developed lake front.  In addition to the bike paths, the area also boasted a small cafe, boat rental, and an outdoor theater.

Lake Harriet

Obviously, I had to visit Lake Harriet!  This area was closer to downtown. From what I understand, the area right next to it has become quite the hip area for young professionals in Minneapolis.  The streets were filled with cafes, boutiques, and bars.

I preferred Lake Harriet for a few reasons, but mainly because it had an actual beach front.  I kicked off my shoes and enjoyed wading in the water for a bit!

Cheese-ology

A macaroni and cheese centric restaurant, how could Tony and I not try it out!  Tony has a list of his top 5 most loved items.  In order, they are bacon, sweet tea, Me!, Sugar, and cheese.  Yes, I come in number 3 on his most favorite things.  Once I learned that there was a restaurant devoted to number 5 on Tony's list, I knew that we had to try it out.  Cheese-ology prides itself on offering a new twist on the American classic, macaroni & cheese.  Located in the heart of the Delmar Loop, they add such items as bacon, bar-b-que chicken, tuna, and sausage to the traditional macaroni and cheese dish.

For our first time, I had the classic which was just cheddar and America cheese.  I absolutely loved the bread crumbs that they sprinkled on top to give it a crispy top.

I know that some may find this shocking, but Tony ordered the Bacon, Bacon.  This dish is specifically made for bacon lovers.  It has mozzarella and gruyere cheese with a generous amount of thick cut bacon topped with bread crumbs.

Final word - it was delicious!!!  We will definitely be returning.

Harley Davidson Museum - Milwaukee, WI

Despite not being too impressed with the city of Milwaukee, the Harley-Davidson Museum downtown was a great place to visit! 

Everyone should arrive at the museum on a motorcycle.  They had a huge parking lot right in front dedicated to motorcycle parking.  I didn't feel nearly as cool pulling up in a cab!

Serial Number One

This particular vehicle known as Serial Number One is a bit of mystery.  Its engine is very early, but doesn't match what is known about the first engines produced by Harley-Davidson.  The frame itself is not original to this motorcycle.  These oddities triggered much debate.

During the 1990s, restorers discovered a number "1" stamped inside various components, inspiring the bike's nickname.  Because of the questions surrounding it, Serial Number One has become a legend in Harley culture.  Only one thing is for sure, this is the oldest Harley-Davidson in the world.

Meticulous research by Harley-Davidson archives staff and external experts has proven that Harley-Davidson Serial Number One was built without fenders and used in competition, probably to illustrate the power and reliability of the motor.  

Most believe that this is not the very first Harley-Davidson every built.  That distinction would go to one of the prototypes.  Instead, they believe that it is the developmental platform from which the first true Harley-Davidson street motorcycles sprang.  It is the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle to be considered ready for production.  And, beyond any doubt, it is the oldest Harley-Davidson motorcycle in existence today.

One of the original uniforms worn by the Harley-Davidson racers.

Part of the Pre-WWII era bikes.

Part of the Post-WWII era bikes.

There was a huge room dedicated to the involvement of Harley-Davidson vehicles in World War II.  It was probably my favorite part of my entire museum.

An entire wall is used to display examples of the famous Harley-Davidson fuel tanks.  I loved the sparkly bright pink ones!

This wall was devoted to showing all of the different motors that Harley-Davidson has used over the years beginning with a 1903 model!  The display area in front of this wall had several digital screens showing each of the motors on the wall.  You would press the picture and it would play a recording of the sound of that particular motor.  I stayed there for a while! 

This was entering into the lower level of the museum where it focused on the 1960's and beyond for H-D.  Most of this area was about showing how customizable the bikes are for the individual rider.

And here is an excellent example of an owner customizes his bike!  When Russ Townsend found himself laid up from an injury, he chose an unusual form of therapy: decorating his 1973 Electra Glide model with thousands of red, white, and blue rhinestones.  He also added many lights, as well as homemade light bars and trim. 

Over the years, his bike has been featured in numerous magazines and books.

Part of the Harley-Davidson Archives Vehicle Collection

This particular model was found decades later buried in a barn.

I absolutely loved the sign!  The work area for the restorers was easily visible for those that head up to the third floor to see the archives collection.

Totaling more than 450 motorcycles, the Harley-Davidson collection is the only one of its kind in the world.  No other motor driven vehicle manufacturer has ever had the foresight to save at least one model vehicle from each model year.  The founders began the collection in 1915, and actually went into the field to repurchase sold vehicles from dealers and riders that represented the first 12 years of the company's history.

The collection vehicles from 1915 to present are retained in their original condition.  At no time are parts re-plated.  Sheet metal parts are never repainted or stripped.  In short, they take great pride in preserving the vehicles in their original condition.

As part of the preservation process, each vehicle is completely disassembled.  Each part down to the last lock washer is cleaned.  Surface grime carefully removed to ensure that original decorative work is not altered.  They do as much as possible to preserve as much of the original finish as possible.

My pictures don't really do it justice as to how large this area actually is when you see it in person.