When:  Friday, June 7, 2019 to Sunday, June 9, 2019 (two nights)
Where:  Sundermeier RV Park (St. Charles, MO – a suburb of St. Louis)
Cost:  $59/night  for pull-through sites with full hook ups
Biking:  Katy Trail (sorta); Fox Hill Park Trail; Boschert Trail
Beer Rankings: (1)  Friendship Brewing; (2) Third Wheel Brewing; (3) Ferguson Brewing; (4) Narrow Gauge Brewing; (5) Exit 6 Brewery.***

"Meet Me in St. Louis" is a 1944 MGM romantic comedic musical that tells the story of a father and his four well-to-do daughters (including Ester played by Judy Garland).  The family may have to leave St. Louis for New York, thereby missing the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.  This classic film includes a prototypical-boy-next-door love story, but ends with the family overlooking the fair as thousands of inventive outdoor lights are turned on.  

Our weekend in St. Louis where we met some friends in our RVs was a little different.   Yes, there would be four girls.   But, we were all already married (to each other), and the plan was to celebrate one of our birthdays while biking and beering.   We were going to try to stay classy (not classic).   And, technically, we were staying in the affluent suburb of St. Charles too. 

We stayed at the Sundermeier RV Park, which is conveniently located right by the Katy Trail.  The park has all-concrete pads, but the sites are pretty close together, typical of what we have found in urban RV parks.   We booked two sites next to each other, one for us and another for our friends and their RV.   There were few permanent residents, and lots of folks coming-and-going like us.   The convenient location alone, however, makes the park worth staying at again.

Biking in St Louis / St. Charles:

Unfortunately, the Katy Trail was closed because of significant flooding and it was raining on-and-off most of Saturday.  Thus, on Saturday morning, we biked (sometimes in the rain) along the city streets and walked around downtown St. Charles.   100+ unique shops, restaurants, galleries, and cafés decorate this beautifully preserved historic district.   St. Charles is the type of place for a good mother-daughter outing or “girls” weekend.  

On Sunday, we had breakfast outside (it had finally stopped raining!) and we headed out on our bikes.  The Katy Trail was still closed because of flooding, so we biked along the Fox Hill Park Trail and Boschert Trail.  Why you ask?  Dogs!   The day before, we had discovered that the city had commissioned 25 statues of Seaman, the Newfoundland dog who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition.   We had taken some photos of some of the Seaman statues in downtown St. Charles, and had plans to conduct our own expedition by bike to find others.   We were largely successful except for the Newtown statue.  (Newtown is a pocket of newly constructed homes just off the highway in St. Charles).  We probably spent 30 minutes or so biking up and down those Newtown residential streets trying to find dear Seaman.  The map below shows our bike route and some of the touristy photos we took of us (mostly Lana) with the Seaman statues.

Kudos to St. Charles and other cities for helping us and others discover parts of their community with public art! We’ve enjoyed finding Buckies in Madison WI, Jayhawks in Lawrence KS, and Black Squirrels in Marysville KS to name a few. 

Breweries in St. Lewis:

We visited six breweries during our weekend stay. This was a birthday weekend, after all.

En route to St. Charles on an early Friday afternoon, we stopped at Friendship Brewing just off I-70 in Wentzville.   We learned that the owner had been collecting beer memorabilia for decades, and the venue is truly a gem for beer history lovers.  The beer selection is outstanding as well, featuring both house beers and also various rotating guest taps.   We both really liked the Berry Friendly, which has a raspberry flavor.  The brewery also serves food, and has a large outdoor patio area.   Because we visited in the middle of the day, we were able to park the RV in a nearly empty parking lot just across the street.  I suspect that the lot fills up in the evenings when the brewery is hopping.   Friendship Brewing was a place we planned to visit again, and did so just a month later. 

We had time to visit two more breweries on Friday.  After setting up our RV, we stopped by Exit 6 Brewery.  Located in a strip mall, this brewery had a sports-bar feel.   The St. Louis Blues were in the midst of winning the 2019 Stanley cup, and that was all our bartender could talk about.  We did pick up a few cans of their beer to share with our friends, but overall, the brewery was not particularly memorable.

Third Wheel Brewing is also located in a strip mall, but a compete delight.  There’s a cute little red truck similar to the brewery’s logo parked near the sidewalk outdoors.   We visited around happy hour, and the place had a great vibe.  The brewery was in the midst of a week-long two-year anniversary celebration so there were good pint specials as well. Jen Norman was going to be playing there the next night (I learned later that she is a frequent musical guest) so we knew the owners had good taste in music.  Lastly, the place had a kitchen window with very good food options.  And, yes, the beer was good as well.   I have the “Love at First Pint” special release IPA. 

On Saturday, we started with lunch at Trailside Brewing, which is now the Schlafly Bankside Brewpub.  The venue is a prime location right in the heart of St. Charles next to the Katy Trail and across from the Lewis and Clark Boat House and Museum.   Since the brewery has changed ownership since we visited, I won’t discuss it further.

Next was  Ferguson Brewing, an established craft brewery located South Florissant Road that started brewing in 2010.   The place suffered during the uprisings after fatal shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 by a white police officer so merely driving through the area was a chance to reflect on how the nationwide Black Lives Matter Movement was integrally tied to this area.   I felt completely at home in the brewery as we all bellied up to the bar that serves as the focal point of the brewery.  I had the Pecan Brown Ale, and the Imperial IPA, and both were tasty.

We Ubered over to Narrow Gauge Brewing, which is affiliated with Cugino's restaurant.   The place is more restaurant than brewery, and was absolutely packed on a Saturday afternoon.  We were able to snag a few seats at the bar, and people watch.    We shared a flight of some interesting beers, but I neglected to make note of what we actually drank.   We ultimately Ubered home, and had an early night.

All in all, we managed to complete our objectives.   We biked, we drank beer, and we had fun with our friends.   St. Louis/St. Charles is a place we will definitely be visiting again.   There’s a ton to do and see in the area besides bike and beer.  Stay tuned.      

 ****There are dozens of breweries in the St. Louis area.  In a future post, I’ll review all of the ones we visited over the past few years.  Thus, this ranking is solely based on this weekend visit.