Home

Day 8, Augusta to St. Charles - 32 miles

    I awoke about four in the morning. The room was getting chilly and we had only light coverings. I stoked the fire with more wood then jumped back in bed again.

    The next time I awoke it was 7:30, time to get dressed and get going. I beat Jeanette to the dining room and found a thermos of coffee ready. After waiting about 15 minutes I roused the sleepyhead and when ready, we both ate the breakfast laid out. It was rather meager, fruit and granola stirred into a yogurt base, a bran muffin and juice. When I booked the room Clyde had mentioned that our breakfast would be more on the order of a continental one since he had another four guests staying in a room or rooms over the dining room and he wasn't equipped to deal with more than four people.

    With breakfast so quickly over, we retrieved the tandem from the garage, loaded it up and were on our way at 8:45. This was to be our last day on the Katy Trail. We planned an additional ride tomorrow but that was from St. Charles to the U-Haul close to the St. Louis airport and the route would be on surface streets rather than crushed limestone. As we packed the bike we could see that the weather had improved significantly from the previous day, our last day on the trail would be sunny and warm.

    This last day's ride would take us through the towns of Matson, Defiance, Weldon Springs, and Greensbottom Road before reaching St. Charles. We would be riding towards a major population area and it was a Saturday. We expected to see more traffic than we'd encountered on the rest of the trail and we weren't mistaken. By nine-thirty we were over five miles down the trail and beginning to see people almost continually. Some were obviously cycling enthusiasts while others were just couples and families out for a weekend ride on their cruiser bikes. We even encountered what must have been a 10 mile run at the Matson trail head with a crowd of about 100 at the finish line.

    Houses facing the trail became more frequent and soon we were seeing whole subdivisions rather than single houses. When we were on the outskirts of St. Charles we skirted a newly built sports stadium and then quickly found ourselves at the foot of Main street and a long park that is built along the trail. A large monument to Lewis and Clark was prominent in the park as well as the St. Charles station, a caboose and a band stand. 

    We decided to turn off the trail and ride down Main Street to the Touring Cyclist Bike Shop so we could find out how to cross the Missouri given that there were three bridges. When we reached the shop it was evident that they were moving out or swapping inventory. We went in and asked about the route across the river and what was going on with the shop. The guys in the shop told us that with five bike shops, this particular one was just not holding it's own and was going to be closed at the end of the month. The crossing of the Missouri was our choice, we could either ride back along the trail to a bike crossing about five miles back or ride up to Highway 370 and cross using the curb side bike lane. We looked at the primitive maps we had and decided that the route over 370 would be the most direct.

    It was early, we hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and breakfast had been rather smallish. An Italian restaurant, Frankie Tocco's Pizzeria, was next door to the bike shop. We decided to give it a try. We cabled the tandem to the light post just outside and entered. They were doing a brisk business. We both ordered pasta dishes and found them tasty and filling. Properly fed and happy, we spent the afternoon with the stoker wandering through quilting and cross stitch stores and the captain sitting happily on benches outside watching the girls crowds walking up and down the street. We called our B&B about 3:30 but found that our hostess, Sandy, wouldn't be home until after five. We rode down to the park and looked around, taking pictures and then returned to Main Street for a second visit to selected quilting and cross stitch stores and more leisure time for the captain.

    Sandy called us on our cell phone at five saying she was home. We rode the tandem up hill for six blocks and found the house easily. She welcomed us in and had me take the tandem around to the back of the house where I could conceal it and cable it to the back porch. Lady B's B&B is an old two story house that our hostess has owned for more than 30 years. She raised her kids there and now lives by herself. The large empty house, along with the need for some extra income in addition to her earnings as a real estate agent suggested that a bed and breakfast business could match assets with need. Three bedrooms were available upstairs for guests. The shared bathroom was somewhat antique with a claw foot tub plumbed with a hand held shower wand, the floor protected by a circular shower curtain. The furnishings were rounded out with a sink, counter and toilet. The rooms were clean and furnished adequately with substantially made antique furniture. Our room had a TV, table and chairs and was roomy. A small kitchenette was also located on the floor for guest use.

    We asked Sandy about several recommended places for dinner. She said that the suggestions were good but that, if we liked, we could all go to dinner together at a place she really enjoyed. We liked the idea and took her up on her offer. She called and made reservations and we went up, relaxed and prepared for dinner.

    It was dark by the time Sandy drove us to Vivian's Vineyard and Restaurant on 2nd Street. The restaurant is located in an older house with the large rooms of the first floor serving as dining rooms. The waiter and his assistant in training spieled off the entire menu which made our throats so dry just listening to him that we had to order drinks. The next hour was filled with eating and talking. I don't remember what Jeanette and I ordered but we had no complaints. Sandy ordered a giant Portobello mushroom covered with a spicy white sauce, usually an appetizer. When served I could see how it could be considered a meal. It was about nine inches in diameter and covered the plate, large enough that she shared pieces with us, just so we could try it. While we ate we discussed the B&B business and life in St. Charles. Sandy said that the B&B business has never been what it was before 9-11. We talked more about her participation in her church choir and church activates. She told us that she would be singing in the morning at ten. 

    After dinner we returned to the B&B and retreated to our room, full of food and happy to watch TV and read until our eyes closed.

____________________________________________________________

Lady B's Bed & Breakfast
Innkeeper: Sandy Boschert
631 N Benton
Saint Charles MO 63301
Phone: 636-947-3421

Ambience:****
Bathroom:**
Breakfast:****

Cost: $112.33

Frankie Tocco's Pizzeria - Lunches and dinners from $6-15
108 So. Main Street
St. Charles, MO

Vivian's Vineyard and Restaurant -  Dinners from $10-25
1409 N. 2nd Street
St. Charles, MO
636-940-9141

Last Day - Day 9, St. Charles to the St. Louis Airport - 15 miles