Lisa wanted the girls to join her at her parents ranch outside St. Louis to celebrate her birthday. We arrived after midnight to the Burle Ranch, which happened to be April fools! Mr. Dan Burle is a big jokerster. He had a sign that said the ranch was closed until Monday. That stinker!! We went right to bed. However, I woke up to Lisa in my bed as her air mattress deflated in the night!
After a big breakfast Mrs. Bernie made, we headed to Hermann, Missouri to some wineries. Mr. Dan rented a black Yukon so that we all could ride together.
Me, Cindy, Shelly, Betsy, Steph, & Lisa ready for a day full of adventure!
It took about 1.5 hours to get to Hermann.
Look at this nasty copperhead we saw on the way out! SCARY! The neighbor said he shot the snake.
We finally arrived to the 1st winery. Did you know there are over 100 wineries in Missouri alone?
Stone Hill Winery is nestled up on a hill in the town overlooking the Missouri River. It has been around since the 1800s. We took a tour and learned all about the process on how wine is made.
Wine fermenting.
The Burle ranch also had loggers come out to take some of the white oak trees that are used for this purpose...or I like to think one day one of his trees will be in here!
We did a little tasting.
I am trying to see what one I want to try. A lot of choices!
Where is Lisa? Oh yeah, she is taking the picture!
We had a grand time.
Our 2nd winery. Shelly and I are twins!
Since it was Lisa's birthday weekend, we got her a cupcake headband. Perfect for her.
Our final stop was Adam Puchta Winery, the oldest family owned winery in Missouri.
I like the wines in Missouri because they mostly come from a German background. And German wine is sweet! We had the best time here.
We arrived back at the ranch and checked on all the horses! I'm not sure how many there are?? Over 15 I know!
Meet Casey. She was hanging out in the stall since her friend was very pregnant. I also learned that horses are pregnant for 11 months! And she was BIG!
They also have cattle. MOOve over Cindy!
For our Friday night meal, we had a wonderful lasagna.
For dessert we had birthday cake followed up with Mr. Dan playing the accordion! We then hung out under the stars listening to Mr. Dan's very funny jokes.
Saturday morning we had another wonderful breakfast then Cindy and I got a tour of the 180 acre ranch!
The tour ride!
We then packed up and drove to St. Louis to watch the Card's baseball game.
Our view of the Mississippi from our hotel suite.
We stopped for a photo-op while on our way to the game.
Too bad the Cards lost. However, we had great weather and a great time. The Burle's went back to the ranch while we stayed the night in St. Louis.
Steph!
Lisa the birthday girl!
We ate dinner at the Drunken Fish, a sushi place! YUM! We ended the night hanging out at Laclede's Landing where Steph had a very hard time walking since she had on very high hills. Sunday we came home and I had a horrible time as the driver. It was very windy. Driving in up to 50 mph wind gusts is very stressful for 4 hours straight. Luckily, I got us home safely! I highly suggest you read Mr. Dan's blog titled, six southern belles visit the ranch. He has a very imaginative twist to the visit and it is a fun read!
