Ste Genevieve, Missouri
For the past two decades or so, I’ve been keeping an entire county under wraps. Showing it only to those I thought would appreciate her, and her stunning offerings. And in some ways, I use this daytrip to let people get to know me.
My mother first took me to Ste Genevieve when I was 12 years-old. Along the way, we had stopped by Plaza Records in Carbondale, where I purchased CD’s with my own money for the first time; Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” and the Rolling Stones “Some Girls” (my music tastes have always been influenced by my born-in-the-60s parents). It was a gorgeous sunny day, and I had no clue where we were going - but my mom always knew the coolest spots. Every year we found ourselves making the hour and some change drive over the river. As I grew older, I started looking up more things to do in the area. I found wineries, a tiger sanctuary, wonderful events, historic preservations. At one point, I almost moved here - but it just wasn’t time. It’s hard to explain how a place just an hour across the river feels like my “end game”, my retirement town…but it’s more than that. It’s the town I can be vulnerable and happy in. A place I can motion to the brick streets, murals, locally-owned shops and explain these are my dreams and goals, in front of us.
So when my husband asked what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day, I knew it was time to take baby girl to Ste Gen. While my mother is no longer present in our life, she was very much present on this trip. It’s hard for me to see the Chester Bridge without hearing “Bad Medicine” in my head and imagining her telling me to hold my breath as we went over the bridge. And I want that for my daughter, in our own way.
Sunday and the holiday meant a few of my favorite places were closed, like Sara’s Ice Cream and Pat’s Pastries. It also meant church services; we loved watching folks trail out from the gorgeous historic Catholic church and into local restaurants offering brunch. The beautifully redone Visitor Center, now home to the National Historic Park service, was our parking and starting point. Thrift & junk stores with the best music and social owners were ready to greet us. The Art Guild, with so many crafting opportunities in addition to it’s gallery was a wonderful space to explore. The Lions Park is a great space to stop and sit, or let littles run.
When we were done downtown, we headed out to the Cave Winery. Had we not had baby, we also would have visited the breathtaking Chaumette Vineyards; however they are a bit fancy, and I limit kiddos presence around alcohol. I plan on having a friends bachelorette weekend in the villas at Chaumette, so hopefully I can show you that soon!
Anyways, the Cave Winery. As the name implies, this winery has a cave. Now, the tasting room is located above-ground. In this area, there is also a distillery of sorts, large seating area indoors and outdoors, snacks, wine and spirits. During busy season, a golf cart will take you up and down the hill to the cave. It being a slower day, we walked. We were treated to the lovely sounds of birds and cicadas in the trees as we passed. The cave itself has numerous seating options, including a deck outside the mouth that seats 25. If you’re looking for a cool - literally - environment to drink tasty beverages and be one with nature, this is your spot.
Next we headed 10 minutes down the road to Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary. If we did not have vacation at the end of the month, we would have stayed here for the weekend. That’s right, you can stay at the tiger sanctuary! I have done this with my best friend before, and cannot recommend it enough. Not only are you staying along the wine trail, you’re staying among tigers living their best lives in “retirement”. All of the tigers in this sanctuary have been rescued from abusive or bad situations, including one from the Tiger King operation. While the tours during the day are cool, the best time to see the tigers in action is around dinner time; and the only way to see them at that time is to stay. You can rent a room or the entire house - we like the Tiger Den. There are also two cats that roam the sanctuary, Watson actually came and slept in our room during our stay!
Anyways, we just went for a quick day trip tour. I had not seen the two newest members, Sebastian and Shakira, and wanted to see if Olive would be interested in seeing tigers. I foolishly did not calculate nap time in to our day, and so she was not as enthralled as we hoped - but still interested!
After that, we agreed it was time for baby girl to sleep on the ride home and headed back over the bridge and through the bottoms, to our home in Carterville. My heart is so full from sharing this part of myself with my family, and now with all of you.
-
Cave Winery
Historic Downtown
Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary
-
From Southern Illinois:
Travel through Murphysboro to Chester.
From Metro East, IL:
Travel down 159 to 3, to Chester
for both, take the Truck Bypass road to the Chester Bridge. Turn right on H when in Missouri, eventually turning right in St. Mary’s at the end of the road.
From Cape Girardeau:
Travel up I-55 to Ste Genevieve
