Maeystown, Illinois was to be our first stop. According to information although it is a very small town (population 157 on the 2010 census) but it has an Antique Store .. a Museum .. a General Store which also has antiques and collectibles .. and an old tavern. Sad to say when we got to Maeystown we discovered that all of these places had CLOSED signs in their windows!!! Sooooo we weren't able to do any touring or shopping but I snapped a few pictures as we drove through!!
It is a neat looking little town and I do want to go back sometime but first I want to find out when things are open!!! To see more about Maeystown click on the link below ..
As we traveled down the little 2 lane road through the countryside you could look across the fields and see Missouri over there on the other side of the river ..
Love this field of yellow ..
Believe me we were not driving 70 miles an hour down these roads .. LOL!!!
Next stop .. FORT DE CHARTRES
Before walking to the Fort there is a picnic table area and a couple of out houses close to the parking area .. of course we visited those out houses .. you don't often get a chance to use an out house .. LOL!!!
I'm so glad I learned how to take pictures using the timer on my IPhone camera .. now I can do "selfies" with out getting just a picture of our heads!!! Notice the outhouse?????
We had to climb these very steep stairs to get to the top .. a very scarey climb for two oldsters .. LOL!!!
Another hard to climb set of stairs ..
At last the flag is billowing .. I wanted it to do t his while Ken was standing below it .. LOL!!!
For more on Fort De Chartres click on the links below ..
Finding our way to Fort Kaskaskia .. sad to say we drove for several miles following the signs only to discover that the road was closed for road work about 2 miles before Fort Kaskaskia!!! However, we turned around and did some backtracking and headed towards Chester and ended up lucking into a sign that led us to Fort Kaskaskia several miles down the road!!!
In case you chose not to read the story on the signboard .. a part of what it told us was that all that was left of Fort Kaskaskia was these mounds all around us ..
Sometimes my finger gets in the way .. LOL!!!
A short ways down the road from Fort Kaskaskia was a sign leading you to the Pierre Meanard Home .. of course we chose to check it out!!! And we were glad we did!!! To take a video tour of the home click on the link below ..
PIERRE MENARD HOME VIDEO!!
Once you get inside the home you are served with Apple Cider of Coffee as you watch a video about Pierre Menard and his home. You also get a Madeline Cookie (Lemon Cookie) . if there are any left the sign says .. LOL!!!
The lady who takes you on the tour also bakes the Cookies .. and they are delicious!!! My hand isn't really that fat it was just very close to the camera .. LOL!!!
There is a small room off the side of the room where the video was played with treasured items in display cases ..
The slippers on the left are the ones Pierre's wife wore at their wedding ceremony!!!
After we watched the video and enjoyed our refreshments we were led out on the front porch and told a few interesting stories .. this door is called a Christian door because the cross is represented and the 4 rectangles represent the 4 gospels!!!
An interesting story about 2 of the windows .. you could see things scratched into the windows .. the camera didn't quite catch the scratches in this window ..
But it did catch the scratches in this one if you look real close .. we couldn't really read them plus the scratches were on the inside so you would read them backwards!!! The story is that when Pierre's son married (can't remember his name or his bride's name at this time) they took his wife's diamond engagement ring and carved their initials into the window!!!
The view across the road from the house!!!
Pierre's office was the first room we came to upon entering the house .. she said the secretary on the far wall was original to the house when Pierre was here .. and they believed the desk was also original to Pierre.
This wide plank ceiling in Pierre's office is the only ceiling original to the house ..
The girls' bedroom .. furnishings are not original ..
The wedding dress in the box on the bed was actually Pierre's wife's ..
The "master bedroom" .. the rug in the center of the floor is original to the home and over 200 years old .. there are runners laid on it to walk to protect it!!
The portrait above the fireplace is Pierre Menard ..
The kitchen is outside the rest of the home and across this roofed area ..
It is thought that the building beside the kitchen was the "smoke house" or could have been used for other things but there is a big fireplace and hooks hanging by the fireplace. You could not get into that building.
Herb garden and flower garden ..
The Root Cellar ..
We didn't have this on our list of stops when we started this adventure but we were glad we had seen the sign and made the journey down the road to check it out!!! For my part it was the most interesting part of our adventure so far!!!
And we are now on our way home .. but first we will stop in Chester, Illinois for some lunch!!! And boy did we get lucky .. for me anyway .. LOL!!! I had gone to the map on my IPhone and typed in Chester, Illinois and touched the food button and it came up with a café names "Jodie's Ol Farmhouse Café and Bakery" .. Hmmmmmm .. we decided this sounded like a place we would like to check out!!!
There it is .. Jodies Ol' Farmhouse ..
I could see by the painting on the door I was going to like this place!!! The outhouse is right inside the front door ..
Off to the side was a room with a sign over the door saying "Parlor" .. I notice I failed to get a picture of that sign .. hard to believe .. LOL!!! I could hardly wait to get our order taken so I could check out the "Parlor"!!!
In the corner at the end of the hall by the Ladies Room!!
Across the other side of the dining area are consignment booths full of treasures!!!
I found a generous sized peeping area and got a pic of Kenneth across the room from the consignment area .. Whoops .. he saw me .. LOL!!!
In case you don't know it Chester is known for it's Popeye characters all around town and I couldn't resist ordering the "Wimpy Burger" and Applesauce .. being a Wimpy Burger I thought it would be much bigger than this and thought I'd probably have some to take home .. but I ate the whooooole thing!!!
Ken got Blue Gill and Slaw and Beets ..
Time for more pics while Ken's finishing his Blue Gill .. LOL!! The door to the left is the Parlor door!!! Don't know how in the world I missed getting a picture of that .. oh well .. next time!!!
Needless to say I loved this place .. if I had a restaurant / café I would want it to be decorated just like this one!!! I will be wanting to go back!!!
Next stop .. just a little ways down the road .. a visit with Popeye just before we get to the bridge that takes us back to Missouri!!!
And we are back in Missouri!! What a great day it has been .. Thank You Ken for a fun fun day!!!
This is it .. hope you enjoyed it!!! I am going to try to find some more stories / videos of things along the way to add to this adventure story .. will let you know on the blathering blog if I add anything to it!!!
