This is Peeps at the Shawnee Winery in southern Illinois the first stop on our tour. The wines are wonderful, the hospitality exceptional and this is a "must do, must taste" for anyone who enjoys wine, chocolate, a good micro brewed beer and good company. www.shawneewinery.com/
David Dawson is the Park Ranger inside the top of the St. Louis Arch with me and Peeps in this photo. He said he's posed with all sorts of people and things. He's still a good guy, since Peeps was a bit unruly, running around and wanting to sit in all sorts of places to have his picture taken...
Sales Coordinator Denise at the Drury Inn Convention Center St. Louis was great about posing with Peeps and me as we checked out of the hotel. We'd planned to get a picture with Michael, who'd checked us in the evening before and was a terrific help in directing us to the Arch, but he was off duty. Denise promised to let him know what he missed out on...
Sheriff Milo arrests Peeps for attempting to shoplift a peeps-sized Stetson and cause a general ruckus in the Buffalo Bill Cody gift shop near the William Cody grave marker in the mountains near Denver.
Our sister Kate, and friends Radmilla, her son Dejan, husband Milo, and me at Genessee Park in the Rockies for a picnic.
Peeps sniffs bluebells and our sister Kate appears to be smelling Peeps near Buffalo Bill's grave marker in the Rockies.
Mike and Peeps bond over beer at the College Inn in Denver. Great guy, Mike. Pilot, blogger, sports fan.
Peeps and the boys (still blue from their freezing adventures) meet Mary, truly the greatest bartender in the world, at Rodney's.
Linda Wisdom's (www.lindawisdom.com) Fluff and Puff turn and turn blue from lack of oxygen "at altitude" (and a severe case of being frozen) and join Peeps at Idaho Springs for a hot springs bath. This was a very bad idea since the three of them also got into a great deal of mischief...
As you can see, a pink sword was acquired by Certain Bunnies Who Shall Remain Nameless as well as other things (provided by Extraordinarily Thoughtful Sisters I Know & Love) and a battle ensued. This caused said bunnies to get tossed out of the Jeep at exit 2 on I-70 west in Rabbit Valley. They said they were happy to go as the valley was named after them and a celebration was sure to be in progress over their arrival. I fear they were most likely Doomed to Disappointment, but said nothing.
John and Gina Kiefer were married just a week prior to this photo, taken with Peeps on the bridge at the Gateway to the Colorado River. They were initially intrigued by our journey with Peeps and then delighted to make a memory with him on their return to St. Louis. They took the following picture of Ann and I (with Peeps, of course; he's most insistent *wink*). We wish them a wonderful journey and a marvelous future.
We had just left some stale peeps Christmas Trees at the start of the Mossy Cave Trail in the Canyonlands in Utah when someone laughingly said, "That's a waste of good Peeps." We turned around to meet a family from Pennsylvania who'd come off the trail after us. They'd observed our offering to the landscape (and the squirrel that was running about looking for "things"). We explained the staleness factor and the Peeps Trip, and the mother told us that her son loved stale peeps and often opened his Christmas Peeps to age them for awhile before consuming him. We gave him the rest of the package of trees that we'd just opened and he gamely posed with them. Thank you, Alex, you rock! And just so you know, where moms and embarrassment are concerned, it does not get better from here. Just ask my son...
Certainly one of our best and favorite encounters was with Angel, the Guardian of Route 66 and the inspiration for the movie Cars at his Historic Route 66 Gift Shop. www.route66giftshop.com The shop sells only things that are "Made in the USA" and appears constantly busy. Angel is the best ambassador for Route 66 and American tourism imaginable. He wears a constant smile, cheers on everyone, and those who work in the shop are equally cheerfull and welcoming. I loved meeting him, spending time with him and everyone else in Seligman, AZ and I will go back happily - with or without Peeps!
Tomorrow I'll get the rest of Peeps' trip updated. It's been a marvelous experience, due in large part to everyone we met, and all of those roadside attractions we found.
Especially the unexpected ones.
Until then.
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