Campfire Girls

Rain or shine, it's all good with wine!






That should have been our motto for the fabulous weekend I had with some fabulous ladies. Four young women embarked on a camping adventure to Hermann, Mo. a couple of weekends ago and we made it alive, much to the amazement of our significant others.

Every year, people flock to Hermann Octoberfest and this year I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. We decided to do a little girls/wine weekend. We researched accommodations, but all we came up with were quaint little bed and breakfasts and not-so-quaint-looking motels. So we did what every red-blooded American girl would do: we decided to go camping. Now, I will admit that we did not do tents and air mattresses. Nor did we go without electricity or running water. But pulling a camper, setting it up and making a fire were no easy tasks either.

Thanks to my friend Brooke and her generous family for letting us borrow their camper. She pulled that thing like she had done it for years. I actually think that was the easy part. As long as we didn't see the camper getting further and further behind the vehicle, we knew we were golden.

Our first stop was the Bobber Cafe in Booneville. I used to always go through Booneville on my to and from college in Columbia, but I've never stopped. That is one interesting town. We did enjoy our waitress Debbie and some delicious "unprocessed" food. At least that's what Debbie told us. I did have some pretty good chicken tenders that were breaded like no other chicken tenders I had ever tasted. And she asked what kind of taters we wanted. She really said taters. Classic. It was basically your quintessential truck stop. If I'm ever hungry flying down east on I-70, I may have to stop in and see Debbie again.

Bobber Cafe

The next stop was Montgomery City where we set up camp at the Lazy Day Campground. It was packed with giant RVs and we rolled up in the Honda Pilot with the camper trailing behind us. The owner of the campground guided us to what would be our home for the next day and a half. We parked and got out the instructions for setting up the camper. These were very detailed instructions and with them, we managed to get the camper set up with few hiccups along the way. Once that was done, it was time to relax by the fire and have a few drinks. It was great not being tied to a computer, cell phone or television. It was just good old fashion quality time laughing and talking.
Brooke in front of the successfully erected camper.

When the fire began to die down, we headed into the camper for a night of playing the classic game Sorry! and few card games before calling it a night. The camper itself was comfy, but I hardly got any sleep because the stormed all night. By morning, we were all a little worried that the rain and thunder would ruin our day in Hermann. But by nine o'clock, the clouds started to break and the sun began to shine and all was well.

Playing Sorry!

I don't have to tell you we had a great time. We spent the day in Hermann checking out wineries, bars and the locals. It was a great weekend to just hang out with the girls and get caught up on everyone's busy lives. Below are some pics to document the occasion.

First taste of the weekend.

Looks like CD cover art.

On the hill at Hermannof.