Early retirement had its advantages. One being the ability to drop everything for a spur of the moment road trip. My sister, her husband and boys were in town and asked us to tag along for a day trip. St. Louis is always fun and free fun is always the most fun.
Root Beer, Chocolate and Classic Cars
A few years back, as our kids grew, we enjoyed trips to the St. Louis Zoo, Science Center and Grant’s Farm. It didn’t take long for those little tikes to turn into big strapping young men and beautiful young ladies and finding a source of entertainment became a little more challenging.
Fitz’s Delmar
We drove to the heart of the Delmar Loop in University City for lunch at Fitz’s, a bottling company of the famous Fitz’s Root Beer and other delicious sodas. Fitz’s opened this restaurant on Delmar in 1993. In searching for an authentic bottling line, they found exactly what they were looking for in an old barn in Shawano, Wisconsin when someone unearthed a 1940’s bottler. Spending wads of money they refurbished and installed it in their Delmar restaurant. The old bottler could be seen from every downstairs table in the building.
As we entered the front door, the wooden floors led our eyes to the old-fashioned soda fountain counter lined with matching stools along with a soda jerk working behind the counter. The tall ceilings and long windows added to the ambiance of the ornate room.
We were escorted up the long staircase to the second story and gathered around a tall table. The old brick and brightly colored walls gave us a clue to the age of the building which was built as the West End Bank in 1928. Over its lifespan it housed banks and restaurants, seeing many people enter and exit through its front doors.
As we relaxed, we enjoyed the banter of the three young bucks sitting around our table. Those boys were always worth a couple million laughs and a lifetime of memories.
Lunch on the Loop
For $4.95 we could purchase bottomless mugs of soda. At each refill a new flavor could be explored. Hamburgers and or Philly Cheese sandwiches were our choice of meals. I had the Sunshine Burger which included a burger with a fried egg and bacon layered on the bun. Dan chose the King Louie which was an all-beef patty topped with Philly cheese meats.
Each of us chose burgers which sounded fun to explore across our palates. Tim’s burger was so thick he couldn’t get his mouth around it. It was fun watching the boys as they each enjoyed their meal around the high-top table.
Fitz’s was a soda bottling factory, as well as, a restaurant. We were disappointed the bottler was not running on this particular day.
As we finished our meal and descended the stairs, we met a server holding an order of a large tray of beautifully decorative ice cream sodas. We were so full we could hardly waddle out the door and didn’t think we could possibly fit even melting ice cream between the cracks in our stomachs. Someone in the building was going to have a feast.
Walk of Fame Honors
Once on the sidewalk we wandered down the street and enjoyed the St. Louis Walk of Fame Honors, seeing many of the 100 stars embedded in the sidewalk of notable people from St. Louis who made contributions to the culture of the United States. Some of the star names were Chuck Berry, Yogi Berra, Lou Brock, Harry Caray, Miles Davis, Eugene Fields, Redd Foxx and Red Schoendiest. I was quite surprised the boys didn’t know the older St. Louis names along the walk but I guess the honored were not during their lifetime. Being quick learners, I’m sure they will remember many of them if quizzed later.
Chocolate Factory Tour
Our next stop was Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate located on the Hill and owned by the Dan Abel family. The Bissinger Candy Kitchen and World Headquarters had been open here since 2012 and offered free factory tours which pleased all five of my senses. Seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and especially tasting were satisfied to the max!
We all placed our required soda jerk caps with the iconic white paper on our heads as we walked down the ramp to the factory floor and learned how the company handcrafted their rich, smooth, creamy artisan chocolates. The guide didn’t tell us any family secrets, but for the next 15 minutes we were allowed to watch as their employees churned out some delicious looking chocolates.
I Love Lucy
As I watched, the scene from I Love Lucy popped into my memory when Lucy and Ethyl secured a job in a candy factory working on a packing line. The line began slowly but ran faster and faster as Lucy and Ethel did their antics of stuffing their clothes and mouths trying to keep up with the chocolates as they whizzed by on the conveyor belt.
One of the candies being made were Oreo Cookies covered with creamy milk chocolate and decorated with a small Easter sugar decoration. We watched as they unpackaged the Oreo cookies and placed them on the conveyor belt. Each cookie was dipped in the milk chocolate. As the candy moved along the conveyor belt, the excess chocolate dripped off the cookie and moved to the worker placing the sugar Easter decoration shaped like tiny bunnies, ducks, eggs and carrots on the center of each cookie. The process took less than five minutes to dip and decorate an entire bag of Oreos.
Following the tour, we were given a piece of chocolate to taste their scrumptious handy-work. I had a milk chocolate sea salt caramel. It melted in my mouth as I savored the sweet mingled with the flakes of salt in each tiny bite I took of my delectable morsel.
As we stepped back through the door to the gift shop, I was shocked to see a box of 12 Easter Decorated Sandwich Cookies, the same ones we just saw dipped on the display floor selling for $40.00 The candy case displayed Almond Clusters at $35.00 per pound which averaged out to about $3.00 each.
My nephew quickly figured in his head that our entire tour group of eleven probably consumed $50.00 worth of candy.
As we walked throughout the gift shop, I continued to enjoy the deep rich smells of chocolate which was the only other thing in the store that was free. My lungs full of the chocolate aroma and the memory of a fun tour was all I took home with me.
Classic Cars
The day was slipping through our fingers so our last stop was Fast Lane Classic Cars located in St. Charles which was founded in 1994. The family-owned show room housed 180 high quality muscle cars, classic trucks and collector’s cars. The shine on the vehicles sparkled next to each other as we passed by. The guys drooled and I began to think I was going to have to pass out bibs to catch all the excess water flowing from their lips. If money were no object all the guys in our group wished to put one of those amazing cars in their pocket to carry home.
We thoroughly enjoyed our spur of the moment trek to St. Louis. Remember, as you plan for retirement be sure to put away a little extra so you can carry home one of those expensive boxes of chocolates or a classic automobile. Happy Wandering Wednesdays.