Missouri motorcycle road trip

We just got back from a two day bike ride from our home near St. Louis.  We met some friends at McDonald’s in St. Charles, then traveled out the winding two lane highway 94 to Augusta where we stopped for fresh baked bread at the Bread Shed bakery (4).  Then onto Hermann MO (5) where we picked up a couple bottles of Stone Hill wine.  We continued on highway 94 all the way to the state capital, Jefferson City (7).  From there we took highway 54 down to the Lake of the Ozarks and stopped for lunch at Stewart’s Restaurant in Camdenton.  After lunch we toured the lake area a bit and headed down highway 7 towards Laurie MO in search of the National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church (9).  We found it, a beautiful church and a shrine to mothers everywhere.   You can even have your mother’s name engraved on a wall, for a nominal fee, of course. 

Then it was off towards our real destination… the Caveman BBQ & Steak House (10).  This restaurant is built inside a cave right above the Gasconade River.  It was a speakeasy during prohibition.  The cave is on the second floor, if you can describe a hillside as having floors, and it is reached by a somewhat rickety and small elevator after an interesting ride in a shuttle van from the gravel parking lot.  The food was good and the ambiance was very unique.   The cave is climate controlled so it was very comfortable.  (The emergency exit is a spiral staircase down to ground level.)

From there we headed a short distance to Interstate 44 and on up to Rolla MO where we found a so-so place to spend the night.  Cost $33.    This morning we packed up and headed north on I-44 towards home, but stopped at Diana’s Diner in St. James MO for breakfast.

We arrived home about 1:30 this afternoon.   A little sun/wind burned but none the worse for wear.    Amazingly, we stayed dry the whole trip.  If you would have bet me $100 it wouldn’t rain I’d have taken you up on that bet in a flash.   The forecast called for storms.  Somehow we lucked out and missed the bad weather.   The only rain we got was the slightest sprinkle as we arrived at the cave restaurant.   It was dry when we left the restaurant.   The skies did look very threatening when we checked into the hotel for the night and must have rained a little bit overnight but nothing of significance.  Total miles: 425.