Sunday, June 9
The Journey to Point Labaddie Brewery
After leaving Great Escape RV Park near Higginsville, we embarked on our big adventure toward Metropolis, IL, and Paducah, KY. Following our goal of driving no more than three hours of Google time each day, we planned to camp overnight in St. Louis. Initially, we had chosen 370 Lakeside Park and RV Campground near St. Louis, but the campground was submerged due to significant flooding along the Missouri River over the past month. This forced us to find an alternative spot.
To solve this, we decided to use our Harvest Host membership, which connects RVers with businesses—mostly wineries—that allow free overnight camping in their parking lots. I arranged for us to stay at Labaddie Brewery, located on the southwestern edge of St. Louis.
Point Labaddie Brewery
The trip to the brewery was uneventful, though we had to add about 30 minutes to our route to avoid road closures caused by the flood. Upon arrival, the staff directed us to a quiet corner of the parking lot about 100 yards from the brewery, near a wooded area that was fairly flat. We kept the truck connected to the trailer, as we weren’t planning on traveling further than the brewery and wanted to be ready for an easy departure the next morning. With a cold front moving in, the weather was expected to be comfortable, and although we didn’t have the power to run the air conditioner, we weren’t concerned about the heat.
After settling in, we walked up to the brewery, found a spot at the bar, and enjoyed their beers along with some live music. We even tried our hand at corn hole outside, although we didn’t fare too well!
While at the bar, we met a couple who were camping at a nearby KOA. They shared that they had to cut their trip short due to an airbag malfunction in their Class A RV. As a gesture of goodwill, they offered us unused tickets to the Bulleit Distillery in Louisville but asked if we could ship them an empty souvenir bottle. We happily accepted their kind offer.
Evening
When we returned to the trailer, we watched a Netflix show on my laptop using my phone as a hotspot. We drifted to sleep with the chorus of loud frogs serenading us from outside.