Is there a Nurse in the House?!

This group of 4 Nurses and 1 Veterinary Nurse is spending the weekend biking the Katy Trail from St. Charles to Marthasville and back; and they picked the hottest weekend of the year so far to do it!  Good thing they know how to hydrate well and stay properly nourished!  They called ahead and ordered a pasta dinner so, once they cooled off in the shower and chilled out a little, they could enjoy a nice relaxing meal.  This is one fun group who thoroughly enjoys each others company.  I could hear the laughing late into the night; even after such a long, hot, exhausting day!

George's delicious Pasta with Spicy Italian Meat Sauce.

Breakfast:  Michelle, Tammy, Jane(Angie's Mom), Angie and Sam.

Posing with Jesse.

LOVE This Tat Sam!  Nurses have a great sense of humor...

On their way....

June 9th: Soldier's Angel Troy Yocum!

Here's another unbelievable human being walking across America to raise awareness and money for a very special and much needed organization.  Iraq war veteran, Troy Yocum from Kentucky, did some serious soul searching while watching fellow soldiers and their families experience the traumas of war long after they returned home.  He knew that, once his tour was over, he had to do something real and effective to help.  While researching groups to align himself with he found "Soldier's Angles" was where he could do the greatest good and offered himself up to take on a walk across America to draw attention to the Soldier's needs.  Troy spent over 6 months raising money from sponsors for his trip and has a busy itinerary of speaking, meeting and greeting all across the country.  Troy's wife Marieke, whom he met while on leave in Germany, and dog Emmie are walking with him;  friend Terry drives the RV that they sleep in most nights.  This small band of brothers found us, while walking the Katy Trail across Missouri, because the shower in their RV broke and none of them had showered in 4 days!  Hot and sweaty from the humid Missouri summer, the desperate group asked a St. Louis "Trail Angel" to see if someone might put them up for the night.  I said yes in an instant of course, since meeting Jonathan and Ben, I have such a soft spot for anyone doing great humanitarian feats. Small ones too.

Here's the RV the group is traveling in to cross the US twice on their 18 month 7000 mile journey.

Troy on drum, Marieke (with Harley the chihuahua) and Terry singing along with George in the wine cellar.

The guys Jamming....

Troy gets up early each morning to answer the tons of emails he gets and to plan his day.  Emmie and Harley wait patiently under the table. 
Follow Troy on his Blog www.drumhike.com.  Or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Hike-for-our-Heroes.   Follow Emmie at www.drumhike.com/emmie, she has developed her own set of fans and is becoming the most famous dog in the US! 

May 26th: Jonathan Stalls "Kiva Walk" Across America!

This is a first for me, I have had bikers biking across America and I've had walkers walking the Katy Trail but this is the first time I have had someone walking across America!  Jonathan Stalls is one amazing guy walking with his beautiful dog Kanoa across the US to raise awareness for an ingenious and much needed non profit organization called Kiva.
Here is a little bit about it:
"Kiva" is a Swahili word which means "unity" or "agreement", Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.  To find out more click here www.kiva.org.
 Johathan's friend Ben Purner joined him on the walk for a several weeks before going back to school in Colorado where he is studying nursing.  The two met in Ireland while working on a community youth project.
Guys, it was an honor to have you stay at the BnB, I'm so glad our paths crossed!
 You can follow Jonathan's walk on his blog www.kivawalk.com.

Here are the guys in the wine cellar cooling off with some Warsteiner.

and on the porch getting ready to hit the trail again....Jesse is saying good bye to his pals...

May 24th: Cross Country with Bruce and Steve...

Retired cop, Bruce Wynkoop and retired DNR (department of natural resources) dude Steve Mueller, are good pals and avid bikers from Mineapolis, MN who decided to take the Katy Trail to cut across Missouri while biking across the Entire Country.  I joined them for a yummy pasta dinner (prepared by moi) and great conversation, along with some of our local Missouri wine.  Dinner was followed by a spectacular light show courtesy of an amazing storm that was rolling in.  We all sat on the porch with our wine and Oooed and Ahhhed for about an hour as the sky lit up like the 4th of July for us!  Glad you guys rolled up the Hill, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening!

May 21st: Party time with The Zeigers and Burches!

This bunch has fun where ever they go!  They spent 3 days biking the Katy and called ahead to make sure the hot tub would be ready.  While stopping for "refreshments" at the Treloar Grill just off the Katy, they heard about our Warsteiner Beer on tap in the wine cellar and said they knew they were coming to the Right Place!  The next day we bumped into them at their next stop on the Katy, our favorite winery the Blumenhof!  Roy, Cheryl, Dave and Susan; we hope to see you back here again soon!

Newest Nephew!

I just have to add these photos of my newest nephew Avishi, the fifth and (they say) the last! child of Brother Jimmy and SIL Elana...

May 14th: Brother Dan's Birthday..

OK so I didn't get a photo of my brother Dan but he did come out to spend the night, and brought his 15 year old son Zach who is an amazing guitar player.  We all went to Washington MO and hung out at the Bier Deck, then had gourmet pizza at the American Bounty wine bar, Yum! Our favorite places to eat and chill!

 

Here's a photo of nephew Zach Fendelman rocking out on his guitar in the great room...

May 14th: Rebecca and Aaron

Rebecca and Aaron Jaques came from Tennessee to join us for a bit of RnR.  Here they are relaxing on the porch on a chilly morning after breakfast....

May 12th: The Walking Wegges

This is the year for walkers at Concord Hill!   Our first walkers of the year year are Nancy and Bill Wegge who are spending 3 weeks walking the Katy Trail.  This a pretty ambitious project and a good test of a marriage too!  They were only going to stay one night, but ended up spending two because of the rain.    Big tip for walkers, Dry Shoes are Very Important!  Next stop, the Apple Gate Inn in Augusta.  I really enjoyed having you guys for a few days, and I'll never look at walking the same again!