From Camper to Wineries - Lake Miola

Vicky wanted to get one last outing with the Popup Camper for the year. She initially wanted to go to Watkin’s Mill, but she decided too late and there weren’t any spots left. It appears that the whole of Missouri had decided that this weekend would be their last hurrah as well. After checking several other campgrounds Vicky was starting to despair. I suggested that maybe we try down by Paola again since we’d liked that when we were there for the Running with the Cows. Luckily for us, there were spaces open at Lake Miola Campground. We were back in business.

We arrived late Friday night right as the sun was setting. Vicky expertly backed the camper in and we hurried to get the popup setup. We made good time, but when we finished it was dark and we weren’t keen on just then starting to cook. So we headed into town for a lazy dinner at McDonalds. The McDonalds had a table with many colored circle lights on it. We hadn’t seen anything like it before but upon experimentation realized they changed when you touched them. It was perfect for Lizzy to play with while we had dinner. Lizzy was double spoiled because she also got a Happy Meal with a truck toy.

With nothing much left to do for the day it was time to settle down for bed. Lizzy was too excited though and couldn’t decide if she wanted to snuggle in with us or sleep in her own bed. After much fuss and trouble she fell asleep between Vicky and I. Lizzy takes up a shocking amount of space for such a small toddler so Vicky escaped into Lizzy’s bed halfway through the night. When Lizzy woke up in the morning she was very upset that Mommy had stolen her bed.

After appeasing the angry toddler with breakfast, Lizzy and I went to play at the playground so Vicky could catch-up on some sleep. While playing another little girl (we’ll call her Alice) who was about 6 showed up with her older teenage sister. After some shy circling, Lizzy and Alice started playing together. Lizzy was quite enthused to get to play with a “big” girl. Once it got late enough in the morning, I dragged Lizzy back to the camper to check-in on Vicky. Lizzy didn’t stick around long because it turns out Alice’s camper was just across the road.

Once Vicky was feeling ready for the day, we collected Lizzy and headed out to do a tour of the local wineries. First on the docket was Fossil Springs. Fossil Springs is a little one-man show hidden in the countryside. We arrived shortly after they opened and were the only ones there so we got some superb one-on-one service from the Owner-Operator Mark. He very carefully explained everything and while we were picking our wines made sure to get Lizzy some snacks and water.

The Fossil Springs winery has a quite unique offering. It only has fruit-wines and does them each 3 ways; dry, semi-sweet, and sweet. The four types of fruit used are Elderberry, Blackberry, Blueberry, and Strawberry. I tried all the dries plus the sweet Blackberry. Vicky tried all the semis plus the sweet Blueberry. I was excited to try the dry fruit-wines because it’s an unusual format. We each liked all the wines. My favorite was probably the dry Elderberry (listed as semi-dry because it’s so fruit forward that it tricks people). Vicky was most partial towards the sweet Blueberry which reminded her of blueberry pie. After some good conversation and collecting a bottle of each of our favorites it was time to head out.

Somerset Ridge Vineyard & Winery was next on the agenda. It was packed when we arrived probably because of the taco bar and live music they had that day. Since it was so busy, they weren’t doing normal tastings. Instead you paid for your first glass of wine and they give you quick informal test-tastes to help you decide what you wanted. Vicky initially was drawn to the Riesling but found the Oktoberfest (another Riesling done differently) was more her style. I was picked the Flyboy Red because of the fun name and poster art. Once we’d claimed a table I went to get some lunch from the taco bar. We decided a plate of pork nachos to share was the best option and the servers very kindly piled it high to make it extra shareable.

Lizzy had an absolute blast at Somerset. She floated between chasing other kids to chasing dogs to dancing in front of the live music. Honestly, it was becoming difficult to keep track of her. Thankfully, the workers and other patrons helped keep an eye on her and would flag us down when it was clear she’d made another escape. Since Lizzy was having so much fun we stayed a bit longer and had second glass. This time we opted for their Sweet “Buffalo” line with Vicky getting the Blush while I got the Red. Once it was time to move on, we had to wrestle a very disappointed Lizzy into the car.

Our final stop for the day was Isinglass Estate. We arrived just as the their live music for the evening was setting up so we had just enough time to get our order in before the show really started going. Lizzy also managed to locate the selection of children’s toys they have for incorrigible toddlers like herself. She bopped back and forth between the toys and dancing to the music. As for us on the food I got “Mom’s Chili” and we also shared the “Five Cheese” flatbread.

For our tastings Vicky tried the Whites and tried the Dry Reds. My favorite was the Frontenac. Shockingly, Vicky found that her favorite was the Riesling. With a fair bit of wine in us and good music playing, we managed to sneak in some dancing. Although Lizzy didn’t let us do it by ourselves for long.

On our way out, we headed out behind the tasting room building where they have some animal enclosures. We got to see some goats, chickens, a horse, and even some brand-new baby pigs. Lizzy was over-the-moon. That is until we again cruelly dragged her away. It was time to head back to camp.

Back at our site we all got ready for bed and then Vicky and I sat outside to chat and review the day. Lizzy protested her way into also sitting with us despite it being well past her bedtime. After a good bit of relaxing, we all headed to bed and another episode of “Which bed will Lizzy pick tonight”. She actually settled on her own for once, but it got so cold overnight that Vicky shanghaied her into service as a warm water bottle.

In the morning, we packed up while Lizzy played more with Alice and two other kids before heading home. Despite not getting to go with the original plan, it proved to be a wonderful weekend. Sometimes you just have to go where the wind (or the wine) takes you.