We took the scenic route to St. Louis this weekend in search of a little midwestern history. Route 66 celebrates its 100th birthday in 2026 so we stopped to visit the original road before taking a side quest to Hillsboro, IL.

We discovered the Red Rooster Inn while searching for breweries and were intrigued by their history, which began in 1825. We were greeted by the kindest bar staffer, Kelly, who offered to give us a quick tour of the bar and Deb, a local who was enjoying a 2-day stay-cation, who bought us our first round. Kendra, co-owner of the inn, restaurant, distillery, AND brewery took the time to give us a tour of the inn and share the story of its restoration.

Here we learned of the Drinking with Lincoln passport that inspired several more stops along our route to and from St. Louis.

After another stop at the Opera House, whose beer was very tasty, we continued our trip westward. Finding ourselves at the 21c Museum hotel just in time for check-in, we were right on track for our 5:00 pm date with the City Museum.

We had a blast climbing, sliding, and just scurrying about in the artists’ fever dream. We can’t wait to come back again for future adventures!

Fans of a good old fashioned, Andy and I challenged our bartender at the Idol Wolf and he did not disappoint! Chris shared his trade secret – it’s in the sauce. The simple syrup is house made with a char grilled orange, Demerara sugar, vanilla, Luxardo cherry syrup, and a cinnamon stick. YUM!

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and plenty of time to check out the gym. The 21c hotel was built in 1925 as a YMCA and it maintains a top notch workout facility, pool, hot tub, sauna, and steam room. We tried it all and were still on the road by 9:30 a.m.

Andy was keen to continue his journey alongside Lewis and Clarke that he began in Clarksville, IN earlier in April. We drove and then walked out to the confluence, which is the site where the explorers departed from civilization and struck out west in 1804.

We drove up into Alton to visit the Old Bakery Beer Co., which is located inside a beautiful former bakery building right alongside the river. Next time we’re having brunch and we’ll stop long enough for a ghost tour. Alton is ranked as one of the country’s most haunted small towns.

One last brewery and the food was worth the wait. We were turned on to Anvil & Forge by a couple from Springfield that we met in Hillsboro at the Opera House brewing company. After lunch we took a final side trip to visit Lincoln’s tomb.

And then we were off to Indiana! This quick two day turnaround was a worth every minute of the 12 hour drive.