Groupon Date Night – Stumpy’s, Peacemaker, & Haunted Walk

Occasionally we find time to adult things. And it just so happens this summer that Aaron and I found time one lovely Saturday afternoon to have an adult  “Groupon” Date.  I am calling it such because I had purchased some Groupons earlier in the spring and we decided to use them on this Saturday afternoon.  Along with trying out a new restaurant that had been on my list.

Our date started after our stop at Sam’s to buy the necessary bulk snacks that feed a teenage boy.  (I didn’t say romantic date just adult.)  After our favorite lunch of hot dog and pizza from the snack bar, we headed off to something a little more refined.

We were headed to Stumpy’s Distillery in Columbia, IL.  It’s a fairly new distillery that I found on Groupon.  I knew that Aaron would enjoy the whiskey tasting and appreciate the fact that it is family owned and the grains are grown on the family farm.

Family Grown & Distilled, From Grain to Glass

It’s just a short drive over the JB Bridge and then not hard to find once you are in Columbia. You will find a small metal building in the middle of a field and there you are.  We had a scheduled tour time so we went in a little early to check out the merchandise. We were greeted by a warm smile from the wife of the young couple who have started this distillery. . The “store” is a small area but offers a lot of character and we browsed what it had to offer and made a few purchases before we left.

There were about ten other people who were waiting to start our tour.  For this tour, the tasting is first which is different from what we have done before.  We were all allowed to try a sample of each product that  Stumpy’s had to offer and a mixed drink as well. (You also receive a complimentary glass.)  It was well worth the Groupon price and it would have been worth the full price.

I tried all the offerings but that isn’t really my thing, so I sipped and then Aaron finished them off. His favorite being the Lemon Drop.  He had high hopes for the Pecan Pie Whiskey but the Lemon Drop won out.

After sampling all they had to offer, we were ready for the tour.  Now this isn’t a large operation so the tour is really just the back half of the building.  The entire process is done in one area but our guide -the owner- explained every area of the process from growing the grain to bottling.  Everything is done in this building.  (It was interesting to find out that the bottles are made at Piramal Glass in Park Hills.)

The tasting and tour took about an hour and was very informative and informal. And well worth the drive.  I would recommend checking it out.

The big question of the evening was where to eat. That’s always the big question.  I knew where I wanted to go but didn’t know if time would allow it before our next adventure. It just so happened that Peacemaker Lobster and Crab was roughly a mile from where we needed to be so it worked out perfectly.  I love seafood and was eager to try this place out. It was a Saturday night but we didn’t have a long wait for a table.  I had checked out the menu before hand so I had a good idea of what I wanted.  Being my first visit, I felt I needed to order what the place was named after (which is a Lagom Rule that we will share later) – The Peacemaker.

Now on my bucket list, I do have eat a lobster roll, a whole lobster, and raw oysters.  I am holding out hope that I will get back to Maine (I went when I was little), and will try those seafood items where they belong. But if not I will settle for a place like this.

Aaron decided to try the shrimp boil.  He was impressed and enjoyed the hint of lemon that came across in the shrimp.  It was a little pricier than what we would normally pay for a meal, but not overly priced for seafood.  I will definitely be going back and may try the Lobster Frito Pie.  Sounds intriguing doesn’t it?

Our timing was just about perfect and we were next headed to The Lemp Haunted Neighborhood Walking Tour. Now I love these type of things. I have done them in Memphis, Savannah, and a different one in St. Louis.  Aaron was skeptical because this isn’t really his type of thing.  Of course he had never been on one so how should he really know?  They are usually advertised as a “ghost” or “haunted” tour, but really are presented as history of the area.  It just so happens that the interesting history of the area usually has some underlying mystery to it.

We met up at the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society Headquarters on Cherokee in an  old Lemp building.  We set out before dark around 7:00 pm (we did the early tour) and took about an hour and forty-five minute stroll through the surrounding neighborhoods.  We stopped outside the Lemp mansion and learned the history there, crossed HWY 55 to a few interesting stops on that side and then came back to discuss the Lemp Brewery itself.

After the first stop, Aaron quit being so skeptical and realized it was more history and less haunting that we were listening to.  Our tour group wasn’t a very vocal or active group,but of course I had a question or two for the guide.  (One of my prouder moments is when Hunter, at about the age of 8, asked if the “wallpaper was original” on a historical home tour.  We like to ask questions.)  Anyway I did like that on this tour the guide brought along an Ipad and presented various pictures that were relevant to our stops.  I had never seen that before on a tour.

I am a sucker for the educational type tours, so would do this again with anyone else that wanted to go. And I found another adventure to add to my bucket list in this area (involves a Polish church).  Like Stumpy’s this was an adventure that was worth the full price and definitely worth the Groupon.

Our final stop was going to be Ted Drew’s but we drove by about 9:30 pm and there were probably 200 people in line – no joking. So we just kept on going all the way to ColdStone Creamery in South County. Aaron knows how I love my ice cream.

It was a great day. A great adult day that didn’t involve the kids and let us just be a couple for a little while. So if you think you are needing some adult time or are interested in either of these adventures, try them out and let us know how it goes!