Tag: RELATIONSHIPS

GRATITUDE: 5 WAYS TO FIND IT

The Thanksgiving Holiday is coming up this month, for what are we thankful?

That feeling of being thankful, especially when faced with unexpected changes, challenges, disappointments or failures can be absent from our thinking, but we can find gratitude.  These unexpected changes, challenges, disappointments or failures are part of life and affect us, but how we deal with them is entirely our choice and within our control.  Our minds and mindsets are very powerful and will affect our lives in a good way or a bad way; the choice is ours.

So, how do we find gratitude?

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1-INSPIRING EXAMPLES- PEOPLE WHO OVERCOME CHALLENGES OR MENTOR US

If you want gratitude, it doesn’t take long to find amazing people who overcome challenges, sometimes greater challenges than we are facing, so by those inspirational examples, we find ways to be thankful.

Did you ever meet someone who was faced with tremendous challenges in some way, but focused on the positive, and then became amazing and inspirational? We set the limits of what we can become or do.  If our environment is negative, we need to find more positive people to be around, we can also read about positive, inspirational people, if unable to find them near us.  We are so lucky to have Internet access because this gives us a convenient way to find positive and motivating people.  Watch movies: there so many positive, inspirational stories that can help change your viewpoint to one of gratitude.  Some examples that come to mind are:

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The Help

The Pursuit of Happyness

The Blindside

John O’Leary, On Fire

I believe there is greatness within every person, as well as tremendous potential.  It is a matter of our focus whether we achieve. Some will choose to let those challenges, disappointments or failures affect and control them and see everything negative and others will choose to use those challenges, disappointments or failures propelling to the next level and improving, understanding that we can be thankful for the challenges, disappointments or failures because we they make us stronger and cause us to improve when we decide to overcome them.  I’ve met some people in day to day life that once I learned their story of challenges, I couldn’t believe how they could be so positive and thankful. It is a choice.

Think about the people in our lives who have done something positive for us by:  listening, helping, inspiring, encouraging, teaching, motivating or entertaining us. We can be grateful for them!

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2- REALIZE YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL OR CAN BE BEAUTIFUL – IT’S A CHOICE, NOT SOMETHING YOU WERE GIVEN AT BIRTH

Sometimes it’s the people who had the most incredible struggles who are the most beautiful people.  Inner beauty dominates outer beauty – think about that:  we were created with certain physical attributes and features, but the inner beauty is something that we create.  Sure, there is plastic surgery that can change outer beauty, but did you ever see an outwardly beautiful person and then get to know them and realize their inner beauty isn’t developed? Inner beauty is personality, respect, honesty, confidence, happiness, actively helping others, being attentive, listening, compassion for others, kindness, awareness, peacefulness, and how one uses the unique talent, gift, ability each person has that makes them a one of a kind. This inner beauty affects how beautiful people appear to us; if it’s undeveloped, it lessens the beauty we see or makes them unattractive. Knowing that; everyone has the opportunity to be thankful for being beautiful because we can make that happen,but if it hasn’t already happened: focus on inner beauty:  Inner Beauty dominates Outer Beauty.

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3- GET OUTDOORS

We are fortunate to have nearby parks in the US wherever we live.   So, use them, detach from technology, go for a walk, a run, a hike and take time to notice the surroundings.  So often we are in a rush, so we pass by beautiful things we have right in front of us.  We can be thankful for the natural beauty we experience: the colors we see, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, oceans, the changes in seasons, beaches, forests, mountains, deserts, and the sky and: sunrises, sunsets, clouds, stars.

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4- GO TRAVEL

Travel can produce gratitude.  We may find incredible places, views, people and then become thankful for those moments. Or we may see conditions we never experienced before making us grateful for what we have at home.  The travel can be near or far; either way we will get this experience; just go someplace new where you haven’t been before for the most impact.

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5- VOLUNTEER

Sometimes the greatest gift we ever receive comes from helping others and seeing the impact made on others.  Volunteering opportunities are everywhere and there is usually a shortage of volunteers. Find some cause that appeals to you and get involved, you will be thankful and so will others.  Focusing on others also helps us avoid any self-pity reflection of circumstances which is counterproductive to feeling thankful.

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REMINDERS

Once you identify what you are grateful for, write it down as a reminder to keep with you and stay focused on the positive; because we all need reminders now and then when things don’t go well!

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Make It Count!

This picture of Andy K. was taken in 2014, on this date, two years ago. I’ve told the story leading up to this picture several times now, but it is worth retelling for many reasons.

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Andy K.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

A bunch of  high school freshman friends decided they were going to go trick-r-treating at the very last minute at a Halloween party we were hosting.  So they needed something to carry, we had collected several Halloween bags over the years and stored in the basement. So everyone went down to the basement and I was handing out bags. Andy was the last one and the only one I had left was this “girly” “Hello Kitty” bag, so I just started laughing and said to him, something like, “you’re not going to want this one, are you?”  and he replied something like, “sure, why not? I’ll use it!”  and he did.  I was really impressed by his confidence, he truly didn’t mind and was going to have fun with it!  So I had to ask him if he would let me take his picture with it, and it was no problem for him!  He made an incredible impression on me at that very moment.

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Maddie, Cassie, Amanda, Lauren, Jack and Andy
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2014 Halloween Party

 

FRIENDSHIPS

The prior summer, in 2014, Andy K., Lauren D. and Jack L. spent a lot of time together at their brother’s baseball games and had become good friends.  They also went to homecoming together as a group.

 

YOUNGLIFE CAMP

The next summer, 2015, Lauren D. and some friends decided to go to YoungLife Camp; Andy K. went to a different high school, but shortly before the trip, they found out they were all going to be at Camp together and were pretty excited about it.  They had a great experience at camp with lots of stories to tell.

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Andy pictured in the red shorts and Santa hat at Castaway              Summer 2015

 

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Claire, Andy and Lauren- YoungLife Camp

KEEPING IN TOUCH

They continued to stay in touch and would do things together in groups.  At this point in time, not everyone was driving so I drove Lauren D. and Claire S. over to Andy’s to hang out.  Of course I got the call asking “Can we stay later?”  And I was fine with that, then I got the call, “how soon can you get over here?  Claire needs to be home ASAP!” That’s just how things go when you have a teenager.  So I picked them up and they talked about how much fun they had that night.  It just got to be later than Claire’s parents expected so she needed to get home.

A COUPLE WEEKS LATER 

I still remember getting the call from my friend Krista, I was sitting on the couch with Nick watching TV, she wanted to let me know first so that I could tell Lauren before she found out on social media, since Lauren and Andy were good friends:  Andy was in a car accident on the way to his job and he didn’t make it.  I was in shock, horrified and didn’t know how to tell Lauren; it was painful. From this day forward EVERYTHING changed on December 2, 2015.

THE AFTERMATH

The wake and funeral were the most emotional experiences I ever had. There was an unbelievable number of people attending, thousands in my estimation.  And I heard so many stories, very similar to my Halloween story of Andy’s personality, from so many people of all ages.   Andy K. was the kid who welcomed the shy kid at school, smiled at people, took time patiently with young kids, made people smile, looked out for others, stood up for the “underdog”, and was strong for others, provided emotional support to others in times of need.  And he was only in high school, but yet affected so many positively.

Andy’s Dad told the story of Andy driving his Dad to the airport for a trip and as his Dad started to go through the gates, Andy said, “Hey Dad, Make It Count!” and smiled. Sadly, this was the last time they saw one another. The “Make It Count” conversation was an ongoing conversation Andy K. and his Dad had many times over the years, but in reverse, when his Dad coaching Andy would tell him in sports to “Make It Count!”  Andy’s Dad asked that everyone remember Andy and “Making It Count” going forward.

GRATITUDE

I will forever be grateful that Andy K. was a part of Lauren’s life, he made her life better on many occasions and I will always think of Andy and his family whenever I hear or use the words “Make It Count”

So often in our lives an ordinary day, an ordinary experience, will not seem like much at the time, but does in hindsight.  The impact one person can have on so many was evident to me during this experience, it truly changed my perspective in life and is something that I will always be very passionate about: Making It Count!

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Career Paths We Choose

FOLLOWING A PASSION- MY STORY

Some people are lucky and know at a young age what they want to be.  I, on the other hand, was not so lucky and when it came time for college, I had no clue what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to get a degree.

EARLY JOBS

Financially, the cost of college was my responsibility so had to figure how to cover that.  My good fortune was having parents who were intelligent, so thankfully, some of that was passed down to me in the genes and I was able to get an academic scholarship along with a financial aid grant which enabled me to complete my first year of college. I don’t mind working, in fact, I started working when I was 12, first baby sitting then had various jobs once in high school:  restaurant, movie theater, retail and life guard.  During my first year of college I met a friend who worked as a bank teller part-time while attending college, so guess what my next job was…yes, a bank teller.

CAREER START- Architecture/Interior Design

My second year of college, I decided I wanted to be an architect, because I had a friend whose brother-in-law was an architect and I was intrigued by the projects he designed and the business of architecture and creating.  So I pursued that and was able to get a job with a small architectural firm through my friend’s brother-in-law while attending college.  In my third year of college, one of the professors suggested I join a larger firm to broaden my experience, so I did that.  I found that architectural firms have good financial times and bad financial times depending on the market and saw layoffs a few times.  It was tough going through those times because people you became really close to lost their jobs.  It made me feel uncomfortable, so I thought it might be less risky to work for an Interior Design Firm where the business might remain more constant, by not depending on new building construction.  This became my next job.  I was always a dedicated employee and would work “all-nighters” as we called them, whenever it was needed to finish a project. Literally we would work all night long, blast the music, have pizza delivered and work all night long ‘til we finished!  I put in tons of hours in architecture and interior design, made some great friends and enjoyed it, but knew this was not my final destination.

CAREER CHANGE – Real Estate and Development

I still loved real estate and was interested in the sales and leasing side of the business, but those were commission only based jobs, and I owned a house at that point, which made a commission only income a big risk.  I ended up going to school to get my real estate license while I was working full time in design.  I did this during off hours: on nights and weekends and then worked part-time at a residential real estate office, while still maintaining my full time job. I quickly realized that was not going to work out; I needed to work real estate full time to make a living doing this.  I found a job opportunity by talking with a real estate client who was leaving her job, so I applied for that position and luckily was hired, becoming a property manager.  One day, a mentor of mine and I were having lunch and he threw out the idea of a new position working for him on a redevelopment project where my responsibilities would be construction administration, leasing and property management. This was a dream come true and eventually, this is where I went.  Sadly, we didn’t have much time in this business together, he passed away unexpectedly before I was there for a full year.  This was a huge blow to me because not only was he my boss, but he was also a mentor whom I had known for many years; he had been like a father to me, so this was devastating to me.  At that time, I felt like things couldn’t get any worse, so I decided to take a risk and get a job in the real estate sales and leasing side, with a company he respected from prior conversations we had.  Once I was hired, it took a couple years to stabilize, but then it became the best job I ever had, one that I truly enjoyed and was successful with it and I will continue with this, but I think there is more to do in my life.

CHANGE IS THE ONLY CERTAIN THING IN LIFE

In life, there will always be change. That’s just a part of life, and knowing, accepting and embracing it leads to better things.  I also know being open to opportunities and continual improvement because change always occurs.  Businesses evolve and most of the time the changes that affect me are not ones I control, so to survive, I am open-minded to change.

REFLECTION

This past year in my life, I’ve reflected on where I’ve been, what I’ve done and what creates happiness in my life.  I also questioned my purpose in life is?  I believe we all have a purpose but I still don’t feel like I’m at my final destination; there is more that can be done and I want to make what I contribute more meaningful for others.  If I look back at my path, what has motivated me most during my life has been “improvement”:  spatially, physically, and helping others improve.  I enjoy helping people reach their goals and that usually occurs through change!  I’ve had a lot of change during my life, and this has led me to be confident and positive during change, because it’s always worked out in the past.

THE SOURCE OF NEW JOBS

When I look back on the jobs I’ve had, even though they are diverse, each job I ever had was one that a friend of mine told me about, my entire career!  This proves to me the most important part of my life has always been my friends! I recognize this is truly incredible and look out for my friends as well, when I see an opportunity for them.

RECENT CHANGE

In August, I moved to a new home and met my neighbor, and we simply hit it off right away.  I could tell that we would get along well very shortly after talking a few times.  I was super busy with renovating my home and furnishing it through October, working on it until 1 am then waking up at 5am to start the day.  It was intense.  Anyway, it turned out that she works for Arbonne International, so we talked more and during one conversation, at the last minute, she invited me to a meeting she was hosting.  I usually had a Bootcamp class, but wasn’t going that night, so I was available and attended the meeting. I was a little familiar with the company because several years ago, another friend of mine introduced me to Arbonne International, but it had been some time ago and I wanted to know more. After attending the meeting, I connected well with the company philosophy: “Pure, Safe and Beneficial” and liked their product line which are skin care, nutrition and cosmetics. What a perfect match for what I was seeking! It fit so well with what motivates me: “improvement” through nutrition, fitness and taking care of your skin.  My neighbor gave me various product samples and after using them, I liked the products, so much that I decided to buy some for my own use.  Usually when I find something I like; I tend to share that with others and the business side of the company is built around this!  So, I decided to explore more about the company and believed in their brand, so I recently joined the company after about a month of thinking about this.

My website is now live:  anndulle.arbonne.com and I’m on Facebook too: “Ann Dulle- Independent Arbonne Consultant” if you are interested in knowing more about the products, the company or opportunities; I’m happy to talk to you!

So, a new launch has just occurred for me and I’m excited about the direction because it’s all about health, wellness, nutrition, and organic products- improving my life and the lives of others!

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KEEPING TRUE FRIENDSHIPS

Friendships:  The most important “everything” in our lives!

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PATHS WE TAKE and PEOPLE WHO CROSS OUR PATHS

My posts are a little random, but they relate to what I’m passionate about and this one is about friendships.  I drafted a post about career paths last night and as I was writing it, I realized that every career path I took was based on a friendship with someone.  Have you had the same experience?

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BEING INDEPENDENT

I’ve always been one to push my comfort zone and do things to improve, whether it’s fitness, education, personal development,  conquering my fear of heights, career progress, speaking in front of people, overcoming shyness, going places solo not knowing anyone, and so on, there is always something to improve.  Pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone more makes us more independent, self-reliant and builds confidence after we challenge ourselves and complete whatever it is that challenged us.  You never know what you are capable of until you push yourself further!  This is so important to me – and Nike’s slogan sums it up best: “Just Do It!”

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STRANGERS BECOMING FRIENDS

It’s comfortable to be self-reliant and independent, which I believe I am, but I’m definitely not a loner!  I love having friends around.  In fact, when I’ve gone places in the past, I may go solo, but somehow I manage to find a new friend group!  When I was in college, on St. Patrick’s Day one year, I had a class that day but nearby there was this Irish Parade that was happening shortly after my class had ended.  I didn’t have any friends who could go, so I was a little nervous, but I wanted to be there, so I went by myself.  It was a little awkward to be honest, but it didn’t last long.  Nearby was a group of guys and girls my same age and one of the girls asked me if I was there by myself and I replied yes, so she welcomed me to join her group of friends.  We all got to know each other that day and became great friends over that summer: we started meeting on the weekends to roller blade the 7-mile loop around Forest Park, then head out for dinner and drinks.  We ended  ended up celebrating the 4th of July together that year too, taking a trip to Lake of the Ozarks and we had so much together.   Recently, I headed to a concert before my friends showed up and ended up meeting another group of people who welcomed me to join them.  I didn’t this time because I would be meeting up with my friends shortly, but the point is, people are drawn to create friendships, even strangers!

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LIFE TIME LASTING FRIENDSHIPS

My cousin was always the best at this, she always had a huge group of friends and stayed active with her friends from childhood through adulthood, adding to the group as she met more people.  I think one time at a Cardinal’s baseball game, her friend group practically covered an entire section!  As people develop families, it’s easy to get “too busy” to maintain those friendships, and I was guilty of that, but thankfully, I had great friendships that picked up right where we left off.  But, I believe that it’s important to maintain friendships at all times, find the time because it is important, you simply need to find a good balance.

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THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIPS

Friends are amazing; what we can do for each other:  support each other toward goals, broaden one another’s horizons in careers, encourage each other, enhance other relationships, be each other’s sounding boards for ideas, help out when needed and the best part of all is just to have fun and let loose, be that crazy self that you can only be when you are in your comfort zone!  Friendships are too valuable to ignore and as a group can come up with some amazing adventures!

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Friendships with people having different backgrounds, different age groups, and different cultures simply enhances your life experience.  There is so much we learn from each other and it all makes life more enjoyable!

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PLANNING EVENTS

Recently I was with a friend group who had talked about planning weekend trips where everyone would write down a suggestion for a weekend trip and put it in a bowl then one suggestion would be chosen and that would be the surprise trip! That sounded like a fun idea and one that families could use too!  Everyone gets input and it’s a random selection.  I haven’t tried this yet, but plan to!

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My friends and I also started a closed group on Facebook for “Events and Activities” where we can share stuff we hear about and everyone has the opportunity to go.  It works well when you are trying to coordinate with 25 or more people- just post it and see who’s interested/who can make it and no one is accidentally left off an invite!   And those who can make it, excellent, and those who can’t; there is always next time!

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ACTIONS NOT WORDS

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS

I don’t attend church every Sunday, but when I do, it’s truly because I want to be there and connect with God in a different way, than personally through prayer; it is meaningful to me.  It really seems the discussions are relevant to things happening in my life when I am there too.  So in my thoughts, this is God’s message getting through to me.

THE DRIVE TO CHURCH – DECISIONS

This past Sunday, on the way to church, I was talking to my son about “why I go to church and what happens” and about how sometimes when I’m making decisions I will just “have a feeling inside” about which direction I should go, and truly, it’s not always the easy decision “I want”, but I just have a feeling inside that “I should”do it. Is this God letting me know what I should do, because it’s not always what I want to do? During the service, my son and I looked at each other, because it was really ironic, the things we talked about in the car on the way there were the things that Pastor Greg was talking about, almost as if he heard our conversation.  My son noticed it too.

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From The Crossing- Facebook Page

THE MUSIC – CONNECTING PERSONALLY

Another interesting thing happened, this church has phenomenal music by the way, so that probably explains more of why I connect so well.  Anyway, one musician told us a story of how he and a friend had a falling out after a very long friendship, and that he felt like God was telling him to apologize to his friend, which he did apologize, but didn’t get the response from his friend he was expecting.  Anyway that night at 2 am this melody came into his head and he wrote this song until about 4 am; it was a beautiful song. Here is the link:  Kenny DeShields “That’s When You Love”   Relating to this event, in my own experience, I also seem to get middle of the night ideas or early morning ideas.  Is this God providing guidance or influence?

THE MESSAGE

The bible topic this day was the two most important things we can do: “Love God and Love Your Neighbor” The Pastor went into detail on what it means to “Love your Neighbor” and the relevant scripture passage was the Good Samaritan Parable  I’ve heard this story many times before, but he made it more relevant, by asking questions:  he asked everyone to come up with reasons why the first two people didn’t help the beaten man and the answers were: “no one was looking, they didn’t want to be inconvenienced, it was someone else’s job or duty, didn’t want to get involved, etc.”   It is here where it relates to all of us, those could all be OUR reasons for not helping someone in the present day.  How many times have we thought those things in our heads when we didn’t help someone? 

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The Pastor also made another point, if we were truly starving and we were offered a) bread or b) the recipe for bread?   Which would we want at that point in our life?  Of course, the actual bread more immediately addresses the need.  He related this concept of the bread and recipe to people offering empathy or sympathy in WORDS to others, but not taking ACTIONS.  Wow!  I bet we can all relate to that in our lives!  Have you ever had someone tell you what you “wanted” or
“needed” to hear, but not make the personal effort to truly connect with you or take action?  It really feels like empty words, doesn’t it?  Have we done that to others?

SUMMARY: Loving your neighbor may be inconvenient.

MY LIFE EXAMPLES

This also related to me, personally, with the access we have to technology today, we are always connected.  I made the mistake this weekend of multi-tasking, I was distracted by a message that I hadn’t seen.  The message came in about 4 hours earlier so I was curious what it said and clicked on it when I should have been paying attention to the conversation I was having with the person.  This person is 100% more important to me than the message, but I didn’t show it when I quit paying attention to look at the message.  I wasn’t being present in the moment and I offended the other person and felt terrible about it, but I couldn’t take it back!  I did apologize, but the damage was already done at that point.  Sometimes being there for a person may simply mean being fully present and truly listening –  without distractions.  This situation has happened to me, with roles reversed before and it made me feel like I was unimportant.  An action not words example can simply be actively, truly listening to someone, and hearing what they are saying.  And I blew that this weekend!

When someone gives you their full attention, isn’t that awesome? When this happens, it is not only noticed, but remembered, even years later, because not many people truly listen.  So many people have other things going through their minds and may only capture a fraction of what is said.  I seriously remember specific people who listened attentively, because they stand out from all others.

FRIENDS TAKING ACTION

I also had another example of Actions Not Words, that I will always remember:  Our family was away on vacation and had a death in the family while we were away.  A fairly new neighbor heard about this and took immediate action:  Michelle C. contacted people that she met through me and spread the word. She went grocery shopping and Maria R. provided a meal so when we got home we could focus on family and not have to worry about the food basics.  This completely amazed me, the action she took and the other friends who did as well. Logically people do not have much food in their refrigerators when they leave for vacation, so she and others took care of that for us and we didn’t even have to think what we needed!  By the time we arrived home, it was already in our refrigerator!

So in summary, the next time someone is in need the message was to try for Actions not Words in addressing their situation.

THE CHURCH

If you are looking for a Christian Church, they offer online Live service every week, so you can log in where ever you are located as long as you have internet service. Here is their website:  https://www.wcrossing.org/, they are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.

This is an amazing church in my opinion!  My friend, Michelle C. had encouraged me to check out the church years ago, but I was  a member of another church, so I didn’t. Then another friend of mine Krista K. also encouraged me, and I finally did in December 2015.  It was definitely something I should have done a long time ago and since then, I’ve found many of my friends from all different denominations also attend this church.

Have a Make it Count week!  

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“This Wine is Making Me Awesome” – October Outing Trip

Hermann, MO

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In Missouri, if you like wine and love the outdoors, there is no better place to be than at a winery in October! This year we went to Hermann, MO.  I look forward to this annual weekend trip with friends; the people attending may change from year to year, but it usually ends up with a tag along story that is repeated year after year.

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Herman History 

In 1857, 11,000 acres were purchased by a school teacher, George Bayer, who was the appointed agent of the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia.  When the first settlers arrived, they were surprised by the terrain and rolling hillsides and were faced with a development challenge.  Making the best of this situation, they planted vineyards on the hillsides and 10 year later a steamboat arrived with St. Louis tourist visitors, attending the first Weinfest.

Today the month of October is Oktoberfest and is filled with celebrations, music and entertainment all month long.

ARRIVAL

by Car:  There are several ways to arrive at Herman, if driving via Interstate 70 or 44.  In my opinion, the most scenic route is Interstate-44 through Washington, MO on State Highway 100.  This drive is phenomenal for viewing the colorful fall leaves with rolling hillsides and incredible pristine farmlands.  If you often drive through the countryside on road trips, you will likely find a few dilapidated buildings, but I do not recall seeing any on this route!  I have never seen so many beautiful estates, one right after another.  And this highway 100 is simply gorgeous for about a 30- 35-mile stretch.

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by Bus:  If you have a large group, a private bus, is the way to go; we’ve done that in past years and it is a great experience!  This past weekend, I was driving behind a Cavallo bus as an example.

by Train: You can also take the train to get there, here’s a link:  Amtrak.

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WHERE TO STAY

I recommend booking a place early, we ran into a couple who was visiting for the day and the only room that was available cost $500 per night.  There are so many cute bed and breakfast locations all over; you can find them here.

On our trip, we were fortunate enough to be guests at Mom and Papa Pratte’s home nestled into the beautiful countryside nearby; they are not technically a bed and breakfast location but could be with their accommodations and wonderful hospitality they provided us!

It’s best to have a place to stay or a driver after a long day at the winery!

OUR STARTING POINT:  Hermannhof Vineyards 

“Hermannhof’s ten magnificent stone cellars and charming brick superstructure are among the 100 early Hermann buildings placed on the National Register of Historic places by the Federal Government.”  The Dierberg family purchased this property in 1974, the family is known in St. Louis for their Dierberg’s grocery stores.

Second to location, meeting the people is the next best adventure! Who knew we would meet three Aviation Engineers, in St. Louis on business but visiting Hermann and actually from Germany on this trip?

And if you show up in lederhosen you are bound to be in pictures!

SECOND STOP

After an unseasonably warm day hillside, our next stop was the air-conditioned Tin Mill.

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LAST STOP

No trip to Hermann is complete without stopping at the Concert Hall and Barrel Bar, for some drinks and appetizers, music and dancing.  Lucky for us, we had Papa Pratte to pick us up at the end of the day!

WINDING DOWN

After safely arriving home to Mom and Papa Pratte’s we are greeted with even more entertainment awaiting: music and a fire, at least for those who could stay awake!  It was a wonderful weekend with friends!

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by Categories: fall travel, Hermann, TRAVELTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment