Weston, Missouri

A few weeks ago while the weather was still very balmy, my friend Theresa and I made a day trip to Weston, Missouri.  This was during the time I did not have a camera, so I bought a plastic Kodak, and had to send the film away to be developed.  I finally have gotten it back.

Weston is a very historic town, full of pre-Civil War homes, and is built on a series of hills and valleys.  It's very busy on Saturdays, as it is full of small boutiques and restaurants.  Theresa and I shopped... well, Theresa shopped... and we had lunch at one of the restaurants located in an old house. 

Weston, a river town, was a hub for tobacco sales.  You don't associate heavy tobacco production with this part of the country, but northwestern Missouri was a huge tobacco-producing area, and the drying barns still dot the countryside up highway 29. 

This is the Weston Burley House, the auction barn, where auctions are still held.  It was the hub for tobacco sales.

You can see the lovely old historical buildings. And the tourists.

This is a B and B, but also an example of the wonderful old architecture abounding in the town. They have a candlelight tour in early December, but there is one thing about Weston that scares me into NOT driving to it at night.  Highway 45 abounds in rutting deer crossing the road constantly... and the road is very, very dark, narrow, and hilly.  Uh-HUH.

A scene from a very upscale home furnishings store which will remain anonymous.  People, do you see what I see?

YES.

Those are two baby black bears, stuffed, and being sold as home accessories.  They weren't the only ones.

Pardon Theresa's grin, but the idea of the brown bear's holding the fall wreath was ludicrous. 

I have to say that other than the stuffed animals, I really liked what this store carried, but I don't think my conscience would let me buy anything here.  It wasn't just bears... it was a lynx, many birds, and some standard deer head mounts.  But the animals... surely they didn't die to festoon someone's den!

Other than this store, there are many fine things to buy here, and many good places to eat.  We had a good day, got worn out in a good way, and were happy we went.  If you have time, look up the history of this wonderful old town, and I think you'll find it interesting.  There WAS a mini-horse in one of the stores, but alas, the Kodak point and shoot plastic camera did NOT get a good picture.  I guess these folks bring their mini in and keep it in a stall in a back "fairy forest" room for kids and adults to pet.  Strange.

I managed to not buy anything except lunch and a serving of some of the best hand-mixed limeade I've ever had in my life.  I would go back again just for that!   I guess I'm at the stage in life there "stuff" doesn't matter as much to me anymore, but it was sure fun window-shopping!