Iowa Road Trip Turned Pipe/Tobacco Hunt

So, we made it to Iowa for our trip. Took a couple days from Raleigh, NC to make it here. Stopped about halfway to Des Moines somewhere in Kentucky to spend the night.
I had already done a few searches online for tobacconists that I might encounter or even take a detour to stop in to see what they had.
This brings me to my first entrance into the pipe and tobacco road trip. John Dengler Tobacconists is one of the oldest running tobacconists in the country. They're located in St. Charles, Missouri, which is basically still considered St. Louis.
I enjoyed every minute of strolling through the cabinets to see what they had on offer. One large cabinet held a lot of different pipes ranging in price from the $30 basket to the $130 Jobey.
They had a turnstyle case sitting on top that held your typical figure head meerschaums, ranging from $30 for the smallest chamber to about $140 for a full size chambered Indian Chief figurehead. I was holding back the urge to buy one, because I've wanted a Meer for some time now, but I'm holding out for another shop on my way back that has about 10 times the selection.
They also had a nice collection in a locked case where they were keeping the good stuff, you know, the Savs, Pete's, and Nording's. My eyes passed over each one and I started falling in love with a Nording they were holding, but I'm reserving my dough for the Meer.
That's the ultimate prize for this hunt. A nice, high quality Meer. Well, that and some Sleepy Hollow from Straus on the way back home.
To commemorate the trip at least to St. Louis, I decided to buy a basket pipe that I really liked holding. It's stamped Capri Italy, and I've seen a few posts about them, maybe a Savinelli line at some point? They threw in a free ounce of tobacco with the purchase of a pipe, so I chose a nice bourbon dosed tobacco called Old Still. Will let you know how it tastes.
Anyways, here's the pipe:




After that, we had to venture off to have some St. Louis style barbecue and we found some of the best I've put in my mouth at Hendricks BBQ.
I'll be back with updates as my trip continues! Happy Labor Day all and Happy Puffing!

Nice, David! Yeah, my wife's from here so we're back for a friend of hers wedding and staying the week. Going to see what all we can see while here, then heading back east on Sunday.
Trying to stay dry, but it's certainly being a gully washer right now. Gonna need a boat before long. Was going to scope out the Renaissance Festival today but I'd rather stay dry and out of the mud.

I would make the trip to Chicago if we didn't have to be home by Monday evening. So instead, we decided to pass on to The Briar & The Burley in Bloomington, Indiana for my Meer, then pressing onward to Straus in Cincinnati for some Sleepy Hollow, Skyline chili and some Graeter's ice cream before heading home.
Sounds good snoopy, will let you know what I find here.
Good to know, lasttango. I hadn't heard of them before, but the look of this thing, plus it being $30, had me wanting it for a little reminder piece. Planning to smoke it soon with the same blend I got for my purchase.

Well, I made my trip over to David's and I was excited to get inside. It was a little bit of a let down as the store in person didn't quite match up with the images I'd seen online, but I realize those were likely several years old.
They did have a rather large humidor and excellent seating for viewing several different TV's scattered about. Cigar culture is alive and well there.
Most of my disappointment revolved around about 2 or 3 fairly large racks for pipes that were about 25% full and most were basket pipes.
They had two cased, turn style clear cabinets with higher priced pipes. One case was for new pipes, some meers, Italian made pipes and a few were nice.
The other case was for estates. I did see a rather nice Ben Wade reduced from $150 to $75 with a clear, acrylic stem that I almost caved for, but I'm holding strong for my Meer.
Most of the tobacco looked like house blends aside from a couple tins each of Escudo Navy Rolls, Dunhill Standard Mixture, and about 6 or 7 different C&D blends. Was also disappointed to see racks and holders for so many different tins now sitting practically empty aside from a tin or two being used to keep the rack from floating off.
They did have a few other odds and ends that I sorted through and made a small purchase of some more softee bits, a cork knocker I've been wanting, a tobacco pouch I got for $8.50, and a small pipe rack capable of holding 4 pipe, but I really liked it.
So here's my loot from David's:
Pipe Rack, front:


Pipe rack, back:


All accouterments purchased:


Highlight had to be the pipe rack, hands down. Overall impression of David's is good, but it just felt like standing in front of a pipe section that's being phased out. Like they still support it, but it just ain't there bread and butter anymore. Still, they likely have a better selection of tins, house blends, and pipes than some other shops around Des Moines.
I'm going to keep looking around, but that might be it for tobacconists or good tobacco shops around here.

Oh my, yes, I can't wait for it Neal! A guy I work with is from Cleveland, but knows all about the Skyline chili and is the reason I know about it. I can't wait to give a 4 way a try, although I might need the physical therapy afterwards, I'm sure it's extremely worth it, Hoosier!