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NOT ONLINE Sholly73

Sholly73 has been a member since 11/9/05 and was last logged in on 10/2/18

Ballin' in the Heartland Recap 11/26/07 9:26 AM

Now that I finally have some time to sit back and relax, I oughta write about our incredible road trip. It covered 17 states, just over 5000 miles, three time zones, three national memorials, and two football games. Hey, if you're gonna do it, do it big, right? :D

SATURDAY, 10-27: We left the house at 6:25am. 13 hours of driving brought us to St. Louis, where we'd attend the Browns-Rams game. This leg of the trip took us through Pennsylvania (home), West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and ended up in Missouri. Allie got a few good shots of the Gateway Arch as we entered St. Louis, and a great shot of Exit 2C that I didn't have room for in the album :D We stayed at the Cheshire Inn, which has a medieval theme. It's very nice, except that the parking lot was being renovated when we were there, and the doorman-bellhop was busy yapping on his cell phone as we were bringing our bags in. Oh well...No tip for him :P TOTAL STATES: 6

SUNDAY, 10-28: Took the hotel shuttle to the game. I had printed our tickets from Ticketmaster on my printer, but I'm having issues with my toner, so they wouldn't scan. They ran our tickets through manually, which is good because I didn't want to have to shell out more cash to see this game, and coming out this far and not seeing it wasn't an option.
The Rams are having an awful season - 2-9 as of this writing, and they hadn't yet won a game when we were there - and it shows in their fan base. The game wasn't a sellout, so they couldn't show it locally on TV. That's sad, in my opinion--I'm a Browns fan, and no matter how poorly the team is doing, they always sell out.
The game itself was more exciting than I expected, as my Browns allowed themselves to fall into a 14-0 hole before straightening up and pulling out a 27-20 victory. Even then, the Rams had a chance to tie it in the last few minutes, until they were intercepted. There was quite a bit of brown in the stands, which isn't a surprise.

MONDAY, 10-29: Checked out of the hotel and saw a bit of St. Louis. We visited the Arch and got a shot of the Anheuser-Busch brewery as we left the city. We drove south, through rural Missouri and Arkansas, down to Memphis, Tennessee. Stayed at a Motel 6 in apparently not the better part of town. There was some sort of illicit activity going on in the room next to ours, but we still managed to get some sleep. TOTAL STATES: 8

TUESDAY, 10-30: Stopped for lunch at Interstate Bar-B-Q. We actually got there before it opened, so to kill time, we drove the few extra miles down to Mississippi, as Allie had never been there. If you're in Memphis, I highly recommend Interstate--great food at a reasonable price. We saw a bit of Memphis on our way out, including FedEx Arena, where the NBA's Grizzlies play, and Beale Street, home of the blues.
Our travels took us west today, across central Arkansas and through to Oklahoma. Spent the night at a Days Inn in Oklahoma City. On the way in, Allie noticed a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, and being a country fan, she insisted that we check it out. We plan that for lunch tomorrow. TOTAL STATES: 9

WEDNESDAY, 10-31: Allie's birthday. We visit the OKC Memorial, which is simply a sight to behold. I have a few pics of it in the album, but they don't do it justice. If you go there and aren't at least a little bit moved, you simply aren't human.
We have lunch at Toby's--it turns out that Toby Keith lives in OKC, and this restaurant is the one he owns and operates, though a few others bear his name. We learn that he doesn't just talk the talk about supporting our troops; he walks the walk as well, as you can see from all the memorabilia. Also, any soldier can get a free burger, fries and soda there with military ID. Cool.
Our travels take us north, through Kansas (whose welcome center is positively loaded with Wizard of Oz merchandise) and western Iowa, on our way up to Omaha, Nebraska. We've been taking pictures of the state signs as we cross the borders, and I had to pull over for Allie to get this one. On the highway yet lol. Stopped for the night at another Days Inn. TOTAL STATES: 12

THURSDAY, 11-1: We leave Omaha and head up to South Dakota. We see the Corn Palace in Mitchell, and as we head west, we see what must be hundreds of signs for Wall Drug. It turns out to be pretty cool.
As we approach our hotel, we check the atlas and notice that we're less than an hour outside of Wyoming, so we say "Ah, what the hell" and check it out. Got a few souvenirs and started to head back.
On the way back from our little Wyoming visit, Allie looks at the map and wonders aloud how far we are from Montana. It's another two hours or so round trip from where we are, but when are we going to drive out this way again? So we head up to Montana on a back road. Allie gets out of the car to get a picture of the state sign, which I have to illuminate with the headlights because it's dark by this time. We hit a little store a few miles inside the border and get a few more souvenirs.
By the time we make it back to the Radisson in Rapid City, SD, we've tacked on two more states that we hadn't originally planned on. Now that's the adventuring spirit! :D TOTAL STATES: 15

FRIDAY, 11-2: We visit Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills southwest of Rapid City. It's simply breathtaking--in more ways than one, as the elevation there is considerably higher. You can see us there in the album.
After a visit to the gift shop, we gas up and head back east. Over these two days, we get a real appreciation for just how big and empty South Dakota is. Eventually we make it back to Sioux City, Iowa. I don't remember where we stayed there, and I don't feel like asking Allie. lol

SATURDAY, 11-3: We discuss the possibility of adding even more states to our itinerary over breakfast at the Sioux City IHOP. It's a thought, but it's too far to go on this trip.
We hit the road again, headed back down to Kansas City, which we passed through on the way north. Our room is at the Chateau Avalon, on the Kansas side. It's a lovely little place, especially for couples, if you get my drift. We check out Legends, which is an outdoor mall not too far from the hotel. It was rather chilly that night, but they have bonfires that you can sit at. Pretty cool idea.

SUNDAY, 11-4: We leave the hotel for the Packers-Chiefs game. It takes over two hours to get across the city and into the game. Note to travelers: Avoid I-70 on Sundays when the Chiefs are at home, and if you're going to the game, leave at least 2-3 hours early. I'm serious. We left two hours before game time, and still missed half of the first quarter.
Unlike St. Louis, Arrowhead is LOUD. The Chiefs have great fans who make a LOT of noise. Of course, there are a few assholes in every crowd, but overall, they were decent, considering that the Packers came back in the fourth to beat the home team 33-22.
The real fun at the Chiefs game started as we were trying to get out. A fight nearly broke out in front of us as one of the drunken rednecks in the truck ahead of us tossed a chicken bone out his window and hit another car. That made for some great entertainment :D
We had a lot of ground to cover on the way back, so we hightailed it out of KC, back across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and put down for the night at a Holiday Inn just outside Louisville, Kentucky around 1am. TOTAL STATES: 16

MONDAY, 11-5: Breakfast at Waffle House, followed by lots of driving. Back through Kentucky, the heart of West Virginia, the west end of Maryland, and back into Pennsylvania, arriving home around 7:30pm. Just in time for me to get a bit of sleep before going back to work at midnight :D TOTAL STATES: 17

I've never taken a trip quite like that before, and to think we managed not to kill each other for over 5000 miles :) It was the adventure of a lifetime! At least until next fall...

Comments

  • reese_katherine

    ok, im tired now, must take a nap. you better hope i dont have nightmares about driving, or i will consider getting on the first plane ever to come kick you in the arse :P glad you had fun, now truly nap time...