Starting the RoadTrip

I last left off with the preamble to the roadtrip as we readied our gear and said our heartfelt goodbye to our puppy as we left her in the tender hands of Mimi and Obo (my parents.)

Before I jump too far into the trip, I want to include a little more back story on what we had planned.  We knew we were going to head west from Chicago.  We didn't want to plan too much because we wanted to fly by the seat of our pants and didn't want to be rushing to move on if we loved a place or twiddling our thumbs if we were bored with a place.  This was going to be test for me as anyone that knows me understands that I am a planner and I'll call myself time conscious, others might say anxious.

We did reserve a place over Memorial Day Weekend, a place at the Grand Canyon, and a place in Yellowstone because well I needed to do something and I told myself that those times and places are always busy in the summer.  Other than those 6 nights we were going to be living free and easy for the next 5 weeks or so until the beginning of July when we had planned on going to see Steve Miller Band perform with my sister and parents.

As for how we were going to go about finding things to do, places to stay, where to eat, and any general information we needed while exploring the country, both Megan and I had our iPhones, my car has a plug so we could keep things charged.  The important iPhone apps that helped us the most were AllStays Camp & Tent, Trip Advisor, Expedia, UrbanSpoon, TV Food Maps, GasBuddy, Roadside America, and of course the Camera, Maps, and Weather Apps.  I will hopefully remember when we used them and be able to give them some reviews for their performance.

It was the morning of May 22nd, a sunny day with the heat of a midsummer's day in an already hot summer.  We had discussed possible routes towards Colorado, either driving through Nebraska or Kansas.  I believe this decision is similar to deciding between hammering nails under your fingernails or giving yourself an appendectomy.

Leaving Mimi and Oboe's in the freshly cleaned Red Jeep

We picked the latter, as in taking the Kansas route, so we left the Chicago suburbs at 7:05 a.m., already 5 minutes late by my plan but I didn't say anything to Megan about that.  The day before we left, we had searched what to do while on our drive as we were hoping to make it to Kansas City on our first night.  We didn't want to spend too much time in the Midwest because the fun to be had was out in the mountains and we wanted to make it there as quickly as we could.

Future Birthplace of Captain Kirk in Riverside, IA

While searching for stops to make along our route, we found a few gems that we didn't want to miss.  On the Roadside America app, which is essentially every odd, quirky, off the beaten path tourist stop across the country.  Well, in Iowa we found ourselves driving to the town of Riverside, IA to see the Future Birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk from Star Trek.  Megan is a Star Trek fan and thought this was going to be so cool.  It was less than thrilling for me but I knew I would get her back on the trip for the things that I enjoy a little too much.




Which lucky for me, unlucky for her, was only a few miles down the road from Riverside in Des Moines.  My beloved Chicago Cubs AAA farm team was playing an afternoon game and we just happened to be driving through town as the game started.  We threw the car in park at a metered spot for 75 cents and bought a pair of $8 tickets.  It was a great day to be at the ballpark and we enjoyed a few innings and snacked on a hot dog and a beer.  Man did it feel like a classic American afternoon.

Principle Park, Des Moines, IA - Home of the Iowa Cubs

We headed towards KC after I had had my fill of baseball which was a bit longer than Megan who had her fill after about the third pitch. I know what you are thinking, three pitches wow, she actually might enjoy baseball but she was a little distracted during the first and second pitches with her beer. We just needed to make one more quick stop in Iowa at the Hot Air Balloon Museum in Indianola, IA.  This was an important place for Megan as her dad is a hot air balloon pilot as I have already mentioned.  Well, he isn't just a normal pilot; he is a National Champion pilot from back in the early 90s.  The museum in Indinaola is also the Hall of Fame and Megan's dad has his picture up on the wall.

In the Basket at the Hot Air Balloon Museum

We entered the museum with a definite sense of entitlement, as we knew someone on the Wall of Champions, and quickly found out that we also knew a hell of a lot more than the little old lady working at the museum.  We versed her up on some ballooning secrets, snapped a few photos, and of course had to buy a cheap souvenir before heading back to the Jeep.

Oklahoma Joe's BBQ

 We drove the final part to Kansas City with relative ease.  At my previous job, I worked with a fellow that was from Kansas City and with a short text exchange he told me straight away not to miss Oklahoma Joe's BBQ and a margarita from Ponak's couldn't hurt either.  Oklahoma Joe's is a gas station BBQ that knows what they are doing.  I was loving the Chicken Z Man sandwich, which isn't on the menu but my boy Jason told me to follow his lead and go off menu.  BBQ Chicken, Cheese, Onion Ring, Sauce. It was Zelicious!  I also was very surprised with the chicken gumbo.



 After dinner, Megan and I decided, "Hey, we are on vacation. Let's do some margaritas. Why not get the pitcher."  Ponak's does things a little differently, they serve their 'ritas on the rocks and they also have a tap to keep 'em flowing.  They look like they would be way to sour because they are lime green but the tequila balances them out enough and there seems to be a healthy (/unhealthy) amount in each.

We knew we couldn't have too many drinks at Ponak's because we still needed to find a place to stay so we snatched up a 6 pack of Boulevard, KC's favorite local brew, quickly found a campsite on my iPhone app only about 20 minutes outside of downtown and headed that way.

Our Camp at Weston Bend State Park, MO

We stayed at Weston Bend State Park which was on the Missouri side.  We were just starting to work out our routine of setting up tents, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, arranging clothes in suitcases, and keeping the car clean enough to live out of for the next month. But we had our camp set up and fire burning within minutes.  We relaxed with our beers next to the fire and discussed all the things that we were excited about on the trip!