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!

The Story Leading to the RoadTrip

I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like but since my 26^th year is the time of doing and I want to remember so many things, I am getting back to the pen and paper.  I have many stories to tell, pictures to share, restaurants to rave about, recipes to try, and DIY projects to start and complete but I want to start this story back in April of 2012.  M and I were living in St. Louis with our puppy, Sophie.

Sophie as a 10 month old.

We both had decent jobs and loved where we were living.  However, we were not sure about the longevity of the situation because neither of us felt like we were advancing at the rate we wanted within our companies and all of our friends kept moving away from STL.  So after multiple discussions with parents and friends and coworkers, we decided to do what so many want to do but so few actually do, we quit our jobs and went on a trip.

For me this was a giant deal, I had worked for the same company since I graduated high school, it turned out to be almost exactly 7 years.  We decided that it would be best to wait until our lease was close to being up on our town house which ended up being May 31^st.  We also had planned on moving to Indianapolis where M’s dad owned a small manufacturing company that she was in line to take over and I could work at until I found something else.

Now you have some of the back story and I can continue on; we gave our 2 weeks notice and began packing our stuff up but not before we spent hours planning a massive roadtrip across the country. Planning is a strong word because honestly we planned a route and had ideas of things we wanted to see and that was about it.  We also had an Iphone App that had seemingly ever campsite in the US, which we figured would come in handy; we were right but more on that later.

We strategically packed the belongs we wouldn’t be needing for the next 2 months into a UHaul and the stuff we thought we would need for a camping road trip into my Jeep Patriot.  And of course during packing, we took a break to see the Cubs play in St. Louis and stopped by our favorite spots in town for some meals.  

M and I at the Cubs game in St. Louis

We went to Bogarts, my favorite BBQ place ever (I will discuss this when I start writing about restaurants but I never get a picture of because I am always too excited to eat), Blues City Deli, which has the most amazing Reuben I've ever had and I love Reubens, a couple trips down to Park Avenue Coffee, and a beer or three at Square One Brewery.

Reuben from Blues City Deli

 

After saying our final good byes to the Lou, we drove our stuff to Indianapolis and left it in a storage unit and we were on vacation, or a sabbatical or unemployed with a purpose.

Another quick side story, M’s dad also runs a hot air balloon company.  I have been apart of the crew for take offs and landings before but never been up until one of the 3 mornings we were staying in Indy.  He called and told us to be at work at 6, a touch early for someone on vacation.  But we show up and start setting up the balloon thinking that we were just helping some new people learn how to be apart of the crew. But then he announces, “Billy, get in.”  So I jump in the basket and before I can think about it we were drifting over the east side of Indianapolis at sunrise.

View from the Hot Air Balloon at Sunrise

Looking up into the Hot Air Balloon

Later that same day, we were to celebrate a friend’s birthday, which of course involved spelunking or cave exploring.  Doesn't everyone celebrate birthdays that way?

We drove down to southern Indiana to the Marengo Caves and before we knew it we were underground.  In the caves, it is continually 58 degrees which in mid May turned out to be a great thing since outside the cave it was about 90.  Some other fun things that happen in the caves, you get incredibly wet from all the puddles, drips, creeks, and ponds.  You also inevitably get covered in mud from sliding around through cracks and crevices.  What I thought was one of the cooler things was that you also get to experience true darkness.  We all turned off our headlamps and sat for a minute or two….Nothing.  Your eyes will never adjust because there is zero light in the caves.

Spelunkers

After our trip into the caves, we decided to spend the night at the old stomping grounds in Bloomington, Indiana. B-town.  We started the night with some food and playing a drinking game called “Sink the Biz” at Nick’s, which is essentially, Classic Hoosiers Bar.  I almost forgot that on our walk to Nick’s we stopped at this new place called House Bar which is just a house but they have $1 PBR, so we had to stop and try out those.

After dinner at Nick’s and meeting up with my little sister and her friends, who were also in town to revisit the college days, we started a true bar crawl.  We traversed the long trek all the way across the street to Upstairs for one of the famous AMF drinks, which stands for Adios, Mother F-er. After one of those and blue tongue to prove it, we headed towards the dive bar section of the night with stops at Alley Bar for some spicy nuts and The Vid for some Pop-a-Shot and darts.

Now on the downside of our crawl, we stopped at Sports, which is a giant bar that turned it’s patio into a giant beach.  We sat in some chairs and drank like we were sitting next to the ocean.   After one more stop at House Bar to finish off the night like we started, with $1 PBRs and a quick walk through the drive-thru at Square Donuts, we were back at home at the Motel 6.

The next morning, we all felt like death and couldn’t get out of town quick enough, after getting a quick lunch from my old go to, Bloomington Sandwich Company.  M and I were heading up to Chicago to stay a few nights at my parents’ house before heading west and truly beginning the roadtrip.

We stopped off at M’s parents’ house to get Sophie and then on the drive up to Chicago we stopped at one of my college roommates’ law school graduation party.  This was a nice little perk since we hadn’t seen a few of those guys in awhile.  But with having Sophie with us and still feeling the effects of a college revisit, we didn’t stay too long.

We hung around my parents’ house for a few days, ate some Portillo’s as I always do when back in the Chicagoland area, and before we knew it we were leaving poor little Sophie there to head west. 

Portillo's Italian Beef with Hot Peppers and Cheese Fries

We had decided that we couldn’t do everything we wanted if we brought Princess Sophie with us and my parents were gracious enough to watch her for the next 35 or so days.