Drive to Chicago up the Mississippi

I left Memphis Tuesday bright and early (well, at least for me) and began making my way up the Mississippi towards Chicago. First I drove by Ward Chapel and snapped a picture of it's inpirational message. Glad to see my family name is doing good in Memphis! Anyhow, I wish I had some good stories from my drive through Arkansas and southern Missouri, but man, there's really nothing there but truck stops and flat fields. Me and the big rigs, up I-55. I did, however, get off I-55 about 70 miles south of St. Louis at a town called St. Genevieve (hehehe, Sean, "Genevieve"). I drove through this town to a ferry dock to take some pictures of the river (above), then continued my drive towards the arch.

When I got to St. Louis I did stop at the arch. I remember driving by it when my family made a trip to California, and really wanting to stop but dad being like "Hell no!!!" Just kidding, I was probably too scared to even ask him to stop. Anyhow, at the arch there were about 200 people in Albert Pujols jerseys. For those who don't know, Pujols is a player for the St. Louis Cardinals and the best hitter in baseball. Apparently there was a game Tuesday night, so everyone was seeing the arch beforehand. I was soooo out of place. I ended up riding to the top of the arch with a church group - so picture me with about 30 middle school kids and two parents. Fun times! To make it to the top you have to cram into these little 4-seater pods, which were pretty damn cramped. I got one of the kids who rode up with me to take a picture of me on the way up (see above). Hahaha, the funny thing was, the parents made sure to put two of the "mature" kids in my pod, I think they were worried about me being bothered or something. I'm such an old man now.

I left St. Louis and stayed on I-55 to Chicago. I called my friend Beth from State, because I remembered her spending time in Illinois, to chat along the way. Coincidentally she was to be in Chicago on Wednesday, word! I also talked with my friend Juliette, who is due in a few weeks with her first child. Keep me updated, Juliette! Anyhow, there's nothing between St. Louis and Chicago. I mean nothing. So I got into Chicago around 9:00 after driving 580 miles. Tired!

In Chicago I've been staying with my friend Laura, from Chapel Hill, and her boyfriend Dan. It was great seeing Laura. When I got into town we had a beer then headed out to the bar where Laura works, the Hideout. Cool place, real cool. It's tucked away by a municipal filling station, so there were cops driving by to fill up the whole evening. Anyhow, at the Hieout they had a great trio playing - this trio included a baritone, a harmonica, and a guitar. What a combo. They sang folksy songs about barbecue and what not. It was a fun time, but really I just enjoyed catching up with Laura and Dan. Dan introduced me to a new drink that I need to bring to Atlanta with me - the Wooden Leg. It's rye whiskey, bitters, some lemon juice, cherry, and soda. And it goes down smoooooth.

After a few wooden legs and PBR's, we called it a night. And it was a good day.