ROAD TRIP DAY 6 – Blues Brothers

Initially, from Cleveland, we were going to head to Chicago. Instead, we decided to take the southern route and head for New Orleans. On the way, we would have to pass through St. Louis and walk through the Gateway into the West. Since this was an east to west coast road trip, stopping here for the night seemed very fitting.

While on the drive, my softball team back at home was about to throw out the first pitch in our weekly showdown. Our team, the Brobees, were playing in a crucial game in order to keep our 5 game win streak alive and earn a spot to make the playoffs. It was a must win game in order to retain our standing. Luckily, one of my boys back at home, Rondizzle, promised he would text me the score every inning to keep me updated. Let me tell you, this one was a nail biter. The hard fought battle went all innings and finally ended in a tie.  With a sigh of relief, I was glad all was still well on the home front. Ironically, we saw this on the way to St. Louis while I was getting the softball updates. Since we missed out on Chicago, this one goes out to Dizzle and Raaaaaaaandy. Good lookin out.

Brobee ready for some softball!

The Une in the Midwest

Halfway to St. Louis, we decided to take a pit stop for some gas and fuel for our expanding midsection. Where could we go in the Midwest that could satisfy our craving? You called it, White Castle. I had always wanted to try these little morsels ever since the Harold and Kumar movie. Fortunately, we didn’t have to go through all the trouble that they did!

As we approached St. Louis, the huge stainless steel arch rose up from the darkness. Its surreal size was accentuated with the eerie glow of flood lamps, giving it an air of being from out of this world. While captivated by its magnificence, we checked into our room to rest our sore muscles and roost for the night.

The next morning, I woke early again and slipped off to the hotel gym while the rest of the crew lay snoring. Again, I was thoroughly impressed by the facilities and was able to squeeze in a decent workout to counter the hours of inactivity and overeating. When I returned to the room, everyone was almost packed, so I got ready and we headed out into the St. Louis sunshine.

The walk to the majestic monument was short and sweet since our hotel was less than a quarter mile away. With the sun glimmering off its steel skin, we were able to capture some opportune pictures.

Also, since it wasn’t too busy, we were able to take the motorized tram to the top of the arch. Honestly, the entire ride seemed like a roller coaster experience or even a ride in a space pod. The tram consisted of small, 5 seat shuttles that resembled eggs. I wish we could have taken a picture with all of us in it because I found it amazing that we could all fit inside. However, the park rangers were real sticklers about moving the line forward so Jojo just got only 3 of us in there.

At the top, we were treated with an awesome view of the city to the west and the Mississippi to the east. As I looked out west, I imagined how the pioneers from nearly 2 centuries ago embarked from there to begin a life in a frontier of unknown possibilities. Pretty humbling in my opinion. Anyhow, our stomachs were beginning to clamor for grub so we snapped the last of our pictures and headed back down to earth.

For lunch today, our destination was Pappy’s Smokehouse, another featured spot on Man v. Food. There, we ordered the pulled pork, smoked brisket, a frito pie, cole slaw and sweet potato fries. The meat was nice and tender, with the infused taste of smoked hickory. Personally, I liked the brisket better because it was just so tender and juicy. The Frito pie, which consisted of onions, cheese, BBQ beans, beef and Fritos, was also very good as well. I wish we had ordered a slab of ribs to sample, but that might have been a little bit much.

After lunch, we loaded our swollen bellies into the bimmer and programmed New Orleans into the navi. It was time to get some shrimp po’boys, beignets, and other mouth-watering goodies. As we were driving, I got a call from my med school admissions advisor. They hadn’t received my transcripts from one of my schools nor the last of my letters of rec! Luckily, I was able to google a nearby library right off the freeway and faxed and emailed all the missing documents.

My false alarm out of the way, we continued on our drive. However, instead of heading straight for New Orleans, we took a quick stop in Memphis, TN. The detour lead us to Graceland, the residence of the King, Elvis Presley. The walled off mansion was in a pretty bad area of Memphis, but looking in on the grounds over the fence, you could tell that it was once pleasant. Anyhow, we took our pics and added another stamp in our cross-country passport.

With the sun setting, we made our way through the last couple hundred miles to New Orleans and looked forward to feast on its treats and bask in the warm weather. Tomorrow would yield more eating, driving and hopefully, more adventures for our weary quartet.