Well, here we go.  I pulled down my Chicago Cubs banner, packed up my car, and drove away.  I stopped by my parents’ home, and kissed them goodbye.  A touching moment, of course, but we know we are only a phone call or email away, and I’m sure we will see each other again soon, and I’m hoping they will come visit once I’m settled.

Please indulge me a moment of narcissism, but I’d like to think that the fact that it started to rain the moment I crossed the MI/Indiana border was actually Michigan crying because I was leaving.  But, I digress…

So, the first leg of the trip is Kzoo to St Louis.  I’m not a fan of the toll road, due to all the construction, so I went straight south to Indianapolis, then turned west.  Thankfully, the traffic was sane for the most part, and after doing the math I figure I’m getting 26 MPG with my car fully loaded with stuff.

I rolled the dice on gas.  I had half a tank when I left Kzoo, and prices were $4.14.  I had a stop to make in Three Rivers, so I thought I’d get gas there.  Nope.  They had it for $4.19, so I ventured on.  As I crossed the Indiana border, I saw $4.21 and $4.23.  Um, that’s going the wrong direction.  Finally, upon arriving in Peru, IN, I found $4.19 again.  Oh well…

8 hours, and 450 miles later, I arrived at last at the Staybridge Suites in St Louis, MO.  Tired, but mostly hungry, I set out to find food.  Yeah, I probably should have researched it first.  The hotel is in what is predominantly a business district, so not a lot of choices for food at 10pm on a Saturday night.  Except for the neighborhood Hooters…

You can count on one hand (and still have fingers left over) the number of times I’ve been to a Hooters.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy breasts as much as the next guy.  Hooters is just not my style.  But the venue isn’t the best part of the story.  I really didn’t think about my wardrobe before I went out, and I should have.  Jeans? Check.  T-shirt?  Check.  Cubs baseball hat? Che…wait.  Yeah, I’m in the heart of Cardinal Country wearing a hat of the enemy.  Kinda like wearing a Red Sox hat in NY.  So, hopefully the kitchen staff didn’t take turns spitting (or worse) in my food, and while I did get PLENTY of dirty looks, thankfully I only had one guy take the effort to get up from his table, walk across the entire restaurant to where I was sitting at the bar, just to talk some smack.  Being Cubs/Cards fans, we are more civilized than Yanks/Sox fans, so no punches were thrown.  😉

All in all, day one of the Kzoo to OKC trek was a success.  Exhausting, but a success nonetheless.  It is 9am as I type this, and need to get ready to begin the last leg of the trip.

The adventure continues…