bigchowder

Back in California! Okay, I didn't post yesterday. I was just too beat and feeling really weird, so I skipped it. So this is two days' worth. Wednesday morning got up kinda late (no surprise) and left Amarillo, Texas. Stopped off to check out the 72 ounce steak. The deal with this thing is that if you can eat it in an hour, it's free. It's a LOT of meat. You have to eat it at a special table in front of everyone at the restaurant and they have a timer by you and even a little barf bucket...you know, just in case. The last person to do it was a 120 pound woman! Nice! The Weather Channel was predicting that this was going to be a bad driving day for me. All I saw along ... read more

The following is a commentary by the good people of St. Louis, Missouri. This is not a paid advertisement. "There was a man, brave and heroic, and he took a journey through many perils. He came out of the West and forded raging rivers, blazing deserts, visited long-time comrades-in-arms, fought off bandits and loved many, many women. Upon reaching his wintry destination of Saint Louis, he spent several joyous days among friends he considered as family, exploring the countryside and experiencing new adventures. But alas! The days of fun came to an end, and the brave, noble giant of a man had to return to his homeland in the West. And so he left the winter wonderland...and looked danger in the face and laughed as he began the final stage of his wonderful journey. That man.....that ... read more

Today was a driving day. Over the river and through the woods to Illinois we go. First stop? The world-famous Fast Eddie's. Fast Eddie's is a restaurant/bar in the tiny town of Alton, Illinois - right off the Mississippi River. It has been in business since 1921 when Anheuser Busch himself opened it up. The ownership changed hands until a man named Eddie Sholar bought it in 1981. The place exploded in popularity and he hasn't changed the prices on the food on the menu since he took over. The place sell over 4,000 half-barrels of beer a year and thousands of cases of beer as well. You have to get there before it opens and stand in line or you may not get a table. By the time we got there, we were pretty far ... read more

You know, it's amazing when you are in a city that not only has its attractions open to everyone, but also doesn't charge for it! Wow! But first things first. Started out with a breakfast at the one and only Bob Evans (sorry Mr. Meade, I forgot to take a photo for you). Nothing like an omelette to start out your day! Frank had to work, so Paul, Matt, Thom and I went to the Science Museum in Forrest Park. For those of you who do not know, Forrest Park is the second-largest metropolitan park in the United State, behind only New York's Central Park. There are quite a few museums, trails, riverways to boat on, things to see and do there. We spent a large chunk of the afternoon in the Science Museum. They had ... read more

You know what? Don't come to Dallas. It isn't fun to visit. Today Ronn and I tried to make it fun and interesting. We tried, but Dallas got in the way. First thing was a trip to the Ft. Worth Science and Planetarium. I haven't been to a planetarium since I was a little kid, and I was really looking forward to it. We checked the website to make sure everything was cool. They had an update that said because of the Texas Stock Show (a cow show), parking might be limited. Okay, no problem. We head down there using Ronn's GPS. It says we are where we are supposed to be, but nothing that looks like a science center or planetarium. Ask the man at the visitor center - and he says most of it ... read more