There she blows, the flippin' St. Louis Arch.
I got to see it for the first time today, in my arduous trek westward. I left Indianapolis late this morning with a fully loaded Al, and headed west. [Sidenote for my virtual friends: Al is my '93 silver trashy Ford Escort station wagon.] Though I have driven to Colorado before, we went the 80/90 route to the north, and I had not yet been to St. Louis. Let me just say, folks, I was not disappointed. I saw the arch. And then I left.
Being in the car for long stretches makes you get creative- lest you lose your mind. I made up games. They were called the see if you can drive with your left foot game, and the see if the bike can stay on the back of the car even though the carrier is slightly bent game. I won both of them. You also begin to think about funny moments in life, or just memories in general, and laugh at random times. One of my favorite reminisces today involved a scenario when I was trying to convey my deep appreciation for Patty Griffin after recently attending a live show in Cincinatti. I came up with the phrase used as the subject for this post- say it out loud and I'm sure you can put two and two together.
As a sidenote and a brief moment of gloating: I got over 500 miles on just a tank and a half of gas, which would work out to about 18 gallons max; and this is with a fully loaded vehicle. SUVs, eat your hearts out. The only downer- being passed by trucks while ascending moderate-sized hills.
I've also decided to keep a running log of discs played on this trip, for anyone who cares:
(in chronological listening order)
Ohio, disc 2- Over The Rhine
Cathedral of Sound- Global DJ Experience
New Favorite- Alison Krauss and Union Station
Talkie Walkie- Air
November mix- compilation by yours truly that includes a bit of everything...
The Moonlight EP- Susan Enan
Rush of Blood to the Head- Coldplay
Autumn Copyright Demo- kate laurel smith
Kitchen Radio- Peter Mulvey
So that's that. On a slightly more sentimental note, Indianapolis was harder to leave than I thought (but not as hard as it could have been). Friends, family and church have been such blessings to me through my brief sojourn in this "Crossroads of America." As a parting note, I can say that Indianapolis was a good place for me to be, but an even better place for me to be from.
Stay tuned for part two of the journey....
3 comments:
Drive safe, and watch out for those mountains. They can sneek up on a body if you're not careful.
p.s. I too, am a huge fatty pan. If you start a club, I will totally join.
I heard you reached Kansas safely. Preparing for the long haul across the land of Oz (or is that "Ahs" or "blahs")? No amber waves of grain this time of year. But there will be purple mountains majesty after about eight hours of monotony. Our prayers go with you.
haha.
oh, liz.
i just wanted you to know that my roommate and i laughed our faces off reading part one of your incredible journey.
i eagerly await part two!
love you, love you!
Post a Comment