The morning was kind of uneventful, we stopped for coffee and bathroom breaks and that was it. Carissa and I talked about our plans for LA and listened to some awesome music. After hours and hours of driving, our first stop was Indianapolis to see “The Crooked House.” We drove around for an hour, got directions from 3 different people (all pointing us in the same direction), and we never found it! I am convinced it doesn’t exist.
About three hours later, we made it to our first over-night
stop, St. Louis, MO. Sixteen hours of driving and we finally made it to the
Gateway Arch. It was bigger than I had expected and it was a wonderful site as
we were driving up to the city. IDK what’s wrong with me, I am just a goofball,
but ever since the moment I knew I was going to St. Louis, I had in my head
that I was going to dance under the Gateway Arch to “Meet Me In St. Louis” by
Judy Garland. I was stoked about doing this and I was not going to let anything
deter me. In my head I thought I was the coolest person ever, but I can see why
others gave me “that look” when I told them my plans for the Arch.
When we arrived at the Arch, we parked right along the
shores of the Mississippi River…or as we called it the Missippippi River. We
paused to take a few minutes to dip our toes in the famous river. After that I set up the camera stand and
radio so we could film ourselves dancing under the Arch. Everyone around us was
staring, but we didn’t care we did our thing and had fun doing it. Follow this
link to laugh with/at me. https://www.facebook.com/mr.steve12#!/photo.php?v=10151135828509744
That night we were supposed to camp out in St. Louis, but we
decided at hotel would be better. We checked into our room, exhausted. We each
had a beer and turned on a SVU marathon. Well SVU marathons are never a good
choice when trying to fall asleep. Dick Wolf always sucks you in!!! The next
day we woke up early and had breakfast then ventured out toward our next stop,
Amarillo, TX. About three hours into the drive we saw a sign that read:
“World’s Largest Rocking Chair.”
I switched lanes immediately to get off the exit. Once off
the exit we turned on to the Old Route 66 and about 5 miles up the road, in a
clearing, in all its glory was the Rocking Chair. Standing at 42’ 4’’, it was
breathtaking. It was attached to this little country shop appropriately named,
Danny’s Gas Hole. The name in itself was enough for us to venture inside, but
we were a little leery of the place. Being in the backwoods of America is
always a little creepy. We were not prepared for the crazy, amazingness that
waited for us inside.
The floors we all natural pine hardwood. The ceilings and walls
were made of the same pine, but in a high gloss finish. The place had a touch
of class to it even though the outside is very deceptive. It was beautiful
inside. The only thing that was “off” about it was all the animal trophies that
littered the store. They had grizzly bears in two corners, squirrels all over
the place and posed in to ridiculous poses (ex. Golfing, canoeing, swimming,
and tanning). There was a huge hornets’ nest on display and a giant zebra
carcass on the ceiling. It was, as Ace Ventura would say, “a lovely room of
death.” It was a quickie mart, taxidermy
shop, gas station, archery range, and then there was the liquor store.
This was like any other liquor except they had homemade
moonshine on display…and there was a free tasting!!! Whose day just got better?
OUR’S DID!!! The lady who ran the store was also the cashier and bartender for
the morning. Yes, I said morning…it was roughly 10:30am. She told us a short
story about moonshiners from the old days and cracked a few jokes as she
prepared our shots. She was so cool she did not get offended when I started
asking questions about how they prepared their moonshine. I literally asked her
“Do you make this in your bathtub or a secret cellar under your barn?” She
smiled and dodged the question by saying “Let’s keep a little mystery in the
story.” That answer was good enough for me.
The first shot was plain moonshine. It was strong and tasted
of rubbing alcohol. I’m sure my chest hair grew longer from the power of that
first shot. Carissa was holding onto the counter catching her breath. When us
mature adults regained our composure, we complimented her on the strength of
that shot, and laughed a little uneasy laugh. We had to calm down for a few
more seconds and she told us to go to the icebox and get a cola to wash it down
with. When we returned she told us the next shot was cherry moonshine. It sounded
delicious until I realized it was actual cherries soaked in the regular
moonshine. The first shot was tough to take, but so much fun trying to keep
down, and now it was that plus cherries. I am not a fan of cherries. I was
nervous and started over thinking, but I said “When in Rome” and I popped it in
my mouth and chewed like there was no tomorrow. Meanwhile, Carissa was enjoying
her cherry as I was finishing up like my life depended on it.
After that second shot, we began to feel the effects. The
laughter became more frequent, it felt like the temperature rose a few degrees,
and I was swaying to the beat in my head. We thought we were done, but that
wonderful lady surprised us with a third shot. We were both a little on edge
and doubting the third shot since the first two’s taste was so strong. Well the
lady convinced us the third is the best and everything would be fine after we
took it. It was cinnamon apple. It was so warm and smooth going down. It was delicious!!!
The taste was of an apple pie straight out of the oven. We had to buy a jar of
it to take home. Well played lady well played!!!
After that third shot, we had to calm down so we did a
little shopping. We bought Route 66 souvenirs for family and friends. We
seriously contemplated trying archery for a hot minute. For the safety of
others and ourselves we opted up. We also had a blast taking pics with every
stuffed carcass that lined the walls of the store. We had a blast and before we
left we took a picture of our wonderful bartender. We hopped back in the car at
11:30am and pressed onward to Amarillo, TX.
To Be Continued…
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