Road Trip: Week 2.5

Day 9 (Tuesday: Happy Halloween)

We awoke to a frost covered car and frozen water. We quickly stopped over to view Devil's tower, the country's first national monument and then made our way into South Dakota Black Hills region. Our first stop, the legendary Deadwood, was home to old west outlaws, villains, prostitutes, drunks, gunmen, and gamblers. After we spent a few hours exploring we head over to Crazy Horse Memorial. Still a work in progress it is an unfinished monument to the Native American hero.

We stayed over night in Keystone, the closest town to Mount Rushmore to see it in the light of day. It was freezing and the tourist town had morphed into a ghost town in the winter. Most of the restaurants and hotels were already closed for the season and the place we found was closing the next day. We were the only ones crazy enough to brave the monument in the bitter cold.



Day 10 (Wednesday 11/1)
Another cold morning. We made the quick stop at Mount Rushmore and then started the journey to Minneapolis. On the way we stopped at Wall Drug, a western wear, mall, tourist pit full of more cheesy souvenirs and photo-ops. The best part is that along the highway every three out of four billboards is an advertisement for the store and they start popping up hundreds of miles away.

We next drove through the Badlands National Park. The park is most famous for it's alien planet, other-worldly like landscape and it's large amount of dinosaur fossils. It was freezing, but absolutely amazing to see. After the Badlands we hit the road, averaging 90 mph through the South Dakota nothingness on our 600 mile drive to Carrie and Becky in Minneapolis. Again the sunset was amazing, and Minnesota wins the road kill award. We saw a deer that looked like it had been hit 27 times, it's blood and guts smeared across both lanes of the highway (eeewwww.) We finally reach Carrie's around midnight.


Day 11 (Thursday 11/2)
We slept in for the first time in days and didn't have to pack up the car and head somewhere new. We did laundry (for the first time in for ever) and took things slow. I headed out to drive around the city a little (it was still freezing) and to check out the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. It was a part of a center called OPEN BOOK dedicated entirely to reading, writing, and book arts. The building was amazing and the Center for Book Arts was 3 times the size of the one in SF.

Then we got in the car to drive around the city. We rode past the Walker Art Museum and the new library which were both architecturally amazing. Containing lots of really tall, modern buildings, downtown Minneapolis is vibrant, beautiful and impressive.

We then met my friend Becky for drinks at CC Club, a lovely dive bar outside the down town area. I got unintentionally wasted, and was super excited to see Becky (it had been over a year.) We then headed to the other side of the river to eat food at this old school 70s style piano bar called Ney's Polonaise Room. The polish food on the menu consisted of mostly meat and cabbage and was pricey, but the ambiance was worth it, and I was drunk and hungry. When we got back and I stayed up with Carrie drinking wine and catching up.


Day 12 (Friday 11/3)
A little hungover Carrie took us to "The Egg and I" Diner. There's nothing like good, down home, greasy Midwest breakfast to cure a hangover. We returned to find Jacobed and Bone Socks, Carrie and Anthony's dogs, devouring our road trip food: an entire box of Grape Nuts, peanuts, hummus, a jar of peanut butter and more. Earlier they had eaten the Ishes (may they rest in peace.)

After helping discipline the dogs (sorta), Chad and I headed down town and walked St. Anthony's heritage trail around the Mississippi River. We learned about the old milling industry and flour business in Minneapolis back in the day and the history of industrial growth. It was really interesting. We then ate home made pizza for lunch (thanks Carrie and Anthony) and cruised over to the Walker Art Center to check out the exhibit (also where Carrie works).

After the Walker, we met at Becky's house and drank beers while waiting for Carrie to get off work. We then tried to get dinner at Matt's Bar home of the infamous Juicy Lucy, a hamburger filled with cheese. Matt's was way too crowded so we headed to another bar around the corner where you could order beer and rent out board games for your table. We saw people playing Battleship, Connect Four, and other nostalgic games from the past, but there were too many of us so we headed to a third place where we could all sit and there was live blue grass. Get this: a "California Burger" means it comes with lettuce and tomato. Man, we're far from home.


Day 13 (Saturday 11/4)
We had a late morning and a late start to the day. We said our goodbyes and hit the road on our way through Wisconsin to Chicago. Along the way we saw dead dear in the back of trucks (it's hunting season) and stopped for some Wisco cheese in 'Cheesehead Country.'

We hit some Chicago traffic on the way into the city, but finally made it to Lisa and Spiral's house in the lake view area. We were starving and they took us to Chicago Diner, the best vegetarian food I've eaten in my life. It was perfect timing after all the meat we had eaten in Minneapolis. Then we headed to a party at Spiral's friend's house, and afterwards to SmartBar. I was deliriously tired and after midnight I wasn't really enjoying myself.




Day 14 (Sunday 11/5)
We slept in real late and went for another vegetarian breakfast with Spiral and Lisa. Then Chad and I made our way to the down town area to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. The place is huge and amazing. I particularly enjoyed the special photography exhibit, So The Story Goes, featuring Sally Mann, Tina Barney, Nan Golden and others. Afterwards we journeyed to the top of the Sears Tower to view Chicago-Land from above.

We completed our stint as ultimate tourists by eating some famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at the acclaimed Lou Malnati's. On our way home we stopped by another chill neighborhood bar and then crashed.


Day 15 (Monday 11/6)
In the morning we explored Millennium Park. It's awesome. My favorite was this reflective, interactive 'jelly bean' sculpture.

Then I went to take a tour of Columbia College of Art. I talked to a few people at the graduate admissions office and then met with the head of the Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts program. He talked to me for a while and then gave me a tour of the facilities and introduced me to a few students.

Then Chad and I reconvened, ate some amazing sushi and got back in the car on the way to Iowa City.


Day 16 (Tuesday 11/7)
I had an early morning appointment with the graduate admissions officer at University of Iowa School of Art. I talked with her a little and then took a tour of the school. I met with another woman from the Center for the Book and then met with the head paper making professor.


After I finished with school stuff we jumped in the car on the way to St. Louis, MO., my old stomping grounds.


Day 17 (Wednesday 11/8)
I had lived in St. Louis from 1998 - 2001 and hadn't been back in over 4 years. I was excited to revisit old haunts and rediscover the city. We got a cheap hotel room out by the airport and drove into the city that morning.

We started the day off heading down to the South Grand neighborhood and eating lunch at Pho Grand Vietnemese restaurant. From there we went over to the Budweiser Factory for a tour. It was one of the few things I had never gotten to do while I lived there. It's the largest brewing factory in the country. After we learned about the brewing process and observed the steps we got to sample a veriety of beers and even a few that were still being tested in the market.

With a little buzz going we headed over to the Gateway Arch and took a ride to the top. At the end of the night we had dinner in The U City Loop Area at Brandt's Market and Cafe where I used to work as a server back in the day.


Day 18 (Thursday 11/9)
We woke up early and I dragged Chad to one of my favorite diners of all time, Tiffany's. The West Coast just doesn't serve up grease like this: it's 24 hours and as dirty as they come. I think it was only my seccond time there sober. I ordered the classic Slinger: eggs, hashbrowns and bacon smothered in chili.

With our arteries fully clogged and our bellies full of crap I then took Chad to the St. Louis City Museum, one of my favorite places on the planet. It's too cool to describe. It's a giant jungle gym made from recycled and found materials that takes up most of a huge warehouse space and has expanded to the outdoors as well. We played around in there for hours: climbing, sliding, crawling and squirming through small passageways, up, over, around, down and back again. It was a blast. I hadn't been back since 2001, and the place had expanded considerably.

That night, back at the Loop, we ate Lebanese dinner at Saleem's and then had drinks at Blueberry Hill where Chuck Berry still plays once a month (we missed him by a week.) We hit a few more bars including a Hip Hop night where we were the only two white people and then headed back to the room.

Day 20 (Friday 11/10)
Chad caught an early flight to Vegas as I embarked on the 800 mile drive from St. Louis back to my parents' house in Washington DC. The longest drive of the trip, on my own. I left at 9am and arrived in DC around 1am. It was mostly uneventful except for the speeding ticket in Ohio. (I hate Ohio, land of traffic jams and speeding tickets, where the cops are always dicks.)

and now, here I am in DC, doing laundry and catching up on blogging, picture posting and what not.