Missouri - Part V: The Road

Well, I think it's safe to say I had a wonderful time while I was in Springfield, MO.. but what about the actual trip there and back?

I would go so far as to say I've had better times but it really wasn't as bad as I expected.  Most of the drive, while boring, went by pretty fast.

The drive down began from Princeton, MN - where I work.  I had about a half tank of gas and decided to just drive it off.  I left just shortly after 11am, everything packed into my little car, Chex Mix ready and waiting.  Noon time rolls around and I get anxious for the beginning of the Tommy Mischke show on AM1500; only to find out that Mischke has taken the day off and I have to listen to someone else :( - not the best way to get started (I might kinda love Mischke!).  While I was driving off that half tank, listening to some other guy on the radio, I recieved a phone call from a lady who was interested in looking at my van (I still haven't sold it, but haven't really been trying very hard either).  We talk for a bit and I tell her I will be back in town on Tuesday and I hope to hear from her then.

Around that time I also had a pain festering in my back... right under my left shoulder blade.  More on this here .

Once I get near Albert Lea, MN (which is just about the bottom of MN) I have to stop to fill up for gas and use the little girls room.  Loves is the name of the gas station I stop at and I finally figure out how to fill up (no, I'm not an idiot, just didn't read the sign), walk inside to use the pot and I am blown away by how clean and beautiful their bathrooms are!  I wanted to take a picture but I left my camera in the car. 

I did snap a shot outside the store so I could always remember this place:

As I continue to drive and track miles and listen to my music and try not to go insane... I find myself rounding out the state of Iowa and all of the sudden nearing Missouri and well on my way to Kansas City!  I hadn't stopped to pee, I didn't need gas, but I was getting kind of tired as the sun was slowly starting to set.  I pulled over at a rest stop to stretch, fill up my coffee mug, and may as well use the potty while I'm there (Lord knows the coffee is going to go right through me).  Notice how I pretty much just skipped anything having to do with Iowa?  That's because there is NOTHING there!  I'll talk a bit more about it on the way home as it did help me restore my sanity.

I finally see signs for KC, I'm taking exits to other roads, I'm anxious to be this close.  I had it figured to be about 3 hours of driving left once I hit KC.  The pain in my back has subsided thanks to Aleve, but I can still feel something going on there... strange that I have no other pains in my back after being in a car for 7 hours.  I'm blown away by the beauty of Kansas City and their Interstate bridges.  I know it seems pretty stupid to be amazed by ramp bridges on an interstate system, but here in MN we don't have a lot of interchanges where there are 4-5 highays intertwining.  They have ramps that are so high!  Of course I am taking the lowest road possible, so I can look up and around to see all of these ramp bridges... I wanted to try and get a photo, but it was getting dark and I may have been weaving in and out of traffic (oops, and texting); nothing like driving in a city and adapting to how the locals drive!

Its about time to eat once I make my way into Kansas City, so I get on the road I need to be on and pull off on an exit with a Sonic at it.  I figured I should also get gas since I'm there... as I don't know how populated this next road will be if I should need to get gas.  So with the knowledge that KC is dangerous if you travel too far off the highway, I find the nearest gas station (which is just about a mile off the highway!) and fill up.  I crunched some numbers to discover that I got 39MPG on the tank of gas from Albert Lea, MN to Kansas City, MO!!!!  That sure does make the monthly payments a little easier on my mind :)

I had to travel the rest of the way in the dark, which kind of sucked becuase it was a new road and the thought of deer freaked me out.  My car turned over to 7,000 miles on that lag of the drive, I took a picture... it wasn't all that exciting.  I was, however, excited to get to Renee's... and I think I was beginning to go a little bit crazy, or at least that's what Steve figured out while we were texting.  I think he may have been on the right track.  I finally arrived somewheres around 930pm; for a total of just over 10 hours with stops included. (and I had to make my own martini when I got there!!)

**READ MY OTHER BLOGS FOR THE INBETWEEN STUFF**

I was very sad to be leaving, but I also wanted to get on the road early enough to not get home too late.  I made a quick stop to fill up (with gas being $2.21 a gallon down there, I had to top off!), and ran across the to the Waffle House to see if they sell travel coffee mugs for Bob here at work; they don't.  I jump back on the road and drive for about 45 minutes and have to pee so badly - I was not please about this and will never drink coffee on the road ever again; here is my sad face over having to already make a pit stop:

I stop and pee, grab a gatorade, and get back on the road.  I drive and drive and drive... have to stop again for a potty!  UGH.  While I'm at the store I pick up a new flavor of Pringles, they are supposed to taste like the onion blossoms you can order at the restaurants; they taste NOTHING like that!  Be forwarned should you decide to purchase them... they are not that good.  

Back in the car... making my way thought Kansas City again... I notice rollercoasters off in the distance!  I text Steve and ask him to google the amusement park off 435 in KC; Worlds of Fun, he tells me.  I was seconds away from stopping... good thing he told me they are only open on the weekends in October.  I would have easily made my way through that park to kill some time on a few coasters, I LOVE them!!

More driving... it's wicked windy out and my car is extremely light so I'm blowing all over the road, UGH!  I'm crabby and bored.  

I get up to Osceola, IA and have big plans to stop a the casino I see signs for all over the road.  I blow $50 on slot machines (the first $20 was unintentional, as I thought I was playing a penny machine.  Turns out this machine can be set for 1 cent, 2 cents, or 5 cents - when I sat it was at 5 cents and I bet almost half the damn $20 on one spin!).  I was anxious to get the hell out of there, but not at all anxious to get back in my car.  I noticed a winery at the top of the exit, signs pointed to open... that was my next stop.  I did some wine tasting, interesting stuff, not the best I've ever had but what can you expect coming out of Iowa?!  I ended up buying 5 bottles for $50, not bad when you consider one bottle was a reserve and it alone was $20.  I love fall wine sales!  

Here are a couple photos of the casino and the winery:

Thank God for both places, I was able to restore my sanity and continue on the drive home.  I also topped off my gas tank in hopes to not have to stop again ($2.39/gallon there).  I finally made my way back into Minnesota and was able to capture this picture, which turned out alright considering it was taken from the car while I was driving:

I finally got home around 7:45pm or so - for a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes which, considering I spent  over an hour in Iowa outside of my car, is not half bad.  I did have my cruise set a lot faster on the drive home then on the drive down; this also had an impact on my MPG's, in combination with the wind my average MPG was around 35 MPG.  

A Few Highlights (good and bad):

I didn't kill anything but bugs.

I didn't get pulled over; only seen 2 cops the entire trip!

I have a lead foot now!

I only spent $103.90 total in fuel (which includes starting with a half tank and filling up when I got home even though I wasn't on E).

I didn't stop for breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the drive home and only munched on Chex Mix a little bit.

I traveled about 1287 miles, round trip.

I do have a lot more pictures posted in albums on both myspace and facebook, if you'd like to check them out.

A special thanks to the artists who provided me sanity with their full length CDs: Sarah Bareilles, Eminem, Sevendust, Joss Stone, Nelly, Alanis Morissette, Copasetic, Sublime, and Justin Timberlake.  Also the artists who have made their way on to the CD mixes I keep around: Dave Matthews Band, Howie Day, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Damien Rice, Dispatch and some others I don't recall at this time.  Also my good friend Steve, who put up with my continuous texting on both 10 hour drives.