No, No...A Cross Country Food Crawl, For Sure

When we took off from Heath’s house, bidding a sweet farewell to his basement and other tricks, we twisted and winded our backroads way up to I-70W. Speeding-I-mean-speed-limiting through Indiana and Illinois, we arrived at the Gateway to the West.

Leaving St. Louis about 20 minutes later, we hit our first traffic jam of the roadtrip.

more cars than we'd seen in one place since the East Coast

We plugged through the traffic, then horizontally bisected the state of Missouri to arrive in Independence, home of Harry Truman and Leiha’s cousin Lisa, who rocks. She has the cutest little blue house, and it was close to everything. We were fed to the gills, flattered to the core, and very kindly invited to crash Lisa’s friend Linda’s birthday party. The party was at the Flamingo Lounge, and there was a pretty stellar classic rock cover band called Charlie and the Stingrays (check them out!) that played their first show in 1985. Yes, the band was born the same year as we were.

the birthday girl and her hubby Terry

two beautiful cousins, Lisa and Leiha

rocking out to Charlie and The Stingrays

While in Missouri, we also visited Harry Truman’s house, but didn’t take the $4 tour, because that would have cut into our barbecue budget.

HST's home in Independence, MO

             

Ah, the KC barbecue budget. Let me tell you something about traveling across America: It involves a LOT of eating. And there’s absolutely no way around that. There was Geiger’s cheese soup in Virginia, wings at the line dancing establishment in Nashville, Farm Boy in Kentucky, barbecue in Kansas City (oh, the barbecue!), and now we’ve had fresh farm produce (yum!) and a meal at a local brewery in Arkansas. We’re looking at more barbecue in Memphis, who-knows-what-kind-of-Cajun-food in New Orleans, some acclaimed fried chicken from a truck in Austin, and again, who-knows-what in Colorado. Basically, when you drive your way across the USA, you’re also obligated to eat your way across the USA. Jiggly love handles, ho!

Not that we’re complaining. This barbecue was worth some jiggle.

yes, i made this photo extra large, because it deserves it.

Mmm mmm mmm…thank you, Molly and Caleb, sweet old friends of Leiha’s, for introducing us to Jack Stack’s burnt ends and ribs. And I will never, ever forget the cheesy corn. Break my little heart right into my small intestine…because that was delicious. Another thank you to Molly and Caleb for your quite eclectic CDs (eclectic as in: Beyonce selections from Destiny’s Child to Put a Ring On It, Christian rock, and a several unidentifiables…oh, and two Christmas songs). Here's your shoutout:

from left to right: Ryan, Josh, Leiha, Lisa, Laura, Molly, and Caleb. and in front, a statue of a little boy peeing...and behind, that's a Starbucks full of entertained onlookers.

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And now, we're chillin’ at James and Jane’s farm in Winslow, Arkansas (population 399…true story), using their wifi, and staring out at the rolling vista of the Boston Mountains. We've been spending most of our time here reminiscing about Peace Corps, remembering terms such as "safi duka," watching this guy's awesome and felicitous youtube videos about the PCV life in Tanzania, and wondering, "What the hell were we thinking?" Also, a question for anyone who was NOT ever in the Peace Corps: Does this PSA make sense to you? How does it make you feel about trying Peace Corps?

Please share! We're wild with curiosity! We think it's hilarious, but it seems to us that it would only be relevant if you've actually done it.

And...a hike later today, at Devil's Den State Park, and tomorrow morning, we're on the road again! Are you lonesome tonight, Graceland? Because tomorrow, we're comin' to see the king!