Road Trip Tradition

Waking up in St. Louis it felt like a morning to run.  Right next to the hotel was Forest park, which is apparently the largest intercity park, beating Central Park.  We thought we'd check it out and even though the weather said it was 74 out, it was still hot and humid.  And as Steve and I have both experienced before, running after a night of drinking is not the best condition to run in.  So with heat, humidity, and residual alcohol in our bodies we hit the trail.  Our run was about 40 minutes and showed us most of the park, and it was very cool.  Nice trails for bikers and runners and a lot of activity happening.  It even had an 18-hole golf course.  Got back to the hotel, showered, ate our upgraded breakfast, and hit the road for Emporia, KS.  Last year I got to hang out with my friend Caitlyn who I met in Italy 2 years ago.  Last year she was in Lubbock, TX which was on our way, and this year she lives in Emporia, KS, which again is on the way.  The drive to Emporia was kinda boring but still not as flat as I expected.  When we got to Emporia, Caitlyn gave us the tour of the town (which was brief) and then we went to "Old Rum's" Liquor Store.  It was a funny liquor store with a giant pirate on the sign.  For some reason we were very amused by Old Rum's and I think it may have been Steve's highlight of the trip thus far.  After some burgers for dinner, we went out for a bar crawl in Emporia.  First stop was the Dugout, which involved some pool and Steve turning into super talkative Steve.  We then went to my favorite bar that I've ever been to, JMo's.  I was pretty excited and got some pictures with the sign in the front.  The bar itself, was what you would expect a little bar in Emporia to be like.  After a drink there, it was onto Beer:30.  Now apparently this is the hot spot in Emporia.  I was impressed because it had a band, multiple bars and cheap drinks.  After that, the night was finalized with some pizza and getting a ride back to Caitlyn's (tell Katie I say thanks again.)  Steve slept on the futon that Joe had slept on last year, and my seniority in friendship gave me the right to the pull out sofabed.  And so ends another epic night of hanging out with Caitlyn in some funny, little town.