I decided to go on a trip around the US last summer, I have never been to the "middle" of the US. We have always flown from East to West coast. So, I wanted to embark on this adventure and see all the "sights" of the "middle." I began planning and figuring out the best way to go around August, with my ETD being January/February. Well, after leaving my job a little sooner than planned, the trip got pushed up to November. And what a perfect time to go! So, I pitched the idea to some friends, all who had to work, and to Mom and Dad, who had to work too. Mom, then, goes full force trying to convince me not to drive, by myself, because it is dangerous. Dad decides that I just need a gun and a full vehicle service and I am good to go. So, it is a plan. I move all my stuff from Mobile to my parent's house in Georgia and pack up everything I need for a 2 + week trek across the US.
I left Dalton, GA on a Friday morning with my first stop being St. Louis, Missouri. Handy GPS in hand and 2 atlases, I begin. I put in my handy dandy GPS St. Louis, MI. And we begin. Drove through Chattanooga and Nashville, very uneventful, very pretty. I follow what handy dandy GPS tells me to do, though I remember the atlas telling me different. Handy Dandy GPS has to be right, right? So, after driving about 3 hours, I am totally second guessing my handy dandy GPS. This is after I am about an hour from Louisville, KY. I am not supposed to be near Louisville, KY. So, I pull off onto an exit, pull out my accurate atlas and check. Yep, going the wrong way. Zoom out on GPS....since when is St. Louis beside Lake Eerie? Yea, MI is not Missouri, it is Michigan.....Note to self, learn the 2 letter states symbols. After calling Mom to tell her about this, she begs, once again, for me to please come home and just fly out to LA. No ma'am....I am on a mission! So, thankfully I pulled off on the exit that goes straight to St. Louis, MO! Just added a few hours onto the trip, but that is ok! More states to see! Drove through Indiana, saw the sign for Terre Haute and almost cried....never do I want to return close to there! Drove through Illinois and almost veered to go to Chicago, but kept on track for St. Louis. 
About 3 hours out of St. Louis, I remembered one of my best friends from college was from there. So, I gave her a call to see what all I needed to do while in St. Louis. Smartest decision of my day! She not only told me everywhere to see/eat/etc., she hooked me up with the awesomest tour guides in the world! Her cousins. And, her parents let me stay at their house that night. Oh, tangent, my one part of the trip was that I wasn't planning any of it, just driving until I got somewhere, then stopping and getting a hotel room. So, to have a free place to stay the first night was great! Back, to the trip. So, I get to St. Louis and meet up with Courtney's cousins to start the tour. I saw all of downtown, the Arch, the Union Square, amazing churches, the World's Fair grounds and everything that it encompasses, the largest AMOCO sign in the world, and then it was time to EAT! 
St. Louis pizza was the first on the menu from Emo's. AMAZING! is all I can say! They have a special cheese in St. Louis that makes the pizza. That was along with the toasted ravioli and salads we had (omg, I am craving it now!). So, I became a total glutton. (Oh, another side note, I also decided that I would not eat anything on this trip I could get back home). So, after eating the deliciousness of that meal, we decided that I couldn't leave St. Louis without a trip to the famous Ted Drew's custard on Rte 66. I got the apple pie custard. It was, again, AMAZING! And the coolest part of this trip was that Ted Drew was actually there that night and I got my picture with him! People who have lived in St. Louis 50 years hadn't even met him. I am there one night, and cabam! It was rather exciting. So, after that, we did some more touring and I headed to the parental's house for some sleep. This is probably long enough for now....so I will post Day 2 and on later on....
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