You Came a Long Way from St. Louis (as the song goes)

 Late July I did what was probably my longest journey. Which I think beat out both Atlanta and Chicago by an hour or so going to my very first Sherlock Holmes conference in St. Louis. 

I had a lot of fun. Met a lot of great fellow Sherlockians. Did a few nice commissions. And I got to see the World's Fair Exhibit at the Historical Museum.

Unlike my last trips, I decided to break my journey into three separate stops. First in Ohio, and then Indiana before finally making it to my destination. The last couple years to Atlanta, I'd drive 13 hours to North Carolina before making it to Atlanta. And its honestly exhausting. Doing this definitely helped. But here are a few highlights from my trip out to the Midwest. 

My room in Indiana. Honestly, it was like the Happines Hotel from the Great Muppet Caper. I was waiting for rats dressed as bellhops to take my bags. They offered a continental breakfast. But after smelling vomit in the lobby I thought I'd pass. A Danish out of a machine at a rest stop was a safer choice.

My very first Steak and Shake. My wife has coworkers from the Midwest that swear by them. Still not sure what makes a steak burger any different taste-wise. It tasted no different than any other fast food hamburger. Which I liked. But it was light-years better than McDonald's. And their claim to fame is shakes and cooking all their French fries in beef tallow. Which was fine but didn't seem any different than anywhere else. But I enjoyed it.

My room in St. Louis was an improvement. Not a vast improvement but no vomit smell is an improvement of some kind.

Of course when I'm out of state, I stop at White Castle. I got my first on my way back from Indiana. 

By far my best room was on my way back when I stayed at a Motel 6 in Ohio. Opted for Popeyes Chicken instead of Bob Evans. One day I'll try a Bob Evans. I mean, I've seen enough of his mashed potatoes and mac n cheese in the grocery store. 

Made a quick pit stop at a rest area in Worcester New York. Took this photo for my Worcester Massachusetts friends.