around usa with happy travel
10/9/16 – St. Louis, Missouri 9
We went to breakfast in a large pavilion with a souvenir market and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store cafe. Breakfast was so-so, fat enough – American, but I always liked it when the waiters came up and asked “would you like some more coffee?” – and you’re like that “oh yes, please.” – and immediately feel like a hero of an American film. Class!
Today, according to the plan, a walk along St. Louis and further along highway 66. We parked near Serra Sculpture Park. As I remember now, Sunday is an empty city, at least shoot a movie. Saint Louis, or as it is informally called “Gate City,” is a city on the Mississippi River with an interesting story that Jura told us about and made us a little more educated.
We walked a bit, dropped calories, it’s time to pick them up. The guys drove us to eat the most delicious ice cream in TED DREWES (location). Ice cream really was very tasty and everyone ate it, and yes, Kira and Yura, though they shared one for two, and we all took the whole. Kira and Jura make several rounds per season and each time they will surely eat this chilling divine dessert, and we all just once. Although each took a portion, their sizes varied.
Here’s an example of my ice cream (green checkmark), and here’s what Andrei took (red checkmark). I couldn’t finish mine. Even for such a crazy chocolate lover like me, ice cream with hot chocolate, and even with a piece of brownie at the bottom, was a bit overkill. And for someone, the portion was just right 😀
The next stop was the “Chair” Fanning 66 Outpost Llc. Oh, this chair, he was especially remembered by us. You should have seen our faces when we arrived in the 4th chair. Let me explain: the places along highway 66 are very interesting, but rather monotonous. There are many points, and the deadlines are tight. The road is long and of course tiring, some stops took us more time than calculated on the tour. I wanted to stretch my legs and back, sometimes I had to spend enough time to stupidly find a toilet. Along highway 66, although people still live, there are very few of them. Often, one open shop, cafe -> toilet on the town. Unlimited Internet certainly saved. But because of such unforeseen situations, sometimes it was necessary to rush and catch up on other travelers rushing forward. And so it happened with this chair. We were already sent a flea market point, which everyone wanted to get to, and along the road in front of the flea market another point – the “chair”. Seeing the closed postal building and chair, and losing 40 minutes, we were disappointed. We could definitely skip this point and go straight to the flea market, keeping up with the rest. Now I am personally very glad that we visited the world’s largest rocker chair – World’s Largest Rocking Chair. The place is legendary and definitely worth attention. The chair did not even expect that it would sit in our memory. And so, looking at the chair, we went to the Heartland Antique Mall flea market. I love flea markets! “NOT SURPRISING!” – flashed through the minds of my relatives who read the story;) Yes, yes, I’m a flea nature and don’t know how to get rid of it. Mom calls me Plyushkin. So, in the Heartland Antique Mall I liked it, for the most part because I found and bought a wonderful book on lomography there. In general, if you dig deeper and deeper there, I think you can find useful and interesting gizmos, but mostly a lot of unnecessary junk.
We also really liked the next point – Red Oak II – a ghost town. The history of the city is undoubtedly admirable.
Red Oak II – “Red Oak II” – was actually the brainchild of the artist Lowell Davis, who grew up in the “real” town of Red Oak, Missouri, about 18 miles northwest of the “new” Red Oak II. At some point, Lowell left his hometown for years, and when he returned in the 1970s, he discovered that his hometown had turned into a ghost. All people went to larger and more civilized cities. And then Lowell decided to pay tribute to his hometown by recreating the Red Oak on his farm. I think this act and the project itself are worthy of admiration and visit. We had a wonderful time in Red Oak II, we ran in and out and had plenty of fun.
Almost all houses had open access. I liked that even the interior inside the houses was reproduced in detail. By the way, the creator himself lives in this village, and in my opinion I accidentally went into his house. The house was different from others in great comfort, which aroused curiosity. But after hearing a loud TV, Andrei scared me that maybe we were breaking into private territory and we decided to leave.
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We went to dinner, on the advice of Kira and Jura, in sirloin stockade-Buffet (buffet). There were a lot of people in the buffet and this is not surprising. In such establishments, where you can eat as much as you like, always chock 🙂 Oh, these buffets are carriers of vice and gluttony! The contingent of people, it seemed to me, is very pleasant. People are simple local hard workers, senior citizens and tourists. What is very memorable, is that we were the thinnest in this institution. Let this please no one offend anyone, but in this place we felt that America, which is so often ridiculed in our countries. I even took a photo for Instagram. In general, we saw a lot of overweight and overweight people driving on Route 66. Locals seem to drop by in the vicious and sinful places that we went to try history.
Well, we had lunch, it’s time to visit the liquor store and buy up for the evening, otherwise we will have to drive to the hotel for more than an hour. We found the distillery without problems, it turned out to be a 3-minute walk from our buffet. It was in this alcoholic that we bought a souvenir bottle of corn whiskey and 2 bottles of Australian 19 Crimes red wine. And it undermined me to try wine on a trip, but all 3 bottles successfully reached London in closed form. We presented one bottle of wine to friends, my sister sipped another bottle during the New Year Holidays, and somehow I never tried it. Probably because, having returned from America, I immediately saw it on sale in Asda and the wine lost its value a little. But we opened corn whiskey with our family for the New Year – samagon. So, I left the topic. The saleswoman in the store was very welcoming. She asked us all to show the documents and laughed at the fact that all 4 were from different countries. We had no problems in the store like in the past with Daniel. We bought fuel and drove to our next Quality Inn in Tulsa – Oklahoma 10.
An interesting fact about the state Kira told us in our chat that evening – “In Oklahoma, as it turned out, one of the most stringent laws governing the sale of alcohol. You can buy it only in specialized stores (liquor store), on Sundays they are closed, since the sale of strong alcoholic beverages above 4% is prohibited. Only beer and only until 9 pm. ” – Danger!
10.10.16 – Oklahoma City – Oklahoma 1
We were expected a long way to Las Vegas – 3.5 hours. We had a good meal, and also prepared for the evening – bought food and wine with us, so as not to go dry to the casino. The weather was changing before our eyes, the air temperature was rising, and the air was getting drier. In a word Desert.
Upon arrival in Las Vegas, we opened the windows in the car to take pictures of our legendary arrival and did not believe our feelings. Outside the windows of our cool tank interior was hell. The temperature exceeded all expectations. Las Vegas met us with insane heat. What a difference! From the cold mountains to the hot desert in a few hours. Our Hotel Circus Circus turned out to be a whole city. It was possible to find everything in it: shops, cafes, restaurants, beauty salons, a casino, a swimming pool and various performances. This is how everything is all inclusive. You can not leave the hotel. We arrived, of course, very tired, scattered around the rooms to relax, tidy ourselves up and get ready for the evening. On the way from Canyon to Las Vegas, I studied casinos. Of us, none of us have ever been to Las Vegas, and of course no one knew which casino to go to. I strongly did not want to try my luck and waste time searching for a good casino, because we had only one night and we had to spend it with dignity – as an adult. That is why reviews on the Internet in such situations simply save. After exploring several sites, the best reviews I have gathered about Wynn Casino.
We didn’t walk along Tulsa, but when we woke up and had breakfast, we immediately went along highway 66 towards Oklahoma City.
We had stops at the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum, Arcadia Barn and a small coffee-snack-stop in the interesting location of Pops Arcadia. At Pops Arcadia you will find soda to suit every taste and color with charming bottle designs. You can buy a Route 66 bracelet right there at a lower price than in Pontiac, or take it to New Mexico, where the price will be even better.
It was at this point that one pair of travelers left us from the car where 2 pairs were traveling. For health reasons, they had to return home without completing the tour.
And so we arrived at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. The Oklahoma City National Memorial is a memorial to survivors, rescuers, and anyone who suffered from the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. Very beautiful and peaceful place. Upon arrival, Andrei and I watched a movie about the explosion to strengthen knowledge of history. I advise people with an undisturbed psyche for self-development.
Next Location – Oklahoma State Capitol.
Oklahoma State Capitol is the home of the state government. Legislation is being created in the Capitol and Oklahoma Supreme Court hearings are held. Included in the US National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is noteworthy because it stands right on the oil field, discovered in 1928 and has an operating oil rig.
Honestly, I do not like such establishments. I somehow dislike all these “lawyers”, politicians and arbiters of fate, but for general educational purposes the necessary place to visit, especially the doors are open for everyone.
After the capitol, travelers were invited to dine, but the guys from our car decided to rush to the next point and snack on the available supplies in the car. Dinner awaited us at the legendary world famous Big Texan steakhouse in Amarillo and we wanted to get to the hotel early to get ready.
For information: The steakhouse is known for its 2.04 kg steak, called The Texas King. The cost of the meal is $ 72. It includes a steak itself, 4 salad-side dishes and a roll. Everyone can enjoy the dish absolutely free if they eat the entire portion within an hour.
Our dearest Ruslan decided to try to fight the steak, which is why we decided to skip lunch and arrived at the next point before everyone else – the Elk City Old Town Museum. Then we walked around, glanced through the windows of closed museums, listened to the stories of Yuri and decided to jump a little.
Without waiting for the rest of the travelers who were delayed, we drove to the next point of the U-Drop-Inn Cafe Shamrock already in Texas. Hello long awaited Texas!
Texas State 11
Another point with its fascinating history. The U-Drop Inn, also known as the Tower Station and the U-Drop Inn and Tower Cafe, was built in 1936 in Shamrock, Texas along the historic Route 66 Route.
The building was designed by J. C. Berry, inspired by a nail stuck in the soil. An unusual example of art deco architecture applicable to a gas station and restaurant. The building has two separate businesses: Tower Station, a gas station on the west side, and U-Drop Inn, a cafe on the east side. Despite the fact that the building passed from hand to hand several times in its history, it completely retained the same types of business for which it was originally built.
The building was closed to business in the late 1990s. After the building was included in the National Register of Historic Places in September 1997, it was acquired by the First National Bank of Shamrock, which then donated it to the city.
Primarily through a federal grant of $ 1.7 million, the city hired a company specializing in historical reconstruction to restore the building to its original appearance and adapt it to a museum, visitor center, gift shop, and commercial organization of the city’s trade. In 2006, the animated film “Cars” was based on several real routes of Route 66. On St. Patrick’s Day 2014, Tesla’s high-power electric station, commonly known as the “supercharger”, was opened at this location.
So, after enjoying the history, we got into our Ford and rushed faster towards the next Quality Inn East hotel in Amarillo. Andrei got behind the wheel, and we put Ruslana in the back seat, handed him a beer to expand his stomach and mentally prepare him for a duel with a 2-pound steak. I found the story of the Ukrainian participant on the Internet, where he described in detail his fight with a steak. After reading, it seemed like crazy, but the excitement made us cheer and prepare Ruslan for his new gastronomic experience. Our devilish souls demanded a sight!
The road to the hotel was not easy, but full of small invertebrate arthropod obstacles. Now I think that all these bold innocent bugs said goodbye to their lives on our windshield, thus warning – “Ruslan drop this crazy venture with a steak!” As if we were in a hurry, we arrived at the hotel only at 8 pm, and at 8:15 2 limousines had already been booked, which transport guests directly to the steakhouse. Running, running, threw things, toilets, to change clothes, to lightly run a marafet. Ahhh, the limo is on the doorstep. It was a challenge!
By that time, there were 8 of us. We filled the first limousine with Kira, and Yura remained waiting for the lagging third guys at the Dodge and the second limousine. The Limousine driver was very welcoming, like most Americans we met on our way. Except employee Volmart 🙂
After 6 minutes, we arrived at our next point – The Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery. The building is painted in bright yellow, so it is impossible to drive by. In the evening hours, everything lights up with colored lights. I had the feeling that I became a character in an American cartoon like American Dad or The Simpsons.
Inside the institution there is a zone of the restaurant itself, a bar, small rides and a wonderful souvenir shop in which we hang out, choosing cowboy hats while we were preparing a table. Right at the entrance there is a glass refrigerator in which the same steak is demonstrated for a duel with which not everyone will decide. Seeing this “monster” Ruslan changed his mind about participating in the competition, which was certainly the right decision, although we really wanted to cheer for him. When our table was ready, we all entered the main hall and immediately rushed towards the guy who was fighting the steak. Friends stood around him and supported him with some advice. More than half the steak was on the plate, but he could no longer look at it. The participant drank the food he had eaten, shook both legs, and periodically shook his head from side to side. He did not manage. Despite the loss, the whole audience applauded him, and the judges gave him a T-shirt and some other little things. Texan is famous not only for steaks, but also for craft beer, which they themselves brew. The menu has the option to order a set of 10 different types of beer. You are brought a wooden feeder, in which 4 or 8, of your choice, small (0.2) glasses of beer. This is the set of 8 glasses I ordered. Our waiter, Big Mike, helped me choose 8 out of 11 based on my beer preferences. Of the food, we all, of course, ordered steaks. I chose the smallest Center Cut steak – 8 oz (ounces) = 0.23 kg. In London, 8oz is standard, and the smallest is usually 6oz. For each steak, the price includes 2 side dishes to choose from. I took 2 vegetable salads. I must admit it was the best steak in my life, although I do not eat them so often. The meat was tender and the serving was just right. Some guys didn’t like the roast, many ate too much, and that evening I had a wonderful dinner and in moderation. Ruslan still made a call that evening – he fought with a kilogram steak, but even 1 kg was beyond the power of a normal stomach. I personally liked everything in the restaurant: wonderful atmosphere, friendly service, beer, and of course a steak. We had a great evening, but the time came to say goodbye to Big Texan. Big Mike helped us with a limousine and we went to the hotel for our bedding. The bedchairs with us Ruslan and Lena were adjacent, so the party was inevitable. Party – this is of course loudly said, but after a hearty dinner, we decided that going to bed immediately would not be right, but drinking a little wine and sharing our impressions just right
