Just got back from a week in Missouri... First impression: LOTS of hills...I've definitely become jaded by all the flat land in Texas. I thought my little four cylinder engine was going to blow up going up some of those hills. It was also too cold for mid March...low 30's during Spring break? You gotta be sh*tt*ing me! Columbia: Stayed with my wife's aunt and uncle in Columbia. Nice college town, though I didn't get to see much. I got my picture taken in front of the oldest tree in Missouri. Kansas City: I ate at Gates's BBQ. Now, there has been debate about regional BBQ pretty much ever since Org the caveman first cooked his leg o' sabretooth over an open fire. Like most meat lonvin' carnivores in Tejas, I just went along with the argument that Texas has the best BBQ...until I ate at Gates. Simply put, this BBQ sandwich blew away everything I have ever eaten. The meat was perfectly smoked and sliced deli-thin, and the sauce was just.....perfect is the word I'm looking for. I could dip anything into this sauce. St. Louis: The Arch was decent, but not spectacular. After being crammed in a washing machine sized elevator type deal with four other people, you get out at the top and look through these tiny little windows at the landscape. The view as great, but I was expecting these big windows to look through. I did meet somebody from Houston inside the little car who recognized the Rockets cap. The best part of St. Louis was this old Italian neighborhood called The Hill with a little Italian restaurant on just about every corner. We ate at Bartolino's. I don't know if I can ever eat at Olive Garden again... The Ozarks: Very cool...It was still cold, but I was told that the Ozarks are almost unpassable during the summer when everybody is there on vacation. Went to this cave where they do a lot of wedding ceremonies. The cave was great, but there were some tight squeezes. I remember going through a cave around San Antonio and remember it being bigger with more big, open rooms. I wanted to do some hiking, but my wife wore these dress boots. The World's Largest McDonald's: Not in Missouri, but located on I-44 in Oklahoma. It's actually pretty interesting. The dining area spans over the highway like an overpass, so you can eat and watch the cars drive by. Too bad you can't toss french fries and half empty shake cups at the cars on the highway, though. I can now tell my grandchildren that I ate at the World's largest McDonald's...until a bigger one gets built, that is... The funniest part of the trip was actually on the drive up there, in Oklahoma. I got pulled over for "impeding the flow of traffic". I wasn't going 40 on the freeway, either. The cop said that I was going 67-69 in the passing lane, so he pulled me over and gave me a warning. Just imagine every single stereotype about redneck cops, and this guy personified it. Big gut, mustache, tobbaco stained teeth...He said in an accent that couldn't have been staged if he tried, "That may be how ya'll drive down in Texas, but up here in Oklahoma, it's different." Yeah, I'd like to see that hick survive five minutes on the Katy freeway or Greenway Plaza at 5:15 pm...After he pulled me over, I remembered a thread in here about this same subject a few weeks ago. It actually changed my whole outlook on highway driving. Now, I'm always driving 5-7 miles over the speed limit. ...and I'm never driving 14 hours in a car...EVER. That has to be the most depressing feeling in the world to be in a car for 10 hours or so, finally get back to the great state of Texas and think that the journey is almost over and see a sign that says "Houston 204" The most I'll drive is to Dallas, San Antonio, or Austin...from now on, I'm taking to the skies...
Are you kidding me? If you took the engine out of the ole' Griswold wagon, my entire car would fit under the hood...
Worst drive ever..... L.A. to Houston. The windmills in Palm Springs were cool. Arizona is sorta pretty...except when you're getting hailed on in Phoenix. When did New Mexico become a state? West Texas......give me vanilla yogurt, tofu, water, or any other bland thing. Never again!!! 24 hours of terror, boredom, insanity and hell!!!
Gates bbq? I've eaten there, and I thought I was at Arby's with their thinly sliced meat. Brisket is not meant to be sliced that thin. I thought their sauce was a little sweet for my tastes. Goode Company rules.
A good friend of mine lives in St. Louis and hates the BBQ up there...It doesn't compare to Texas BBQ...I've never been up there, so I have to take his word, but I think everything in Texas i better...
Missouri IS COOL! first the poem now this, you're definitely moving up in my book A-Train. I actually grew up in Columbia Missouri.
you suck. the cardinals rule! we will win it all with absolutely no pitching. yes we will! Pujols, Renteria, Rolen... I dare you, I double dog dare you, I defy you name an infield that's better.
I've been there before. I don't think it is the world's largest anymore. One in Russia is bigger. I think it is now relegated to 2nd largest/largest in the US. It is a pretty cool place though.
I think so. But I mean that band went everywhere. But lots of guys used to wear Whitesnake T-shirts in school. Damn I miss living in Missouri. Going to the lake of the ozarks and playing skee ball. haha. It was a different life. But so relaxing. I need to go back one day.
wait a minute... are you trying to make fun of my lack of knowledge of 80's rock? Dude man when Whitesnake was big I was a little kid in Missouri, watching Garfield and Friends on Saturday mornings.
Well, the sign on the highway going back said "STILL the World's largest McDonald's", so I'm not sure...I don't know if they count total square footage of the entire building or just the eating area...If it's on a highway sign, it MUST be true, right?
It's another fleeting claim to fame that still lingers along many a highway -- the World's Largest McDonald's. The one in Vinita, also known as the "Glasshouse," was documented as "largest" in square feet only -- and some of that was leased out to other stores. After seeing the giant golden arch hanging over the highway as we approached, the Vinita restaurant was a disappointment. A bunch of the interior was just dead space, not ordering or seating areas. The order area was the same size as the local mall outlet. There was a well stocked gift store with souvenirs -- nice t-shirt -- and several display cases of vintage McDonald's collectible items, but yawn. Even a golden opportunity to vent compressed grilled meat smells down onto passing vehicles seems to have been missed. Another World's Largest McD's appeared in Moscow in 1990, which some believe may have brought about the fall of the Soviet Union. Vinita's response to the situation was to post a memo listing points of comparision between the two restaurants. Today, a newer World's Largest McDonald's (and Playplace) fills bellies in Orlando, Florida, in a building decorated to look like a large bag of fries.[/]b It's only a coincidence that Vinita's other civic boast is its annual Calf Fry Festival, held in early September. Cute little baby animals are always the tastiest. "An Oklahoma delicacy, known as the 'cattleman's hors d'oeuvre,' calf is served fried, boiled, battered, grilled, and seasoned to visitors by champion calf fry chefs." Note: Roadside America trivia fans may recall that former RA associate Jack Barth spent a week working the counters at the Vinita McD's and wrote about his hilarious experiences in his1990 Fireside book, American Quest.
i drove over 2500 miles this spring break...austin to sugar land (150 miles)...sugar land to southern illinois (800 miles)...southern illinois to chicago (300 miles)...chicago to southern illinois (300 miles)... southern illinois to sugar land(800 miles)...sugar land to austin (150 miles) i've never driven on 59 for so long....all the way from sugar land to texarkana (over 300 miles)...it was hell
I've been to Gates BBQ several times too. I've got an aunt and some cousins who live in Kansas City. I thought it was pretty over rated. I'd rather go around the corner to Burns BBQ in Acres Homes.
