Greetings From St. Louis!

Today I co-blog with the wonderful Stephanie Smith-my road trip co-pilot.  It turns out that Steph (minus her current illness) was and is the perfect person to bring along for my journey.  She is funny, helps me take of my jacket while driving before I even say a word, and she appreciates the cool little places along the way just as much as I do.

We departed New Years Day from Silver Spring Maryland around 12pm.  Cruising through rainy and very warm Pennsylvania, my car got a nice 70 mph bath in preparation for the 1800 miles ahead.  After trudging through Ohio we finally arrived at my sister Cali's place in Covington Kentucky around 8pm.  On monday we embarked on a closet organizing extravaganza with my sister which included a trip to Ikea.  Best thing hands down in Cincinnati was Jungle Jim's- a grocery store the size of a super wal-mart loaded with the biggest selection of international foods, beers, ciders, honey, and hot sauces I have ever seen! Big love goes out to my sister Cali for being such a wonderful host!

This morning we set out from Covington at 9 and took not one or two but three wrong turns that led us on a long stretch of road next to the Ohio river.  Eventually we made our way back to the big highway that brought us to Indiannapolis and route 70 west-our final road until we make it to Denver.  We passed a good bit of time today by partaking in what we call 'carobics'.  Its an ecletic blend of traveling exercises that go great to the beat of good coutry tunes.  All exercises can be completed sans weights, but sometimes we use water bottles for extra resistance. 

Finally, we reached St. Louis-crossing the mighty Misissippi River and entering the gateway to the west.  Steph picked out a cool spot for lunch in an area called 'the loop' where St.Louis's old trolleys used to make their turn around.  We had some food and then walked as much as we could while enjoying some awesome shops and an adorable neighborhood. 

Finally we made our way to our current destination-Kayak's coffee shop which I spotted from the road.  Its easily, the coolest coffee shop I've ever been in, but no one here seems to know just how awesome it is.  Steph is drinking tea that came on a cute little plate with its own kettle and I'm having a delicious mayan mocha.  We took pictures of both drinks...such tourists!

From here, our plan is to drive through the night until we reach Boulder in the morning.  We will benefit from another spot to go 'back in time' an hour making our arrival time seem earlier, but in reality be exactly the same amount of flat mid-western driving that promts us both to do carobics. 
RW4L-(road warriors for life)
Smokey and LooseLeaf