Shane and Susan's Bix Adventure

Shane and Susan had a wonderful car trip up to the Quad Cities to see Brent, Caroline, Megan, and Elliot Evans and their new darling puppy Suzy (a dachshund labrador mix). We dropped Mr. B off at Marcus and Jo's place (he loves his pals Jackson and Jasmine) and drove North along 65. We stopped for lunch at Beebo's BBQ at Jemison, AL at feasted on BBQ. Susan ate a hot hamburger (a local twist on the hamburger--no top bun but covered in brown onion gravy) and gave it two hearty thumbs up. We scarfed down some homemade peach ice cream and hit the trail. Thanks to Gabby (our trusty GPS unit) we made it through the scary traffic of Nashville. Susan added another State to her list when we crossed into Kentucky. It was almost dark when we got to our motel in Paducah. Susan, the family Carnivore, decided we needed an Outback fix. Susan loved her steak and warm brown bread. I had the Alice Springs Chicken. I'm not really a chicken fan but when you cover it in onions, bacon, and cheese, it is awesome. My sweet tooth couldn't resist the key lime pie.

The next morning we headed north again but made a small detour into St. Louis. With limited time, we only got to walk around the arch and tour the museum underneath. The place was packed and the next scheduled elevator ride to the top wasn't for a couple of hours. I felt bad that Susan didn't get to look out from the top of the arch. The museum was okay (my liberal sensibilities make it hard to stomach the western expansion and displacement of the native Americans already living there). We did see a couple of young Mennonite women on dates (PDA alert). Their dudes were in contemporary attire. What gives?

Back on the road we pushed on through Illinois. Still angry at BP we bypassed a station in Knoxville and drove farther into town to fill up at Phillips 66. We were astonished at what we saw across the street, a Dick Blick Outlet Store. It was already closing time when we hit it but made sure we stopped there on the way back home. We finally made it to the Quad cities and made a B-line to the River Center to pick up my race packet (plus I got my 10 year pin) and a 10 minute massage from the local school of massage students. Bill Rogers was signing autographs. I was disappointed to see that Joan Benoit Samuelson wasn't at the Bix this year.

I took Susan to HyVee (a much nicer grocery store than anything we have in lower Alabama). We oohed and awed over all the goodies and bought some take-home meals to eat in the motel. Susan raved about her pasta salad. The next morning was the Bix. I got up early and went downstairs to eat a light breakfast and watch the other bixers mill about. The weather wasn't cooperating, rain-rain-rain. In the past, Brent always dropped me off at the start of the race but since my running partner Brady is in Brazil on a mission this year I was going solo. So I drove myself. I made the mistake of leaving a little late. I found a parking place several blocks from the starting line and barely made it. In my haste I forgot my timing chip and so I had to resort to my trusty stopwatch to clock my time. It rained and rained through the entire race. At first I thought it would suck but the rain cooled everything off and hydration wasn't as much of an issue. What was really amazing is that the bands were still lining the course and lots of people stood in the rain and cheered us on. What troopers the folks of the Quad cities are! Since I am a lot fatter this year and didn't train I walked most of the way. I was in pretty serious pain by the last few miles. I kept an eye on my stopwatch and realized that I was pretty close to coming in under 90 minutes. But alas, it wasn't to be, I missed it by a minute and 14 seconds. It did get my psyched for next year!

We finally got to see Brent and Caroline that afternoon. Susan and I are fans of the History Channel show American Pickers. Susan did some research and discovered that their shop was in LeClaire, just a few miles from Bettendorf. We all piled into the Suburu Outback and found the shop. It looks just like it does on TV however it stands right next to a gas station-convenience store which they leave out of the picture. I always thought they were out in the country somewhere but they are right downtown just feet off the main drag. It was surreal and there were all kinds of fellow tourist-fans taking photos of everything. We kept seeing items Mike and Frank picked on the show. Inside was amazing and crowded. There were two women at the front counter running the cash register (we later learned that one of them was Mike's sweetie). In the enclosed garage were more treasures and Danielle from the show. The Evans clan got a family photo with her. If you look closely you'll see Susan's feet a few inches above the ground. Susan bought a couple of items and a cool T-shirt. I think for Susan, seeing American Archeology was the high point of the trip.

Brent, Caroline, and Elliot treated us to lunch at Sneaky Pete's (a local institution). We had a great view of the Mississippi (rising by 5 feet over the next day or so and flooding some of the lower areas of the Quad) and a great view of all the remnants of ties nailed to the ceiling. Apparently tie wearers lose their neckwear to a pair of scissors if they eat there. Susan ate a buffalo burger (her first one) but I think she really wanted the big ol' steak Elliot devoured. Afterwards we visited a couple of cute local boutiques and got Mr. B a LED light for his collar. Afterwards we had a great visit hanging out with the Evans.

Susan and I hit the Figge art museum in Davenport the following day. She loved it. Great architecture and excellent shows. She did get busted for touching a few giant ceramic pieces. A guard came over a few minutes later and said they saw her on the survellience cameras...he was very nice about it. We had an awesome lunch at one of my very favorite restaurants; Hi Ho Mongolian BBQ. I eat there whenever I am in town. Susan had had Mongolian BBQ before in Denver at a bastardized version of one but this time she got the real deal and wasn't disappointed. I was a very happy camper during that meal. I've been dying for one here in Andalusia for years. It is healthy and super tasty! It is a great alternative to fast food and other restaurants.

We spent the evening hanging with Evans. It was so nice sitting by the pool watching the sunset and watching little Suzy jump in the pool and swim around...that must be the lab in her. So cute! We played Apples to Apples after a wonderful meal prepared by my family. We said our goodbyes and retired to the motel. Brent is coming down to Alabama in a few weeks for some work training. I hope we can see him for a little while.

We hit the trail Monday morning and made our way back to Knoxville and browsed very slowly through Dick Blick and drooled over the art supplies. We decided to drive home a different route so east we went across Illinois. We had killer Butterburgers at Culverts in Bloomington and I hurt myself on their wonderful custard. Susan took lots of pictures. We crossed the Stateline into Indiana near Danville and headed South. I had made that drive before and loved it. The drive is lovely and Susan got to see a small part of Indiana (another state for her life list). We stayed the night in Evansville at a beautiful LaQuinta motel. It was cheaper than the Super 8 dump we stayed in in Bettendorf. Tuesday our last day on the road began with some high octane coffee from Starbucks and we zoomed south. We picked up Mr. B around sunset, got home and collapsed. It was good to be home!