Run to the Games: Minneapolis to the District

The trip thus far has spanned 11 days and 13 states with one district thrown in for good measure. At last update we had just arrived in Minneapolis at Toms house. The day after arriving we got to go to a twins game at the beautiful new target field. We had great seats thanks to Toms mom and we made sure to get there early enough to get a tour of this new facility. Peter and I kept a score card but the twins got their butts kicked. We followed that up with some beers in downtown before heading to an Irish pub to meet one of toms friend and play some trivia. Emma was very excited to have Tom back in town. Trivia was really difficult. The next morning we took our journey via light rail to the "MALL OF AMERICA". We went begrudgingly because I still did not have glasses. I got some new ones aLand we made sure to get out of there quick. It was surprisingly packed for a monday morning and it seemed like there were atleast 2 of every store. Later we meet up with toms friend and biked to uptown to get some dinner. My buddy Mike who I havent seen in 5 years stopped by and it was good to reconnect. We biked home but Tom got a flat so Lauren waited and rode the bus with him. The big development was that Tom decided he would join us on the next section of the trip and then fly back to Minneapolis on the 16th so Lauren had someone to drive with. Tuesday morning we headed off bright and early to Chicago. We made our way through Wisconsin making a quick lunch stop in Madison and then dealing with our first toll roads which would end up eating a lot of money on this trip. Getting close to chicago was crazy. The amount of people on the Miracle Mile where we stayed seemed to equal that of everywhere else we had been combined. I was very happy I didnt drive that section. Tom met up with an old friend while Peter Lauren and I walked around before taking a cab to the MapRoom which is a really cool little beer bar. Tom and his friend eventually met up with us and then we headed off for some sushi. After sushi we jumped in a cab and headed back downtown to the Hancock tower which is one of the tallest in the US. On the ride I got to talking with the cabbie. Abdi was a nice guy whose family lives in Nairobi but he is from Somalia and his dream is to Motorbike from Cape town to Cairo. Pretty cool idea. We took the elevator up to the bar and the view was amazing. After the bar shut down Peter decided to plank a series of different structures on the way back to the hotel. The next morning we got up and headed out for Youngstown Ohio. We collected our beers in different states then drove through all of Indiana and Ohio. Midway I though that I had lost my wallet and freaked out...not my best moment. Lauren saved the day and the trip and my sanity by finding it crammed between some seats. We arrived in Youngstown after almost everything was closed so got our Ohio beer at Chili's. All of our eyes were bigger than our stomachs but around 10:30 pm that can happen. The next morning we woke up and said our goodbyes. Tom and Lauren were off on their 9:30 hour journey to Stores Connecticut and Peter and I were headed to Washington DC. Friday we will all meet again for our weekend in the Big Apple. We made our first stop for lunch in Pittsburgh were I got to meet up with another friend I hadnt seen in 5 years. Again it was great to catch up after such a long time. Peter and I actually got our beers comped at the lunch spot because the manager liked his car and the story of our road trip. We found our tattoos then headed to Maryland where we got an early dinner and were stuck in the worst traffic of the trip. Who would have thought that Fredrick Maryland would be a stand still on a Thursday at 4:30. We stopped for our Maryland beer and an early bite to eat before our last little stretch to Peters new life. We made our way around the belt way and finally pulled up to his house in the District. His house is situated about a mile from the football stadium, down the street from a high school and right next to a homeless shelter. The house is pretty nice but his room is miniscule. Basically it is less wide than the MJ wingspan poster by a few feet. We unpacked the car and started to get settled before buying our bus tickets for tomorrows trip to NYC for the weekend. And now for the part you only look at anyways.