We cased the joint (busch stadium) that night after dinner. That’s Jonathan on the left. On the drive to St. Lou he told us stories that involved Wade Boggs, Dan Quayle, mystic turtles and sea bananas that have seriously changed my life. Someday, if dreams come true, I’ll be sharing animated Wade Boggs short films with you.

My foodie friend, B. Whitmer Hoffmann, told me we had to hit up Pappy’s. He said the ribs changed his life. Hoffy knows smoked meats so I took his recommendation as a mandate. So we went there on Thursday. From the outside it looks meager.

Everything changes when you get inside. It took about 15 min. waiting in line just to get to this point. It smelled like a meat carnival and everyone was giddy with anticipation.

You know it’s good if Willy likes it.

Game-changing, life-changing, soul-lifting, belly-bursting, mouth-watering, brain-melting good. We spent the rest of the day burping up pork smoke which felt like a like an extra, undeserved gift from Pappy himself.

From there we went to Busch. We went down on the field to tape the Dodgers’ practice. Watching Don Mattingly throwing BP was pretty cool. We taped the interview with Jamey in the Champions Club under the stadium. Around 5pm we got caught sneaking where we weren’t allowed and excused ourselves from the premises to avoid being forced out.

We admired ‘Merica before dinner.

We sat with the Dodgers’ family and did our best to ward off a heat stroke. Such a cool stadium.

I guess when your town and stadium was built by Heiser Busch you get gravity-defying, outerspace beer technology. Crazy.

We left in the fifth inning for the long drive home. Big thanks to Jenny Stambaugh for making us snack bags full of tasty treats. Dried edamame  is my new favorite thing. All in all, it was yet another reminder of how road trips are so amazingly good for the soul.

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