On my most recent cross country trip for my football team, I have yet again been assured that I am not insane. I couldn’t possibly be insane when there are six other guys doing the same thing I am. Hang on, let me apologize for getting ahead of myself…
It all started after our Racine Raider game. After our away games, it’s usually a mad scramble to find a restaurant that isn’t fast food that’s still open. I had already given up on the idea of a hot juicy bacon cheese burger from Applebee’s; hence me getting like three Dr. Peppers and a bag of Friday’s cheddar bacon potato skins. As I sat in my hotel room watching animal planet’s top ten most deadly animals, I hear through my open door the idea that a group of players were going to find a way to get to Applebee’s. I still hadn’t showered at this point, but I didn’t care, I flew down the stairs in the same shirt that I had worn to the game and began brain storming with the group. We decided that another player, Lucas Gibson, should drive us there in his truck. Once we find Lucas we all hop in the back of his open truck bed like a bunch Mexicans. Once on the road everything seemed as if my hunger might be satisfied, so naturally I put the cold wind and uncomfortable seating in the back of my mind. I should have known better…
Some how someone got directions from a friend of a friends ex-wife second cousin’s baby’s nephew, problem is the city of Racine doesn’t believe in street signs. This is where the real adventure begins. As it turns out Applebee’s was only ten minutes from our hotel; our trip time was forty-five minutes. The first street we turned down was the correct one if we had kept going down the street, but we turned because that’s what lost people do when they get directions from someone’s baby’s nephew. Maybe the driver, Lucas, was scared and panicking because he was lost or maybe traffic laws are different in his native “country” of Vandalia, because we hopped curbs, ran red lights, busted u- turns, and speed beyond all belief all while having a packed cabin and a packed bed of his truck. Our adventure took us past a land fill, our hotel twice, and some weird neighborhood; all the while Troy, another player, kept going on about something. I don’t think anyone was really paying attention but that didn’t stop him from talking about his three tours in WW I. We finally make it to Applebee’s right when the manager is closing the store. Luckily some other teammates had already made the journey and kept the restaurant open. Long story short we all ate our food that had been surely spit on and enjoyed it. And yes my bacon cheese burger was as good as anticipated.
I make it back to my room to find animal planet still on and my roommate snoring in sync with our broken air conditioner fan. I didn’t care I was sleepy, so I finished a warm Dr. Pepper and crashed. Will I ever go back to Racine? Probably, but next time I will just order pizza.
