[kuh-nek-shuhn]
-noun
1. anything that connects; connecting part; link; bond.
2. a circle of friends or associates or a member of such circle.
3. contextual relation; context, as of a word.
4. that of the psychic kind.
Whether you believe in #4 or not, most of us have felt a deeper connection to one thing or another at some point in our lives. It can be in the form of finishing a loved one's sentences, a sense of nostalgia from a favorite childhood toy or photograph, or having a friend who you don't see for years at a time but can pick up with right where you left off on the few occasions when you do. To a large extent our lives are defined by the connections we make, keep, and carry with us throughout. The hard parts are 1) knowing which ones are nightmares in disguise that need to be severed and 2) having the strength to reach out and reconnect the bridges we shouldn't have burned. Fortunately, our good connections are there to help us with the former, and I don't think it's ever too late to reach out in regards to the latter.
Anyway, my day to EDM on 6/26/10 was spent in Kansas City, MO with a group of guys for a bachelor party. Of the friends I've stayed close with since high school, the groom is the last to get married. My connections with the rest of the guys were established at varying times and have developed to varying levels, but we all came together and had a pretty sweet day.
The plan was to catch the Royals-Cardinals game in KC that day and head to the Power and Light District for some entertainment that night. Pretty tame as your average bachelor party goes, but we're not exactly 25 anymore.
Most of the guys live in Des Moines, IA, so all but 2 of us made the drive and stayed there the night before so we could get an early start toward Kansas City in the morning. We bunked at a few guys houses that night, got up early the next morning, piled into a couple of vehicles and were on our way.
For breakfast we just hit McDonalds on our way out of Des Moines and ate in the cars. Nothing special, but for someone that only eats McDonalds/Hardees/Wendys/etc about 3 times a year it was a treat. Something about it always takes me back to a simpler time when my biggest decision every week was choosing between which Saturday cartoons to watch on which channels because there was always multiple good ones on at the same time...yeah, it's pretty much just like this:
The next couple of hours were pretty standard. It's a pretty boring drive so I pulled out my computer and worked a bit on the blog. Slightly anti-social, I know, but the other three guys in the car didn't have any trouble carrying on a conversation without me, and they were the same guys I rode with to Des Moines the night before so I figured I could get a bit of work done without looking like too much of a jack-ass. At least not more than normal.
We stopped at a gas station just before the Missouri border for a pit stop and got back on the road for the last hour or so of the drive. Too boring? Sorry, but it sets up the next leg of the story.
We stopped at another gas station just outside of KC after an hour more of driving. One of the guys needed to hit an ATM for some cash, and another "pit stop" was in order for those of us that didn't take advantage of the last one. While we were taking care of our bathroom business, the guy needing the ATM realized he was going to have a hard time getting cash. Not because the ATM was broke, but because his money clip was gone. No ATM card, no credit cards, no cash, but most importantly to the trip no ID. Credit cards can be canceled, cash can be borrowed, but getting into any bar that night without an ID was going to be tough.
He knew he had it at the previous stop so he found the number for that gas station (gotta love the internet) and gave them a call. The amazing thing was that someone found it, turned it in, and nothing was missing from it. The only problem now was that we had to go back and get it, and we were already running a bit late for the game as it was. Long story short, there is now officially a second Saint Chad (I'm just as surprised as you - there is actually already a St. Chad). He wasn't going to the game so he volunteered to drive back to get the clip during the game and meet up with us at the hotel afterward. A pain in the ass for him, but a trip saver for most of the rest of us.
Disaster averted, we made it to the hotel and met up with the last of our crew, got checked in, and headed off to the game. It was my first time to Kauffman Stadium. A bit on the smaller side as major league ballparks go (25th out of 29 when it comes to maximum capacity), but a nice place to see a game anyway. Freeway access to the area wasn't terribly cluttered, parking was free, and the walk from the parking lot wasn't too bad either. Our seats were a ways up the upper deck, but not bad at all as they gave us a great bird's eye view of the field.
...and apparently a nice view of the back of some guy's head
The food and drink were about what you would expect at a major league baseball game. Most snacks and beverages were a bit overpriced, but I was still able to find a few deals. For starters, 32oz of domestic beer was only $7. Figure you're going to pay $3-$4 for a 16oz pint in a bar, so that really isn't too bad. We got to our level of the stadium and I didn't waste any time buying a beer for myself and one for the bachelor.
Did I mention it was hot in KC that day? Well it was friggin' hot, like over 100 degrees with the heat index hot. So hot that the 32oz beers went down pretty quick. I started getting a bottle of water with each beer to keep myself hydrated and that's when things started getting expensive. 32oz of beer for just $7, but just 16oz of water for $5? Funky, whacked-out ballpark math. Oh well, I was at a baseball game so I had to have a few beers, and it was over 100 degrees so I had to have water. Nature of the beast, I guess.
While those 32oz mega beers were around every corner, I had to do a bit more searching for decently priced food. I finally found what I was looking for. It came in the form of a half pound (I'm estimating, but it was at least a half pound) foot-long brat, cooked to perfection and topped with a healthy heap of kraut and onions. Again, just $7. I got that right around the fourth inning and was good on food for the rest of the game.
That was about it. What else are you going to do at a ballgame? 1) Get a beer, 2) go back to your seat, 3) drink the beer, 4) go back to step one and repeat...not that I have any problem with that. The Cardinals won the game 5-3 which didn't make me too happy (not because I'm any kind of KC fan, I just hate the Cardinals...aaah, one of my fondest baseball memories is still sitting in the right field bleachers at Wrigley and informing then Cardinals' right fielder Chris Duncan that the had excessive sweat around his buttock region...obnoxiously - I believe the word "swamp" was in my description...and repeatedly), but it was great to spend the afternoon with a big group of guys in a ballpark. Most importantly, the bachelor seemed to be having a pretty good start to the day.
The A/C in the car ride back to the hotel was heaven. Had it not been working we may have had to kill the vehicles owner. We got back to the hotel pretty quick, but had a hard time getting up to our rooms. There was an elevator heading up to the guest rooms from the parking ramp and we waited for it for what seemed like forever. We finally realized that hitting the "up" button didn't do much of anything and you had to hit the "down" button to get on. When it finally arrived, the two lovely young ladies who were waiting in front of us got on and proceeded to let the doors shut before any of us could get on (more on them later).
Sick of waiting I decided to take the stairs down 3 flights to main floor so I could catch the main elevator in the lobby. I changed my mind when I got in the stairwell and proceeded to run up to our floor (because going up 14 flights didn't seem all that bad of an idea at the time...stinkin', cheep 32oz beers, always clouding my judgment). I finally made it to the 18th floor, walked through the door and into the hallway, made it down to our rooms and collapsed on the floor.
I would have collapsed in one of our rooms, but all the locks got reset and nobody's key was working (apparently some mix-up because all the rooms were under one name, but the first guy who arrived separately checked in under another). They guy who's name the rooms were originally reserved under finally showed up with a new set of room keys, I got a much needed shower, and all was right with the world...or at least it was until I got the update on the two elevator nazis that wouldn't let us on the elevator in the parking ramp.
The guys that stayed and waited for the elevator after I decided to give myself a heart attack running up the stairs eventually went down the stairs to catch the main elevator in the lobby. As they approached the lobby elevators they saw the same two girls getting on another elevator. The girls, misjudging how well sound traveled in the lobby (it was like an amphitheater in there), said something along the lines of oh, here comes those stinky guys and got on another elevator. Really? Huh. So the first thing I learned that day is that guys start to stink after they've sat for 3 hours in 100 degree heat. No shit?
As we all took our turns getting cleaned up we started collecting at the bar in the lobby. At the time just about everyone else had arrived I stumbled on my second learning point of the day: before you're going to walk up behind a guy and jokingly jab a finger in his ribs you had better make sure he is who you think he is. As I headed to the bar for a beer I saw what I thought was 2 guys in our group facing the bar to order a drink. I jabbed a finger in the first guy's ribs and then the second. I got the reaction I expected out of the first guy, but the second guy didn't hesitate to let me know he wasn't who I thought he was. Ummmm, whoops? He wasn't upset, but he wasn't too happy about it either. He got his drink and made a B-line for anywhere I wasn't.
Oh well, my jack-ass moment for the day was done. For a couple other guys in our group, however, theirs were just beginning. Just after my incident we realized that those two guys were wearing pretty much exactly the same thing:
1. Long sleeved, button down, collard Polo shirt with thin vertical stripes alternating white and one other color (same exact shirt, just different color). They even both had the little emblem with the little dude riding the horse.
2. Blue jeans.
3. Converse All-Star shoes (exactly the same style, just different color).
What made it even better was that the color of the shoes and shirts were bright and relatively bold; green, pink, orange, and purple. One guy finally decided to tuck in his shirt just so they looked at least somewhat different. I don't remember which guy was wearing which colors, but this crude artist's rendering should give you the idea:
So, the third thing I learned that day was that there really is such a thing as unspoken male telepathy. I did a bit of research online and and found further proof, as documented in the first minute of this clip from the short lived but very cheeky British comedy, Spaced (sorry, couldn't embed it...you'll have to use this link to get over to it): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sqSQ5Vu8vM
If you're curious, we stayed at the Crown Plaza in downtown KC. The room key and parking lot elevator issues were a little ridiculous, but were the only real problems I had with it. We crammed 4 or so to a room which made it a bit crowded, but they were nice enough, and we weren't in them long enough to get too claustrophobic. Anyway, we didn't stay there for the size of the rooms, we stayed there mainly for its proximity to the Power and Light District.
I had never been to the PLD before, but I'll make it a point to go back. There is a bit of a dress code, but other than that it is a really nice set-up. In the area we went to (the area on this map where it says Live Stage), you flash your ID to get in and that's it. You're in for the night and have the option of moving between a bunch of bars and restaurants that share a common outdoor area. Varying in style and theme, there was a bar there for just about everyone.
We started with dinner at McFaddens Sports Saloon. I remember the tap beer selection being pretty stellar, but the 32oz Guinness for $7.25 blinded me to everything else. Sorry, slacking on the job here, but I don't remember exactly what else they had. Being in a group of 10, we had to wait a bit for our table, but that beautiful behemoth of a brew helped me to pass the time.
They ended up seating us next to a bachelorette party and it didn't take long for the unattached guys in our group to make their move. Sadly enough, we were already acquainted with 2 of them. That's right, the elevator nazis! If I remember right, one of them was even the bride. I swear, lady coincidence likes to follow me around.
I was in the mood for a burger so I didn't take too close a look at anything else on the menu, but if the burger I ordered offers any indication on the rest of the menu it all has to be good. My burger of choice, which a bunch of us actually went with, was the BBQ Texan. It's a $9 burger, but well worth that price for 1/2 pound of beef cooked to order, homemade BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, smoked bacon, and cheddar cheese. I enjoyed every ounce of BBQ goodness and the fries that came with it were pretty tasty as well.
We had a few more drinks and finished the meal. We saw our last of the elevator nazis and moved on into the night. At various parts of the night, and with various members of the group, I stopped into Raglan Road Irish Pub, Angels Rock Bar, and PBR Big Sky (country-western themed), but most of the night was spent in Howl At The Moon, a piano bar that featured 6 musicians rotating through 2 pianos and other various instruments for about 6 hours. They rotated through each instrument and took turns taking a break, which allowed them to go from song to song without stopping much through the night. They all played the bejesus out of every instrument they picked up and put on quite the show.
We made it all the way to the 3am closing. A couple of guys veered off and continued their evenings, but the rest of us headed back to the hotel. We quickly realized we didn't really know where we were going, but somehow didn't get too concerned and headed off in what we thought was the general direction of the hotel. Amazingly, we proved once again that a bunch of guys aimlessly wandering around will eventually find their way home.
Again, a pretty tame night compared to your stereotypical bachelor party, but it never really felt like we were lacking in the fun department. The bachelor seemed to have a great time and that's all that really matters. Anyway, he's having another one before the big day, so he'll be able to get to anything he didn't get accomplished the first time around.
Overall I rate the food for the day at about 3.5/5 (while fantastic, it was basically just burgers and brats), the drink at 5/5 and overall merriment at 5/5. It was a day where old bonds were continued, others strengthened, and some new ones were made. Any day you can say you accomplished all that is a good one.
Back soon with a post about a day that included good company, a personal tour around an Iowa (yes, Iowa) vineyard, and a Saturday night hunt through downtown Iowa City for a surprisingly illusive beer.
Until then, take a day to Eat, Drink, & be Merry
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