Joe Bliven

The lobby of the Blackhawk Hotel


Meet me in St. Louis

July 30th, 2021

Julian's wake up call came ten minutes before my alarm, so Julian owes me ten minutes of sleep. I went downstairs to get an Americano from the coffee shop attached to the building. This building has everything: apartments, hotel rooms, martini bar, bowling alley, a restaurant (with a second bar), a barber shop, and a coffee shop! Davenport is a very livable city, especially if you live at the Black Hawk. I got a plastic bag at the front desk; for my toilet shirt. I got packed up and we hit the bus, which took off at 10am. I managed to doze off in spite of the espresso, but the back of the bus crew made sure to wake me up for my 11am tequila shot. Dr. Dave and Tom took turns picking our soundtrack for the ride to St. Louis. They are a couple of righteous DJs. We made a food stop where Dad, Jerry, and I went to Taco Bell. I waited to eat mine on the bus so I could give Amelia a call, salt Elena was in Albert Lea so I couldn't talk to her in the same call. I spent the lunch hour on the phone but got off before the bus left. The rest of the drive was pretty easy with a full stomach, good tunes, and good company.

I think there's money in there...


When we got to our rooms I managed to get a little nap in after another phone call with Android and Maya. I woke up just before the happy hour at our hotel bar (The Drury Union Station). Each guest is comped three drinks each day during their happy hour. Unfortunately, we only had a half hour before we had to leave for the game, so I only got to use one of my comps. I think the trick is to buy all three at the same time (every guest is comped so it's a long line) and then drink the three of them fast. I'll have to try out my theory tomorrow. I sat with Joan and Sarah, Dick joined us soon after, and my dad eventually joined us too. It was nice getting to know them a little better. We walked down to the ballpark and got our free jerseys. We got to our seats early for the first time this trip so I had my lineup all ready by the time the game started. Both teams changed their lineups right before the game started just to screw with me. The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth. The Cardinals had three on, two outs, and the batter had two strikes. The Twins let up a double that brought in all three runners. The score stayed 4-1 through the rest of the game. I learned about the Mendoza line this game, if a Player is batting over .200 they're over the Mendoza line!

"Sounds like a great game!"


We walked home. I took a shower because it was another hotter than hell game. Dad passed out. He slept through most at bats too, just waking up to the bat making contact so he could see the play and doze off again. I went down to the Irish bar next door (Maggie's) to see if anyone was there, on the way I ran into Mike. He was on my last trip to St. Louis. He's a big music nerd who goes to a ton of shows, especially at First Ave. He had just flown in and would be joining us for the rest of the trip. When I got to the bar only Pat and Al were there. Al tagged me into his seat and went back to the hotel. Pat and I stayed until after last call but ran out of beer.

As I was leaving for Maggie's I noticed these glasses in the hallway. I took a photo to see if they belonged to Dad. Sure enough, they did!




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