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Missouri Equinics Diary
Alas, the torch is now in the Midwest, coming by train from the last host. Missouri recently had one of its worst storms in history, the torch came right through Kansas City as they declared a state of emergency. Needless to say, there was enough action and the Equinics party and torch coming right through it all put folks in a good mood. 300,000 people are without power, but the Torch is keeping the light going in them. Thanks in advance to Bill Grant for letting us use these very fine pictures.
Day One:
The Equinics Torch came in from northern Missouri around the Kansas City Area.
The picture above shows the Kansas City skyline at dusk, the torch carried by longtime resident, and tipster of Show-Me Tips & Stable, Dchance. David carried it to the park where we took a break and had a picnic. A lot of small children seem to have a thing for trying to burn themselves on the torch, we had to keep a close eye on it. Connor was across the park on the swings also with Misti and Packrat. Packrat was scouring the park for things he could take home, while Misti and Connor were still on the swings. After lunch we packed up and started our travel east to St. Louis. We weren’t really sure why we decided to cross the state, and then come halfway back across again to make it to Jefferson City, the capital. Well, we hitched up my RV equipped with a torch holder inside. It made the torch double as a cigarette holder for Jayvee as well.
Day Two:
Day Two begun with the ice storm I mentioned above. The RV’s wheels were stuck in about 3 inches of ice so I volunteered Stlcrards and Erniea to go get some rock salt. A few hours later we were loose but the bad roads were really slowing us down. As you can see on the map we were taking 40 Highway straight across to St. Louis. Once we cleared a hundred miles from Kansas City we were good, and baby we were having way too much fun in a 20 foot RV. About 2 in the afternoon Atticus started begging for some food, so we had Skunkworks go open up the storage compartment and get her some of his world famous skunkfeed. It wasn’t exactly what she had in mind for lunch, but she did eat it! A little while later Upset was getting a little hungry and was showing his temper. Skunkfeed wasn’t going to cut it for this guy so we pulled over at a McDonalds and got some burgers. Pugsley went in and bought about 12 of them, and finished them off one by one in front of us, boy it wasn’t a pretty sight when he realized his stomach wouldn’t hold 12 double quarter pounders with cheese. Redturkey2 actually skipped the fat and went across the road to a Deli and ordered a turkey sandwich on rye.
Day became evening and the 74 Missouri residents had to get out of that RV and quickly. Proracing called for a charter bus so the rest of the trip should be a bit more comfortable.
Day Three:
Day Three we arrived in St. Louis and of course the first place to torch went was to the St. Louis Arch! We rode that baby to the top and back down. It got pretty warm in that elevator needless to say, but we were on a mission. Pegasus suggested that we have a mini-parade on the grounds of the arch and so we did. All 74 of us lined up, as I let Wassie carry the torch for us, we marched and marched until people started asking us exactly what we were doing. I guess some folks weren’t a bit sure, as Atticus replied “uhh, we’re uh movin this big fire stick ‘cross the state, sir.” I think that skunkfeed had a negative effect on humans. Beware of that stuff. That night we filled the St. Louis air with laughter as we hit a comedy club in the downtown section, then we followed that up in a Jazz Music outfit to get some of that swing style Missouri does so well. That night we were all pretty tired, so we booked 74 rooms at the Best Western. I know its not exactly the hotel of choice, but it looked decent.
Day Four:
Day 4 begun a bit early. 4:32 AM to be exact. Jrth came running from his room screaming there were ants in his pants, and I guess there were. Apparently the Best Western in downtown isn’t known for its great maid services. So, after a bit of yelling and screaming and a change of clothes he was fine, but we were all awake now. We enjoyed the free breakfast (its funny to watch 74 people take advantage of a free breakfast). We picked up the torch and started on our trip to Branson. There was a party waiting for us in Branson allright! The trip was a bit long, so we all took a nap in the bus until we arrived.
Day Five:
Day 5 was – Branson! Most of us were waiting for this moment. You have to be a bit careful in Branson, from experience I know you can lose 500 bucks in one day, so I tried to tell the residents not to be such big spenders but Frogmarch was already counting his fives. We decided to stay at the elegant Castle Hotel which actually looks like a Castle, and the white house mixed in together. The fine Branson police blocked off the main drag, which has never been done in Branson history by the way; for this Equinics torch parade. I decided to let more long-time residents carry the torch for this event, because my weak little arms were getting tired from this trip. Tommyvee, Alphabetso, and Oceanview were invited to do the honors. We lined up 4 wide and 18 deep. It was quite a spectacle, as our tiny tipsheet had never done such big things. The Show-Me Tips Band directed by Ladysierra marched in front, then followed by the torch, and ended with the rest of the residents cheering and waving to the crowds lining the streets. After the parade we all retired to a fine restaurant for some evening dining. Astin footed the bill for us, and we were off to bed for tommorow’s trip.
Day Six:
Day Six – Journey to Jefferson City. We decided for the final leg of the journey we’d scrap the tour bus and go a bit more classy. We hired a private jet from St. Louis International and after a bit of fighting got the torch onboard as well. The Leather seats were a nice change from the cheap cloth on the tour bus. You could tell several of the residents had never seen anything quite like this. The stewardess served out the cheap peanuts and cokes at about 10:30 and she said we’re one of the last to get those. Airlines gotta cut down on the spending so they are putting the sack on the free peanuts. So, that made those 83 cents they spent on us taste even better! About 2:00 we landed In Jefferson City, the state capital. Since it was a Saturday we had to make special arrangements to march to the steps of the capital building, and those were now in place. Stylez777 claimed to have military experience, so I let him bark the orders today. He reprimanded HardHead and Poppop1 but the march went flawlessly. On the steps of the capital we had the senators speak a bit about what they felt was Equinics spirit, then the governor stepped up to give a few words thanking us for the peaceful marches we’d had so far. The final speaker was me, and I took that opportunity to lean against the podium and speak a few words about how we’re going to do well on “The Saturday.” After all that excitement, we decided we’d better catch some dinner and some ZZZ’s because tomorrow was the big day!
Day Seven:
THE BIG DAY! The city was in an uproar as morning broke, the parties were already beginning, and little kids were running down the streets yelling “HORSIES!” Ohh, the spirit is great! Dchance was setting the bar up for the adults little party. Its pretty sad I can’t go though because I am not quite an adult yet, but I suppose I’ll hear the stories, or even possibly see the negative effects.
Mid-Morning came faster than I could have expected. The stage was ready for tonight’s concert and Equinics party. Everyone from the sim was invited to join us for this and several of the simsports team were already there. Billgulch, Flstables, & Supertoy7 were ready for action!
At noon the party was started. We reserved the city park and now had Equinics banners flying everywhere. We had a bluegrass band up on the stage and Skunkworks and Frogmarch were break dancing together on the dance floor. I decided to join in and a showed them a few tricks on how to do the worm. Below is a quick photo we snapped of Skunkworks showing his stuff.
Mid-Afternoon we kicked into high gear. We had 400 people come from all over the world to the Missouri party, and we decided that as a special touch we’d have a huge bonfire lit from the torch. The Missouri residents gathered wood most of the day until we had a pile of wood 33 feet tall. We soaked it down in gas, and lit her up with the torch. It was a huge fire and when dark came about 5:30 we definitely could still see. The Ladies at Show-Me Tips & Stable served up some hot chocolate and cookies for everyone, and the loud music began. Mike’s “Red Fish Blue Fish” band played for us all, and everyone was having a great time. Cronefly was a bit tired and took a nap by the tree, in the meantime a few people thought if would be funny to put shaving cream in his ear. It was pretty funny when he woke up. The night is dwindling away, and our torch carrying is as well. I am not quite sure who picks it up from us, but we hope they have as much fun as we did. It was a bit cold, it was a bit wet, but no one can take Missouri out of its cheerful mindset. Good Night. –Matt
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