The rainy start

With plans of leaving Topeka at 7am and getting to Amarillo by 5pm, Jim Larry and I met at the Quick Shop (Jim was late of course but I knew 7:30-8:00 was more like the time we would leave. Hard rain in the Flint Hills just past Emporia, Ks beat us like a jockey on the home stretch for miles. If you know anything about the Flint Hills is that there is nowhere to pull over under an overpass, there are none. We followed each others tail lights until the rest stop and waited for the rain to stop.

Oklahoma brought brief sun and Leos BBQ. A highly rated joint that looks like it used to be a gas station back in the days. Menu is simple; ribs, beef, chicken, sausage. Sides; beans, fries, okra, mac salad. Great service and bbq was good considering it was not kansas bbq.

Rain, Oklahoma City to just shy of Amarillo. Everyone at the gas stations thanked us for coming because they have not had any rain this year and our bad luck has "blessed them". Glad we could help.

The Big Texan Steak House is known for the 72oz. Sirloin. Finish it in an hour along with a baked potato, roll, salad and 3 butterfly shrimp and you get it free. If not $72. I signed up to eat it (when in Texas Right?) I was immediately handed a waiver. Pay up front in case you get sick and medical help s needed. If you do get sick you lose, stand up, you lose, have someone else help you eat it or cut it up (this actually came into play later). You have to eat everything but the fat.  You sit on stage, they announce your name and place the steak in front of you. This is when you realize, this may have been a mistake. In front of you is a hunk of meat cooked to your liking sprawled out on a platter bigger than a turkey platter. And then it begins. Strangers snapping photos of you cutting and chewing at a feverish place. Some try to talk to you, give you encouragement, most though just belt out a "Jesus, thats huge". On any given Friday night, I would consider this statement a compliment. Not tonight. Tonight I had my work cut out for me. Mike Tyson once said "Everyone has a plan until I punch them in the face". I had a plan. Eat all the protein first and not fill up on carbs. Watch the drink intake. Well that is a great plan until your jaw gets tired from chewing. So I went for the soft easy swallowing potato, then the shrimp then back to the steak. The shrimp offered a nice flavor alternative......

I didn't fnish the steak but I never stopped eating. Everything was eaten and I had just shy of 3 pounds of steak in me. I neglected to warn my trip mates what happens when I eat steak and potatoes at 10:00pm. They found out later.