Day Twenty-One - Poplar Bluff, Missouri

*pictures to be added at a later date*

Jess ignored her alarm this morning and I slept through any and all noises, so we had a decently pleasant wake up around 9:30 this morning. Bryce had also called early in the morning, and talking to him helps me sleep much better. We picked up our stuff and were ready to head out by 10:15 or so. Jessica's Uncle Brian had left out a note and some food for breakfast and road snacks, so Jess grabbed a bagel and I grabbed some chocolate peanut butter cookies (who was I to even try to resist their chocolaty, nutty goodness?) and we loaded up the car.

From there, we headed down to Louisville (pronounced Lou-ah-ville, according to the people we met in Nashville and data collected from random passerbys). The giant baseball bat (the world's largest, I am inclined to believe), marks the entry into the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. Entry into the museum includes a tour of the factory and was only ten dollars...so worth it. The factory tour actually takes you into the working Louisville Slugger Factory (unlike the Hershey's Chocolate Factory tour - which, while fun, does not actually show you the candy being made). The tour guide speaks in a voice reminiscent of game day announcers, beckoning you to the start of the tour and instructing you to stay in between the yellow lines, do not touch any of the machinery (duh...) and lets you know that photography inside the factory is not permitted (insert *sigh* here). All (wooden) Louisville Slugger bats come from 80,000 acres of maple and ash forests on the border of Pennsylvania and New York. The forest is maintained by the company and is considered to be one of the best hardwood forests in the world. The trees are allowed to mature for approximately eighty years before they are cut. The trees are then cut into billets, cylindrical pieces of wood about 42 inches long and three inches in diameter. At this point, the wood is inspected to determine what type of bat it will be used for. The highest quality wood is used for professional bats, then commercial bats (what we would buy in retail stores) and then mini-bats. Originally, a billet would be secured to a device that would spin the bat while a worker would sand the bat down to the desired dimensions. Shaping bats this way would take approximately 20 minutes per bat (which still seems impressively quick). We were able to watch a demonstration of this, and it was indeed impressive. Now, however, machines allow bats to be made much quicker. A different, more complicated, computerized machine makes the professional bats, engineering them to within 1/100 of an inch of the requested model (less than the thickness of two slips of paper). Up until this point, the bats still maintain a stub on either end which allows them to be sanded without damage to the bats. Once they are sanded, the stubs are removed and the ends sanded smooth before they are branded. A brand is heated up to 1,300 degrees before the bat is rolled across it. The Louisville Slugger logo is placed on the point where the grain of the wood makes a "V." This is the weakest part of the bat, so for all of you budding baseball stars, hit with the logo facing up, so that the ball strikes the strongest part of the bat - where the grain is straight and closer together. Depending on the type of wood, the bat is either branded or a logo sticker is added. I believe it was maple that was too brittle and would not handle the high temperatures without cracking. The branded bats are sanded again to remove excess char, and then dipped in the paint or lacquer of choice. On our way out of the factory, we were each given a complimentary mini-bat to take home with us. Pretty cool for only a ten dollar entrance fee.

The museum itself include famous bats of the past 125 years (approximately how long the company has been in business for) as well as photos and quotes from baseball greats. We were able to hold (with gloves on) one of the bats that Mickey Mantle used during the 1956 season. The museum also included a batting cage, but we had to save something for next time.

After a quick peak around the gift shop, we headed back to the car and started making our way to Poplar Bluff, Missouri. I was thinking about eating KFC for lunch (since we were in Kentucky and all), but Popeye's has ruined KFC for me, so I held off and enjoyed some top ramen in the car. It is exceptionally difficult to eat without making a mess (at least for me), especially in the car, but I am getting better with practice.

We made it to Jeri's house in Poplar Bluff by 4:30, crossing back into Central Time on the way (Nashville is in Central Time, but our venture to Lanesville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky had brought us back to Eastern Time). We met her adorable son Ayden, and left him in the care of her mom while she gave us a brief tour of Poplar Bluff and set us up in the campus library while she headed to class. Which means that we are currently listening to someone's rap music while a sports team (I'm going to guess basketball) sits in some sort of enforced study hall while the coach sits in the back and reminds them to get off of Facebook and do their homework.

Once Jeri was finished with class, we headed to Fazoli's, an Italian fast food chain (another food that just doesn't exist one the west coast). The breadsticks were amazing (and yes, if you're counting, this is the third night in a row for breadsticks), and the fettuccine. From there, we headed out to Bullwinkle's, a unique bar that Jeri used to work at. The place was laid back and fun, and like I said, unique. The walls and ceiling were adorned with all sorts of randomness, from a zebra hide to a pterodactyl. One corner of the bar contained a jail cell with an authentic cell door. We tried a new drink, a Washington Apple (as the bartender put it, we had to come all of the way to Missouri to try a Washington Apple). It was a delicious mix of Crown, Apple Pucker and Cranberry juice that tasted almost like apple cider. I tried to practice my pool skills, but I am still nowhere near decent at that game.

Finall it was time to head back to Jeris house and get some much needed rest. Tomorrow we get to sleep in, so it will be nice to catch up on the sleep that we have missed since Nashville.