"Around the State in 70 Stakes. And Shakes.": The Quest

Starting a new blog is always a weird thing.

I have had many blogs in the ... fourteen ... years that I've been actively using the Internet. Starting anew is always weird, 'cause you feel like you have to explain yourself. Someone could be reading that doesn't know you. Or someone who knows you might just want to know why you're blogging here, somewhere new, and not where you used to.

And really, all I ever want to do is just jump right in and talk about whatever it is on my mind that caused me to start a new blog.

I'm going to go with that feeling this time. If you know me, you'll get this -- I hope -- and if you don't, I hope you get to know me and enjoy reading.

I hope you find the answer to that question on your mind. Which at this point almost must be, "Around the State in 70 Steaks. And Shakes. What does it MEAN?"

It means that within the next year, I will be visiting every one of the 70 Steak 'n' Shakes in the glorious state of Indiana. Well, I will, along with my friend Brett, for as many as he can. Brett has this habit of having medical issues come up that sometimes keep him from doing things, and sometimes should keep him from doing things but don't succeed. For example, he emailed me this weekend from the ER for some ankle sprain thing. Quote, "They said it was a really bad sprain and gave me a strong antinflammatory and some pain meds. Still hurts like a bitch though".

I guarantee, though, if I had texted "Sns?" while it was "still hurt(ing) like a bitch though", he'd have agreed to going. His "as many as he can" issue actually has nothing to do with health issues for him. I just wanted to write about his sprained ankle. Which hurts like a bitch.

Reality is, he's leaving this glorious state of Indiana at the end of May to pursue education in the area of instrument repair in Wisconsin. Hopefully the instrument repair he learns is applicable to all states and not just instruments in Wisconsin, but he'll be learning his trade there at any rate. I don't know why. I mean, do they even HAVE Steak 'n' Shakes in Wisconsin? I have a friend who lives in Minnesota who insists upon Steak 'n' Shake visits when she's in town because they have none up there. Wisconsin is close, so I'll assume they don't.

Guys, it's a safe assumption that Brett will DIE when he gets to Wisconsin. He will have nothing to eat. This blog might just turn into a "Save Brett from Wisconsin!" quest, rather than a Steak 'n' Shake quest.

Which brings me back to the original point of this post. The quest, to go to all 70 Steak 'n' Shakes in this glorious state of Indiana.

And I maintain it is a glorious state. Ignoring the hellish ice-storm that happened about a week ago and actually delayed the beginning of this quest, we must face the fact that Indiana, the crossroads of this nation, home of an internationally-known racing venue, and birthplace of a somewhat strange but decidedly likable singer, may-he-rest-in-peace -- Indiana, that Indiana, is also a state with 70 Steak 'n' Shakes. The only state coming in with more Steak 'n' Shakes than the great Hoosier state is Florida, which has 81.

Someday, I'd like to visit Florida. Maybe when I'm old and am forced to retire there.

Ha ha ha -- except that I'm not going to be able to retire. Ever. *weeps inside*

Anyway. Short of Florida, no other state, not one, has as many Steak 'n' Shakes as Indiana, not even the state where Steak 'n' Shake was founded. That's right, my friends, Illinois has but a mere 69 (insert immature giggle here) Steak 'n' Shakes! May it hang its head in shame.

So now that we've answered the question of what exactly this quest is about, the inevitable follow-up question (probably delivered with a slight note of disgust by those doubters) is "WHY?"

Firstly -- well, why not?

Steak 'n' Shake has been my go-to place for the last eight years. As an undergrad, I went regularly with my sorority following major steps in the initiation process for new members. I also went frequently with anyone in that organization (and its brother organization) pretty much any time we just wanted to hang out somewhere. Steak 'n' Shake is open 24/7 -- it's basically ideal for college kids who routinely pull all-nighters, or are having a good weekend and just need to get some food in those stomachs to keep all that jungle juice company.

Since graduating, I've gotten a "real grown up person" job, but my nocturnal habits haven't changed because I work a modified second shift. Every other "real grown up person" out there (well, most of them) get out of work at 5 p.m. on Friday and get a chance to go out for dinner or drinks with their friends to kick off their weekend. I get out of work at 1 on it's-technically-Friday-morning-but-let's-face-it-you-haven't-gone-to-bed-so-it's-really-still-Thursday-night. How is a person like me to kick off a weekend with such a schedule?

Ah yes. That familiar red glow, shining like a beacon through even the darkness of 1 a.m.

Steak 'n' Shake has never failed me. Well, except that one time ....
Don't worry. I'm not going to rehash a million memories here and now. There is no time, and besides, I've got to fill this blog with something other than posts documenting each Steak 'n' Shake trip. At that point, the blog is only 70 (well, 71, counting this one) posts long. And as you may have gathered by now, I'm simply too long-winded for that.

An additional answer to that "Why?" is that, from a practical perspective, now is the best time. Brett is still in town right now, and is probably the only person willing to actually drive around the state with me to go to these various Steak 'n' Shakes. I still work this something-like-second shift, but hope to move to day hours at some point before I finish my Master's program, and let's face it, SnS just has so much more entertainment and promise in those witching hours than it does during the traditional happy hour (which, by the way, is set to happen twice a day at Steak 'n' Shake -- can we count the ways that Steak 'n' Shake truly is one of the most awesome places to spend time?).

And, probably most importantly, from the practical perspective, I currently live in Indianapolis

(for all those stalkers out there: I currently live in The Region. No, I don't know which city. But trust me, I live up there somewhere. I totally wish I lived in Chicago. I spend all my time rooting for the Chicago Bears and bitching about how Indiana's DST is all wrong. If you don't believe me, check the Steak 'n' Shakes. Around noon. That's your best chance of finding me and trying your "Does this smell like chloroform?" pick-up line, before you actually pick me up and hide me in your basement and force me to put the lotion on my skin, which I promise I already do because I spend most of my second paycheck at Bath & Body Works, but this is all neither here nor there ....)

and if you're on a quest to go to the 70 Steak 'n' Shakes in Indiana, there's no better place to start a quest from, than Indianapolis. After all, 33 of those Steak 'n' Shakes are in Indianapolis itself, or in the surrounding suburbs you can reach from Indianapolis relatively quickly. That's nearly half! (Don't say you aren't learning anything useful from this blog. Look at how I'm teaching you math! AND I'm acting excited about it, so that you might get excited too! Sort of how you ask your puppy, "Want to go to the vet?! Aren't you excited to be getting fixed?! Of course you are! Now that's a good boy! We're just going to love our trip to the vet that's going to result in you not being able to create any more puppies!" Except my contagious enthusiasm is not going to result in any readers being neutered.)

And as for the other 37 Steak 'n' Shakes -- while many are a distance from Indy, none are as far as some would be if I lived in any other city in this state. If I lived in Fort Wayne, for example, the trip to the one down in Terre Haute would take nearly four hours. If I lived in Evansville, driving to any location in The Region

(where I currently live, stalker types ... so remember that on whatever day we plan the Evansville trip, no one will be expecting to see me for a solid day ... just sayin' ... you know ... you might want to target me on that day if you plan to kidnap me and dump my body in Lake Michigan, or if you really, really hate me and want to kidnap me so you can dump my body in Ohio ....)

would take more than five hours. One way. AND, if I lived in Anderson, and was trying to go to a Steak 'n' Shake in Tokyo, Japan, it would take a whole 35 days and 21 hours to get there. And that route includes kayaking across the Pacific Ocean in Step 26! AND, worse yet, toll roads! (Me 'n' toll roads have a bad past, worse than most people's. Don't ask.) Driving from Indianapolis, that same trip would take only 35 days and 20 hours.

So, you can clearly see the benefit provided by starting such a quest in such a city as Indianapolis. In fact, according to Google Maps, not one of these drives is going to take more than three and a half hours. If Brett's driving, it's a safe bet that not one will take more than three hours. Plus, we don't have to kayak or swim anywhere, unless we want to. And, of course, no tolls. Victory!

"But Marcy," you may say. "Liking Steak 'n' Shake -- albeit in the abnormal ways that you must -- and living in a central part of the state are certainly not reasons alone to up and decide one day to go to all the Steak 'n' Shakes in your state." Because, in case you weren't aware, you do use phrases like up and decide. "Marcy," you are still saying, "for serious, why are you going to all the Steak 'n' Shakes in your state when you could just as easily go to one favorite location in Indianapolis and waste less time in driving and less money on gas?"

Amen, amen, I say to you, people in glass houses sink ships, or would, if it weren't for my horse.

And so. Welcome to the blog for our Steak 'n' Shake quest! Brett and I will document this quest as we check different SnS locations off our list. At least, I will. I can't promise anything in regards to Brett posting. For all I know, next time he'll accidentally slam his fingers in his car door and be lacking an ability to type. But this documentation will happen one way or another, and will likely cover exciting happenings of our Steak 'n' Shake quest. Because trust me, when we go to a Steak 'n' Shake, it is pretty much always an exciting happening.

Check back here for our adventures, as well as opportunities to join us when we come to a Steak 'n' Shake near you! Brett and I appreciate your visit:




Also, if you've got any Steak 'n' Shake gift cards just laying around, those would probably be appreciated by us in exponential fashions as we progress in this quest. :)