Day Eight - Amarillo to Tucumcari

CADILLAC RANCH!!

Pardon the unusual excitement, Cadillac Ranch is something I have been looking forward to for a long time. 

It is just 10 Cadillac skeletons half buried in the ground. They are supposed to be painted in a different theme every year, but since people are invited to graffiti them I couldn't really tell what the theme was supposed to be.

There was a family there that all walked up together with cans of spray paint in their hands. It was kind of awesome. And the mom went first.

I was having such a good day I had two pieces of pie for breakfast – once slice of peach and one slice of Elvis. Elvis was peanut butter, chocolate and banana. They were both amazing. I only had one bite of the peach and packed it away (it was lunch) but I scarfed the whole Elvis and it was goooooooood!

I ate this spectacular and healthy meal (they both had fruit!) at the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. It is the midpoint of Route 66 and it was adorable. 

I wanted to take pictures of everything, the formica tables, the kitschy toys, but instead I focused on the juke box. The waitress was awesome, she took my picture for me. And brought me two pieces of pie with no judgement. She's basically my new best friend.

 

Funny story... it was supposed to be really hot in Tucumcari. They were saying up to 106. I HATE the heat. (Good thing I'm driving deeper into the desert every day!) SO I left Amarillo super early. I was on the road by 7:30 and at Caddilac Ranch by 7:45. Which makes that spray-paint mom even MORE badass.

Well, it's only a 113 mile trip, so I was in Tucumcari by 10:30, even driving the Route almost the whole way. I jump back and forth between the old road and the highway, I'm not a purist. But today, the driving was really great – mostly an access road along the highway, but lots of nice dips and some turn-outs that were interesting.

So I get to Tucumcari only to realize that I am now in Mountain Time and it is actually 9:30 AM. I have 5 and a half hours until I can get into my hotel room. Whoopsie!

 

So I went to the public library and spent 4 hours there! I got a lot of grading done. I started HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Yes, I've read it before, but, you know, new book coming, must keep current!

 

Then I went to Del's Restaurant for lunch – taco salad and iced tea. And they gave me a sopapilla which is like fried dough with no powdered sugar and you add hone. I loved it so much!

And hey, if you see Caleb, let him know that the mountain behind the restaurant is the one that inspired the mountain outside of Radiator Springs!

Then it was time for the hotel! I have wanted to stay at the Blue Swallow Motel for a really long time and it was just as great as I thought it would be. The place opened in 1939 and it has been restored to that era. My room had a chenille bedspread, a claw-foot tub and a rotary phone THAT I GOT TO MAKE CALLS FROM!!! It was so great.

I went back to Del's for dinner hoping to get another sopaipilla. Sadly, they don't give you one after dinner without asking and I couldn't remember what they were called! But since my pal Katie told me it was National Mojito Day, I had one of those. It was perhaps the best mojito I have ever had. Yay, Del!

This is what the Blue Swallow looks like when the neon goes on. It was extraordinary. And it is ground zero for talking to strangers. There are chairs and tables in front of all the rooms and once they turn the neon on, people come out of their rooms and socialize.

I met an awesome girl named Denise who is the hugest LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE fan I have ever met in my life. She was as thrilled at my story of meeting Allison Arngrim as I was at her story of meeting Hillary Clinton.

She is a fan of the show not the books, and I am pretty much the other way around, but I feel like we bonded.

When I asked her what her favorite episode was she immediately said 

“Whisper Country” and proceeded to tell me the whole story. And it was amazing! She left me with a great quote - “All you need to know in this life is the good book and suffering!” Her travel buddy corrected her, it's supposed to be “the good book and ciphering”. But I like it the other way better.

There were also a dozen Danish bikers, who were very nice. 

This was a great day!

Here is a video-tour of my room.

 

I also saw a ton of WWII era quonset huts that people have repurposed in all kinds of way. It wasn't a very exciting part of the day, but I wanted to remember it, so here it is. Just imagine that this whole picture and paragraph in parentheses.