I tried to write a little before I went to bed Sunday, but I was so tired all I could do was review what I’d written the night before in Houston, update a few things and go to bed. Dan woke me up in the early hours of the morning thinking I’d woken him up. “No,” I told him. “I was asleep. I was dreaming!” A few seconds later I saw the lightening and realized what had woken him up. A huge storm rolled in—one of those violent thunderstorms that north Texas and Oklahoma are prone to. But it finished cooling things off, and that was nice.
We got up at 7 and started packing. Our proprietor brought in some breakfast and all was right with the world. We headed out at 8:00 on Route 66, thinking we’d stop at everything of interest along the way. Ha! Little did we realize just how long such a venture would take. We drove through quaint little towns, got lost, got found, saw some nifty things and went to a museum. We finally found ourselves at 12:30 still in Oklahoma with the entire Texas panhandle and part of New Mexico to cross! So we figured we’d better hurry up and jumped on I-40
We crossed the state line into Texas around 1:00 and spent the next couple hours trying to find a place to eat, to no avail. I had realized we would have trouble finding places open on Monday, but I had expected our difficulties to be mainly attraction-related. Instead, we could go to any museum we liked, but unless it was at the truck stop, forget finding food! Well, at least we had brought food with us. I snacked on crackers and goat cheese, a banana, blueberries and that sort of thing.
We finally found food in Adrian, Texas, almost at the New Mexico border. We were by now no longer hungry, but Dan’s eyes were glazing over from all that driving, so we stopped for coffee. And pie. OMG. The Midpoint Café in Adrian, Texas has some of THE best pie on the planet! I’m pretty sure pie this good is illegal in at least three counties.
Now suitably nourished, we continued on our way, stopping to take photos in the ghost town of Glenrio before making the rest of the run into Tucumcari.
Dan was making noises like he wanted to push on to my dad’s place south of Albuquerque but I had a feeling that was just talk. He had been dragging back in Adrian and I knew if we continued on, he’d be crying uncle by Santa Rosa. So we stuck with the plan and checked into our room at the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari. And let me say right now that every wonderful thing you can read about it on the internet is true. Charming, delightful place! And friendly owners!
We got settled in and I went for a run through the neighborhood. It was my first run in over a week, due to illness and trip preparation. Boy did I need it! And it was a lot of fun, even though it was dusty. I didn’t much notice the heat because it was so dry. I had water with me and made sure to drink it and counted my blessings that I wasn’t running in the steam bath that is Houston.
After my run, we went and had dinner. There was a little steakhouse open, and the food was quite adequate and the peach cobbler delish!
When we got back to our motel, the owner took our picture underneath his neon sign – a service he does for all his guests. How cool is that? It’s even cooler than the free cookies in the lobby, and that’s pretty darn cool!
And since he has wireless, I’m connected. And happy!
Tomorrow, it’s on to my dad’s place where we’ll settle in and take things easy for a day or two. Or not. You just never know!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Day One
I had thought I was going to get up early Sunday and go for a short run, but I ended up writing until past 3 am, so I ended up sleeping until 8. With the petsitter coming at 9, I scurried around to take a shower and get packed.
The petsitter was great—a very nice, sensible woman who clearly loves animals. And Tidbit was right on hand to say hello and turn on all the charm! I felt very reassured at having gone with a service this year rather than hope my busy friends and flaky neighbors would do the job right. It’s worth the peace of mind to hire a professional!
We had hoped to be on the road by noon and made it out around 12:45, which I thought was pretty darn good. The trip north was uneventful, as trips via interstate tend to be. But once we got north of the piney woods and into the area around Dallas, we could see the signs of drought. Grass was dry and yellow, rivers were running low and with broad expanses of sandbars. There were even a few of what looked to be dry creek beds, although I couldn’t be sure since I don’t know the area well and we were zipping along at 70.
We were surprised at how hilly Oklahoma was, especially about half an hour after we crossed the state line. There were big granite hills and deep red gullies—everywhere we looked was read earth. The land became more like north Texas though, the closer we got to Oklahoma City.
By now it was 7 pm and we were anxious to get to our B&B in Arcadia. We missed a turnoff near downtown Oklahoma City, but it was an easy enough problem to correct and we were soon back on track.
We found our B&B quaint and charming. It’s rustic in style and full of antiques. Unfortunately, there is no food nearby other than the gas station store across the street. I declined their limited offerings, since we had plenty of goodies from home. But Dan wanted something that “felt” like dinner, so he had a pre-packaged pastrami sandwich and said it wasn’t too bad, considering.
Well, what can you expect after 8 pm on a Sunday night in a drive-by town in Oklahoma?
We ate on our little front porch and watched the traffic on Route 66. Then I walked up the road to take a look at the famous Round Barn. It was okay. I would’ve liked to have done a tour, but they don’t do tours on Mondays, of course. I’m guessing the principle of the barn is similar to the round Shaker barn at Canterbury, though. Only on a much smaller scale.
Everything here is cute and quiet and very peaceful. It seems to be taking forever for the a/c to cool our room down, but it’s starting to get better. Funny, temps were in the high 90s and even 100 up here today, but it didn’t feel all that bad. Not compared to Houston, where you feel mummified by humidity and your own sweaty clothing at a mere 85. It’s true what they say-- it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.
And finally, in the best laid plans category… I thought I was kitted out to keep blogging in any situation. Any situation that is, except no wireless and no phone, either. Oh well. When I’m on vacation, I’d rather have atmosphere, even if it means giving up a few modern conveniences.
I would like to go for a little run in the morning, but we want to hit the road early, so I have a feeling it won’t happen. Maybe tomorrow night in Tucumcari. We’ll just have to see.
The petsitter was great—a very nice, sensible woman who clearly loves animals. And Tidbit was right on hand to say hello and turn on all the charm! I felt very reassured at having gone with a service this year rather than hope my busy friends and flaky neighbors would do the job right. It’s worth the peace of mind to hire a professional!
We had hoped to be on the road by noon and made it out around 12:45, which I thought was pretty darn good. The trip north was uneventful, as trips via interstate tend to be. But once we got north of the piney woods and into the area around Dallas, we could see the signs of drought. Grass was dry and yellow, rivers were running low and with broad expanses of sandbars. There were even a few of what looked to be dry creek beds, although I couldn’t be sure since I don’t know the area well and we were zipping along at 70.
We were surprised at how hilly Oklahoma was, especially about half an hour after we crossed the state line. There were big granite hills and deep red gullies—everywhere we looked was read earth. The land became more like north Texas though, the closer we got to Oklahoma City.
By now it was 7 pm and we were anxious to get to our B&B in Arcadia. We missed a turnoff near downtown Oklahoma City, but it was an easy enough problem to correct and we were soon back on track.
We found our B&B quaint and charming. It’s rustic in style and full of antiques. Unfortunately, there is no food nearby other than the gas station store across the street. I declined their limited offerings, since we had plenty of goodies from home. But Dan wanted something that “felt” like dinner, so he had a pre-packaged pastrami sandwich and said it wasn’t too bad, considering.
Well, what can you expect after 8 pm on a Sunday night in a drive-by town in Oklahoma?
We ate on our little front porch and watched the traffic on Route 66. Then I walked up the road to take a look at the famous Round Barn. It was okay. I would’ve liked to have done a tour, but they don’t do tours on Mondays, of course. I’m guessing the principle of the barn is similar to the round Shaker barn at Canterbury, though. Only on a much smaller scale.
Everything here is cute and quiet and very peaceful. It seems to be taking forever for the a/c to cool our room down, but it’s starting to get better. Funny, temps were in the high 90s and even 100 up here today, but it didn’t feel all that bad. Not compared to Houston, where you feel mummified by humidity and your own sweaty clothing at a mere 85. It’s true what they say-- it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.
And finally, in the best laid plans category… I thought I was kitted out to keep blogging in any situation. Any situation that is, except no wireless and no phone, either. Oh well. When I’m on vacation, I’d rather have atmosphere, even if it means giving up a few modern conveniences.
I would like to go for a little run in the morning, but we want to hit the road early, so I have a feeling it won’t happen. Maybe tomorrow night in Tucumcari. We’ll just have to see.
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