We had breakfast in the Big Texan Restaurant again; we had a delightful server, Beth, and it's amazing how much that improves a meal. Here she is with the hostess Kim; that's Beth on the left:
Nosing out of the parking lot and heading west we drove 66 right through downtown Amarillo. There's a stretch in the west end of Amarillo that has been/is being restored and has bistros, shops and Route 66 stuff. The streets were paved with brick which, nice to look at, not so much fun to drive on. We blew right by as we got a later-than-hoped-for start (9:30a).
Route 66 in Texas isn't nearly so well marked as in the prior four states but Jackie (she's an absolute wizard navigator) made up for it.
Some distance out of town we were searching for the Cadillac Ranch. We found it handily though in a wheat field about 300 yards on the south side of Route 66. Being considerate visitors, we carefully closed the gate behind us.
The Cadillac Ranch consists of ten vintage Cadillacs stuck into the ground at about a 35 degree angle:
They are buried, nose down, for about 1/3 of their length. They are covered in graffiti and apparently are repainted from time to time to allow new graffiti. Most of what we saw was done in the last year.
We attached one of our dash plaques (temporarily) to car #4 and took some pictures:
We picked it up to leave and then thought "Why not put it in there permanently?" So we did. Look inside Car #3; dunno how long it will be there before someone "adopts" it:
On to Vega, TX and a photo op at the aptly (if not creatively) named "Vega Motel":
This motel is straight out of the 30s. Its claim to fame is that Vince Gill recorded a country music video in Cabin #1.
This style of motor court has an enclosed garage adjacent to each room. I asked the owner, Theresa Whiting, if we could put our cars into garages for photos; I offered a small donation in order to encourage her agreement. She said that no one had ever offered that before and didn't know what was fair. I said, "How about $20?" She thought a minute and said, "How about $10?" I accepted on the spot; apparently negotiations are conducted differently in Vega, TX:
Back on the road (still in Vega) we found (and it wasn't easy) Dot's Mini-Museum:
Dot apparently lives next door and responds well to a knock. We didn't know that so we explored without meeting her. Our loss.
Dot has this (mostly) very old sign in her yard:
On the way to Dot's we saw this sign. Almost called a car shipper and sent the cars home. We thought better of it as we're not quite halfway there:
Down the road we found a Dairy Queen, the first at which we've stopped on the whole trip. The cars were a big hit with the generally under-20 employees!
And the DQ ice cream taste hasn't changed:
(Dunno; seems they should look happier!)
Back on the Mother Road we headed for today's best find: The Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, TX:
We chatted with Fran, the owner:
and Lelia (who works there) for some time and, of course left a dash plaque.
It's not for nothing that it's named "The Midpoint Cafe"; this location is the exact halfway point between Chicago and Santa Monica on Route 66. As soon as we drove West from there, it was no longer shorter to go home than to go forward. Points of last return are like that!
Fran's shop has a lot of similar items found in other shops on Route 66 but she presents them so well:
And, of course, she has FOOD!
(This looks suspiciously like lemon meringue pie. My favorite..)
We met a lovely couple driving West on Route 66:
John and Linda are from the UK and are driving from Oklahoma to California in a rented Impala. When John picked up the Impala in Oklahoma and the agent told him it was an Impala, he asked, excitedly, "What, with the big fins?!?!" Sadly not :)
Finally, here comes the New Mexico state line and the Mountain Time Zone. Crossing Texas this way is the fastest possible way to cross Texas.
The temps are rising rapidly; New Mexico was in the low 90s today.
In New Mexico we first stopped at a reported ghost town, Glenrio, NM. In my
opinion, it was just abandoned houses and gas stations and not worth the sidetrip:
This is reported to have been the "First Motel in Texas" on Route 66 eastbound. If you use your imagination on what's left of the sign, it could be true:
We continued West on Route 66 only to find a sign that said:
We're not that good at fording rivers even if the cars are plastic; we turned about and stopped for a gas and bio break. Buzz asked the attendant for the best way to rejoin Route 66 past the bridge that was out. The guy said, "Go down I40 past the bridge that's out (on the left) and then exit." Duh...
Off in the long distance to the southwest we saw Tucumcari Mountain. Tucumcari means "flat-top mountain":
This means we're only a few miles from our overnight stop in Tucumcari, NM, the Blue Swallow Motel -- AND IT'S ONLY 2:30P!
The Blue Swallow is an essentially unrestored property with very clean rooms, with "100% Refrigerated Air" and an enclosed garage for each room. We were assigned to #3:
(That's our garage to the left of our door)
.. and B&J are in #4.
(Yes, that's a rotary dial phone; but it's just for effect; there's a regular phone jack in the wall so we can each get online. Well, we could except that AOL doesn't have an access point in Tucumcari. Mindspring doesn't either but they do have an 800 number I'm using.
Here's the view of Tucumcari Blvd from the Blue Swallow:
The Blue Swallow is a Route 66 landmark and icon and, while it will never be confused with a Ritz Carlton, it's exactly right for a Route 66 tour!
Here's Gael in her doorway. I'm thinking she's thinking, "Gee, I never imagined myself overnighting in the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, New Mexico."
Upon arrival Gael received a 14" X 14" X 14" box that had been shipped to her (here) via FedEx. It was a "care package" for all of us from our daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Santa Rosa, CA. It was full of "not good for you" treats and we were very appreciative:
If we don't consume it all tonight (and that ain't gonna happen) we didn't know exactly how we're going to take it with us; but we worked it out.
(You can do anything with duct tape..)
Being a gathering of the Cones and Nielsens, champagne is an absolute requirement. Just because we're tracking an 80 year old road doesn't mean we can't bring along some creature comforts. And we do have to celebrate passing the midpoint of our adventure:
Chaz crashed out (tired and allergies):
(No, I'm not dead; just dead tired..)
.. and B&J went to Del's Restaurant to have lunch and check it out for a possible dinner location tonight:
After lunch they went to TePee Curios and checked out the Route 66 and Native American curios; it's a very nice shop:
Here's the owner, Mike (he's the one on the right):
While there, Buzz discovered that a marker pen (last used to autograph a dash plaque for the Midpoint Cafe) had lost it's head (literally) and coated his shirt with silver marker paint. A shopping opportunity like this cannot be missed:
B&J belong to a "Friday Night Dominoes Gang" back home in Tampa. They saw this Route 66 Dominoes game and immediately thought of their friends -- they had to have it:
Being mural fanatics (now), B&J found a mural worth photographing:
(Notice that somewhere along the way, the top went down..)
.. and then happened upon another one in progress. Doug Quarles:
.. was painting this one:
They drove on for other sightseeing:
Then back to the hotel where Buzz cleaned his car (again):
.. and then we met to create this page and have a bit more champagne.
The neon goes on at dusk:
And, later:
We went to dinner at Del's (same place B&J had lunch):
Back at the hotel I made a couple of calls to the folks we're visiting tomorrow evening in Santa Fe and on Thursday in Albuquerque. It's all pretty loosey-goosey as it's really impossible to tell in advance how long these days will take.
Tomorrow 150 miles (approx) to Santa Fe and a get-together with Bob & Sue Catherwood, some other Santa Fe Corvette folks -- and the five "lost boys" from Colorado who are blasting down to Santa Fe in their C5s! Drive carefully, guys....
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Another great day -- and much, much more to come...
Watch for more tomorrow, Day #9 on the Mother Road!