But, that’s not to say that I’m not having the time of my life!
As they always say, you live and you learn. Jake and I anticipated hitting the road the first day by 1:00 at the latest. But, as it turned out, packing took all day, (which was ok, because Jake’s dad did a rocking job packing everything in just right for maximum survival) saying goodbye took a while, and we ended up leaving at about 6:00 pm after filling up the tank to the tune of $75. Ouch. Then we were off.
last look of home...
We drove about 4 hours, just enough to get us through Memphis (because Memphis is a tad bit scary after all) and barely into Arkansas.this is the understatement of the year...
After a well needed and deserved good night’s sleep, we got back on I-40. I just have to say, Arkansas is kind of a dump. At least, what we saw of it. Everything is broken down and decrepit, as if no one cares if everything falls apart. With no pretty scenery to admire, Jake and I busied ourselves singing to our roadtrip mixes at the top of our lungs and other mischief, such as Jake snatching my rice cake away….
This occured while Jake was having an iphone conversation with his cousin Joey...
Very shocking, indeed.
This is me singing the bohemian rhapsody very dramatically. Its fun, you should try it.
Then, we suddenly found ourselves in Okalhoma, where it was very dreary, cold, and even less quality roads than Arkansas. Cross your fingers for all my glass things!
Another things about Oklahoma: random teepee skeletons…
We drove and drove through Oklahoma and it started to get darker and darker. Not only was the darkness attributed to the coming night, but also because there was absolutely NOTHING. No lights, no buildings, no gas stations. We passed a few exits that seemingly were pointless due to the fact that there was nothing off of the exits. We started to get a little hungry because we anticipated coming across a Crakcer Barrel or at the very a least, a Waffle House, but no such luck. Then we started to get a bit nervous because of the fact that the gas was getting a bit low. After much driving, we finally found a gas station and pulled over. I walked inside to get some coffee and decided to find out about the area at the same time. The lady behind the counter was already eyeballing me as I was walking in. I said hello and said, “ I was just wondering, I’ve been driving west on I-40 and have just come through a very long stretch of nothing, you wouldn’t know where the nearest restaurant would be would you?” She looked at me funny and replied in her country accent, “Well, we’ve got the Pig-Out-Palace around the corner, it’s an all you can eat buffet. Then across the freeway, we got another restaurant.”
“What kind of food do they serve?” I asked
“Well, home cookin’ stuff, like what we eat a lot around here,” she replied, now with a completely odd look on her face, like I was some alien. “My husband doesn’t let me go very far from home, I don’t know much about what else is father up the interstate.”
“Oh…ok….”(I’m now thinking eh…its either pig out, or eat some country cooking, and my face must’ve shown it) The man sitting on the other side of the counter who appeared to be having a conversation chimed in at this moment and said, “Well, about an hour west there’s all kinds of restaurants, they’ve even god a Red Lobster.”
Whoohoo! Let’s go live it up at the Red Lobster!
Anyway, Jake and I drove another hour for dinner, very hungry and very tired, we finally arrived at said “city” which was actually only just a tiny suburb. We found a Santa Fe restaurant where you get to throw the peanuts on the floor and had a nice, healthy dinner. Thank the Lord. Also, thank our kind, informative server for telling us to drive farther to Oklahoma City to stay the night, as the few hotels in the surrounding area were pretty overpriced due to the fact that they’re the first hotels you come upon in two hours after entering Oklahoma. We saved quite a bit of money.
Yesterday, which was day three, was a bit more fun than the last few days. After about an hour of driving, we found a Cherokee trading post and stopped to see what all the fuss on the billboard signs was. It was a bit disappointing, but it was good for a few photo ops:
This one is due to the brilliance of Jake’s picture taking skills:
These are some very sad looking buffalo…
Then, the Uhaul broke down…so Jake got resourceful and found us an old uncovered covered wagon….
Yeah right. Our stuff wouldn’t fit in that thing if you paid us a million bucks.
The scenery slowly got more and more interesting and pretty.
Soon, we had made it to Texas!
Texas had MUCH better roads than Oklahoma. My glassware is happy, and hopefully, not broken.
You know how they say everything is bigger in Texas?. Well, they’re not lying.
Seem’s like a small cross doesn’t it? Maybe like, 3 ft tall?
No. It’s actually the biggest cross in the world, and stands at 193 ft. tall. Pretty crazy.
Here is Jake, happily singing to the music and driving…so cute!
We have to stop for gas five bajillion times a day. Ok, so it’s more like three, but still, that’s a lot of gas stops….and a laot of money….on this particular gas stop we decided to make a bit of a photo op of it.
Then I got a little more into it.
It was pretty darn windy. Jake almost got blown away.
As did I.
Our receipt from the gas was not quite so lucky. The wind tore it out of Jake’s hand. He tried to run to save it…
But his attempts were in vain. It made for a good video though.
We drove all the way to Amarillo, TX and stopped to eat some real TX BBQ. The best part abou the whole restaurant, I have to say, was their bathroom sinks:
“You don’t see Arkansas shaped bathroom sinks in Arkansas, what makes Texas think they can do this?” – Jake Anderton
After lunch, I was on driving duty. We drove into New Mexico, where the scenery got even better. Driving into the sunset is actually a really enjoyable experience.
After driving for a good long while without seeing an exit anywhere, we decided to stop in a small town called Santa Rosa. Our exit just happened to be on historic Route 66. It was the most deserted town I think I’ve seen thus far, but very quaint and cute, and best of all, quiet. We asked the girl behind the desk if there was anywhere on the street that she would recommend for dinner. She told us the Chinese restaurant across the street was pretty entertaining at least, the owner only knows one word of English and that word is “ok.” So we walked across the street to the Golden Dragon, which was basically a gas station where the pumps had been removed and the store had been converted into a restaurant. There were a few lights on inside, but no cars parked outside and it looked pretty deserted. We slowly approached, realizing with each step how creepy this place looked, like something out of a horror flick. The place ended up being closed so we walked father down the street to the Silver Moon diner, established in 1958.
It was just the right place, an American/ Mexican food restaurant with the right amount of quirkiness and quaintness
.
mmmm...that's good eats!
mixtape for a cross country roadtrip:
Life Is A Highway: Tom Cochrane
(get Your Kicks On) Route 66: Rolling Stones
Every Day is a Winding Road: Sheryl Crow
Keep The Car Running: The Arcade Fire
Up Around the Bend: Credence Clearwater Revival
On the Road Again: Willie Nelson
to be continued...
