Page By Page: day 9: pink cadillac/crushed velvet seats/riding in the back/oozing down the street

we started mom’s birthday bright and early, hitting the Texas state line by 8:30 but we jumped to Central time so it was actually 9:30.

we didn’t come to a stop until Adrian where the Midpoint Café is. We stopped, looked around, and cheered for the halfway point on our trip. the café was all decked out with 50’s style chairs and tables, which was super cute but we had a long ways to go so we kept truckin.

when we got to Vega we stopped by an old hardware store, Roark’s, to pick up some spray paint for the Cadillac Ranch. just near the old store was a yard selling all manner of metal structures. we saw a pair of flamingos, which is what we had promised to get mom for her birthday because she had been joking about them even before the trip, but we didn’t get them and continued on.

we drove through the texas heat until we came to Amarillo and the Cadillac Ranch. we knew we wanted our mark to stand out so we picked the car at the end because it didn’t have as much water around it and started by putting a primer of all black on the bottom of the last car. then mom, practicing her art of graffiti wrote “VAN DALEN 2012” in cotton candy pink. we also wanted to honor mom’s birthday so we also covered the bumper and dad wrote “happy birthday mom” we had also picked up a can of john deere green so we added everyone’s initals to the sides around the main wording. we had plenty of extra paint so everyone went and picked cars to write their names or other messages on. after plenty of paint sprayed we headed back to the rv.

on the way out a young couple asked us if we wouldn’t mind drawing something on their car. they are driving all around the country and asking people to draw on their car cool designs because the car is just about dead. so brooke drew a cute 66 design and dad wrote a message to aunt sara. :)

after that our next destination was the Big Texan Steak Ranch – home of the 72 oz steak. they have a challenge that any person can attempt in which they are given a 72 oz steak plus sides and they must finish all of it within an hour to get it all free. we all enjoyed an amazing delicious late lunch {i really want to go back here someday it was that good} and while we were eating someone started the challenge! we finished our lunch before his hour was up so we wandered around and went back when he had 20 minutes left. he had finished everything but about 6 oz. he took one more bite and lets just say he couldn’t complete the challenge. so we looked around and took photos and then clambered back into the rv for the next big texas adventure stop.

for the next while it was just driving and seeing the stops from the road such as the leaning water tower in groom.

we did stop at the old Texaco station in alanreed but it was just the outside that had been kept up and there wasn’t even anyone around. we also found an old piece of the route road that lead straight into grassy oblivion. Mc Lean had a large number of older looking signs and buildings with emphasis on an old Conoco station/ U Drop Inn which has been converted to a chamber of commerce. the rest of the Texas panhandle didn’t have much and then it was into Oklahoma!

One of the first few towns along the route in Oklahoma was Erick, of course i wanted to stop and get a quick photo. :) as we drove a little further into the small town we came across a building covered in old signs which we stopped to check out, of course. it was closed for the day but we just walked around it looking at the many cool signs. as we looked one of the owners walked up and said he would let us in! his name was Harley and he told us that his wife, Annabelle who usually runs this with him was making dinner but he was willing to let us in for a little bit to check it out. he showed us an original sign from route 66 and even sang “Get your Kicks on Route 66” for us. he was pretty funny to listen to and full of jokes.

{Harley was so funny and we have a video of him singing but it won't load!}

after that fun detour we kept rolling to the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City. it was closed for the night already but it was largely outdoors so we could wander past some of the old store fronts. the town looked really nice which we figured out could be because oil is so abundant around these parts. after a long day we checked in to a KOA just a few miles from Clinton. the bugs make an odd noise which we couldn’t figure out, we couldn’t even agree if the noise was from the bugs or the trees! we settled down for the night and all slept soundly in the Oklahoma warmth.