Day 9 - Amarillo TX

We had our rest and laundry day today - though we did venture out and see some Route 66 sites, including the famous Cadillac Ranch, which is just west of town in a cow pasture. Originally staged in 1974 by Stanley Marsh III, it is composed of ten Cadillacs, noses buried into the dirt, and covered with ever mutating graffiti. Read more about it here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXAMAcadillac.html

Did I mention everything in Texas is big? This morning, we went to the Big Texan Restaurant for breakfast. The main item is their breakfast buffet, but you can also order from the menu. Of course, my dear son who eats first with his eyes, did not find anything pleasing at the buffet, so our waiter asked what he would like from the kitchen. Without having seen the menu, I asked if they could do some silver dollar pancakes. The waiter looked funny at me, said "Oh, I can get him some pancakes", and came back a bit later with 3 pancakes as big as Trajan's head! I guess you can't get anything small around here.

After breakfast, we went in to the lobby of the restaurant, where they have an arcade shooting gallery. Trajan tried it several times, and then I decided to give it a whirl. I chose my weapon (a shotgun), and let'er rip, hitting 13 of 15 attempts. Not too shabby for a girl who hasn't handled a rifle in about 20 years! Have I ever mentioned my Dad was a marksman and did arms training in the Coast Guard, and was later a police officer - guess what we used to do on the weekends when I was growing up?

After target practice, Mark and Trajan went swimming in the Texas-shaped pool - fun! Macey and I did laundry, and then we all watched the huge rainstorm as it blew through town. Watching the Weather Channel, it looks like we got out of Oklahoma just in time, as they had severe storm and tornado warnings today.

We hit the road again tomorrow, on to Albuquerque. We will hit a significant milestone on our journey tomorrow - a free donut to anyone who can guess what it is....