August 22, 2008

• Drive Home from Amarillo

  WARNING!!!!!   This will be loaded with LOTS of pictures and a little narration! 

  As I said, yesterday, I discovered my camera (FINALLY) when we had driven about 30 minutes out of Amarillo.  That is where my story will begin.

  There is a huge (I mean HUGE) cross with the 12 stations Jesus walked on the south side of I-40 just outside of Amarillo.
  

  
  We’ve never stopped there, well JoAnn said she did once, but  you can see so much from the highway because of the enormous size of the cross.  We love seeing it when we are on our way to Amarillo, because it gives us the hope that our long ride is almost complete!

  It had rained in Amarillo, just like it had been raining in our part of Oklahoma, and there were large puddles in fields to prove the intensity of rainstorms they had received.
  

  Somehow, I missed the sign that said we were entering Oklahoma’s border.  Actually, if I remember correctly, a truck pulled along side of my window as our vehicle passed the “Welcome to Oklahoma” sign.   But I could tell because the terrain changed immediately!

  Texas terrain.
  

  Oklahoma terrain.
  
  How does the state of Oklahoma know to grow “RED MUD” immediately at the border?????!!!!!

  Sandwiched somewhere around the border was a group of cattle and red mud.
  

  
  Despite the fact I moved to Oklahoma a long time ago (in 5 more days it will be 36 years) , I snickered at the comparison of Texas “mountains” and Oklahoma “mountains” seeing that I grew up on streets with hills more steep than these “mountains”!!!

  Texas Mountains
  

  Oklahoma Mountains
  
  The defining factor being Oklahoma’s red mud!

  I apologize to those Texans: Abby, Alyssa, Lezlie, Janet, Tara, and possibly Lori K. (depending on Lori K’s remaining Texas affection!) for making fun of your mountains.  I know there are “real” mountains in other parts of Texas, as well as mountains in SE Oklahoma.  But, I’m always unimpressed with the stature of what most Texans and Oklahomans call “mountains” compared to the Sierra Mountains where I was raised!

  I’ll throw in a few interesting pictures we saw to help us break up the monotony of the drive home.

  The thrill of seeing cheaper Oklahoma gas and someone else on a longer trip than us driving across the great plains!
  

  A different way (in Oklahoma) of saying, “Feed Your Family”  LOL
  

  A fountain in the middle of a pond in (what appeared to be) the middle of no where!
  

  “Cherokee Rattlesnake Gifts & Souvenirs” – a place we didn’t feel it necessary to stop and view!!!!
  

  This picture should have been first, as it was while we were still in Texas.  I think this is Texas’s version of Italy’s “Leaning Tower of Pisa” – or some such thing.  This tower has been this way for years and years and I’m not sure why no one does anything about it – unless it makes for interesting scenery and they’ve decided to leave it – AS IS.
  

  There was A lot of rusted stuff on our way home.  A yard full of pipes & parts and some rusted silos.
  

  
  But mainly, this is what we saw for most of the L-O-N-G D-R-I-V-E home!!!!!
  

  and this,
  

  and this (the mileage signs were always interesting!)
  

  And this
  

  And, finally, this
  
  The size of all of these boring pictures have been enlarged to give you the full scope of HOW BORING the drive is between Amarillo and Oklahoma City!  Believe me – flat and BORING!

  Then, I noticed the clouds . . .
  

  And thought they were much more interesting than the miles & miles of flat asphalt!
  

  They became more and more beautiful as I continued to snap the camera facing the sky.
  

  Some were spectacularly gorgeous!
  

  We became a little giddy (due to the boredom overtaking us) and started in with our best Jeff Foxworthy voices saying, “You might be a redneck if . . . ” as we saw what “should have been” abandoned homes out in the middle of nowhere.
  
  

  
  
  Then, the guilt (from making fun of houses) condemned us and we ceased our impolite judgments and comments.

  As we came into Clinton, OK for a rest stop, we saw an interesting museum that we had had no clue existed.
  

  

  Because of the sun’s position, no matter where I stood, I couldn’t get the full picture of this neat car.  I kept seeing more of myself in the window rather than the car, itself.  So this was the best I could do.
  
  You can see, in the back of the room, some old fashioned booths and tables and a juke box.

  We stopped only briefly and then said our “bye-bye” to the museum – which was closed, anyway!!!
  

  That’s when we headed to “Montana Mike’s” (in the same town – Clinton) with high hopes of ordering some delicious steaks.
  

  This is part of the decor inside.
  

  

  

  Our appetites were HUGE and so were our expectations of receiving a juicy steak meal.  Jesse and I had told JoAnn how wonderful this place was (when we went to one in Kansas) and so everyone’s excitement level was quite high and hopeful!!!!!

  Aolani with JoAnn
  

  And, “The Purple P. children” – Rissy, Annamarie, & Luci
  
  I was also wearing my purple dress – so we made quite a statement as we walked in (almost bouncing!) anticipating our steak dinners!

  WHICH SOON BECAME ONE OF OUR WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCES (NIGHTMARES????)  IN OUR ENTIRE RESTAURANT HISTORY!

  When we first walked in and saw this word on the sign over the door.  We SHOULD HAVE taken it as a warning and done exactly as the sign said!!!!   EXIT!!!!!
  

  Since I described our horrible experience yesterday, I won’t repeat myself.

  Needless to say, this was the last picture I took.  We all got in the car feeling “not right” and drove the last hour to our house feeling worse and worse, as we passed Tums around to each other.

  Arriving at our house never looked so good!  Some were still sick yesterday, so it was a low key afternoon and evening with a mild dinner of chicken breasts, macaroni & cheese, and green beans.  That was about the only thing that sounded appealing to those of us still feeling a little “meh!”  I had had an allergy attack in the car after leaving the restaurant (much like a food allergy attack from bell peppers, but not quite as bad) and noticed yesterday the capillaries in my cheeks were broken – like I had been straining.  The only thing that I had strained was withholding my temper from erupting back at the restaurant!

  So, there you have our trip and the humor we tried to interject on the way home.  Finding my camera AFTER we saw family members was a bummer and I truly am praying the Kodak disposable camera took some good pictures.

  Today I’m taking JoAnn to their mother’s hospital’s pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for her (my mil).  Their mom is in Louisiana, but is coming home this week-end to see JoAnn.   Aolani left last night to see her dad again and, hopefully, their visit won’t be cut short by another emergency trip out of town!  I have to make a bank deposit (never did it earlier this week) and the girls have their therapy appointment this afternoon.

  I talked with my sil (Frank’s wife) yesterday evening and what had been done to her hand was carpal tunnel syndrome surgery.  They DID decide to  work on the site of her pain and numbness before messing with her spine.  It was severe (the carpal tunnel damage) and her doctor can’t guarantee she will regain feeling in her middle finger or thumb.  She said the pain from the surgery site was more tolerable than the pain she had been in BEFORE surgery, so it must have been pretty bad.  She expects to return to work after Labor Day.

  Guess this has been more than anyone wanted to spend time reading on this lovely Friday – so, I’ll say “bye” for now.

  • 11:10 am
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