3/8/18
We got an unusually early start out of Shreveport this morning with the intention of trying to make it to Amarillo, Texas by the end of the day. We were thinking getting home by Friday night would be good and we needed to put some miles in to make that possible.
Our first stop was in Tyler, Texas after we had crossed over the border. I have only ever been to the airport in Dallas and I don’t think that really counts as having been in a state so I was excited to see what it would be like. We pulled into a car/truck stop and it did not disappoint.
While other states typically have a horse for children to ride, in Texas it was a bull.
Lots of patriotism on display. The people were super friendly and they had very good food that was freshly made so we ate breakfast there. I feel a bit sad that the expression of love for our country and support of our troops has become such a partisan thing. I love our country while remaining mindful of the many ways that it needs to improve and I support our troops but don’t designate them a heroic status just for serving (Jack is a vet and he agrees). It’s just unfortunate that in the current climate you can’t be considered a patriot without adopting a large set of rigid principles that are closely associated with just one political party.
After our breakfast, we moved on with the course set for the little town of Rice, Texas. Why? Well, Jack and I have been toying with the idea of getting some type of RV for a couple of years now and a trailer that had interested us was the Casita. It is manufactured and sold only from Rice, Texas so we thought it would be worth a stop and a look.
It is fiberglass, 17 feet long and only weighs 2500 lbs. We can actually stand up inside. It has a king size bed, kitchen and bathroom. Crazy, right? All that for around 20 grand. We were tempted but not enough to keep us from driving away without it.
Next we headed to Wichita Falls, another area where Jack had been stationed at Sheppard AFB while in the Air Force . It is still an active base but Wichita Falls does not have a lot to recommend it.
One thing we noticed throughout the day of driving was that all the small towns we drove through (off the interstate again) looked like they were in a bit better shape economically than many we had seen on this trip. The houses were kept up, the stores and restaurants looked like business was good. I’m not sure what accounts for this but it was noticeable.
On the way to Amarillo we drove through a little place called Quanah and I saw a roadside store I had to get a closer look at.
It was a huge outside area full of metal sculptures for the yard, ranging from tiny to some that were huge. They also had amazing metal grills for supporting plants in the garden, which I really wanted but they were too big for the car to bring back. It also had an enclosed store on the property full of “antiques” and curios. The sculptures outside were really cute and we picked out a chicken and a pink flamingo to come home with us.
The sky on the drove into Amarillo was gorgeous, the photo does not do it justice. Since we were heading West and the area is so flat, we had close to an hour watching the huge sky and its beautiful colors on our way into Amarillo.
Adventures after Retirement 