Advertisement
Cadillac Ranch
Graffiti covered half-buried cadillacs I have lived in Texas since 1986 but have never visited Texas panhandle area. My girlfriend, Lauren, grew up in Amarillo and moved to El Paso to continue her education and pursue her passion in ballet. After an 8 hour drive north of El Paso, we finally crossed back from New Mexico into Texas. This is going to be my first trip to Lauren's hometown and I am excited to meet her family, to see the schools she went to, to get a glimpse of her childhood days and to spend the weekend in a new place.
We stayed at her mom's house - I met her in El Paso before and I enjoyed sharing our travel experiences. In fact, I brought her Travel and Leisure's latest book "100 Greatest Trips". We spent the early evening getting caught up - accompanied by our gin and tonic. Dinner was at home as Wes put chicken on the barbecue, along with corn salad, corn bread muffins and a nice bottle of pinot grigio.
The next morning, I finally met Lauren's father who picked us up and was going to be our tour guide for the day. I certainly need to be
Say cheeezzzz
Henry and Lauren at Cadillac Ranch in my best behavior - no joking around while trying to be myself. Our first stop was one of Amarillo's main tourist attractions. Cadillac Ranch was the creation of Stanley Marsh who decided to half-bury 10 Cadillacs from the golden age of American automobile (1949 through 1963) nose down. The cars were all covered by graffiti and spray painting them was encouraged judging from the trash bin placed at the entrance. Lauren and her dad attempted to leave their mark with their chosen cadillac but the wind made it difficult.
From Cadillac Ranch, we drove through the neighboring city of Canyon, home of West Texas A&M University where Lauren's father went to school. We then continued on to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Palo Duro (Spanish for "hard wood") Canyon is 120 miles long and as much as 20 miles wide. It is often claimed that Palo Duro is the second largest canyon in USA, second only to The Grand Canyon. We were looking for a Texas longhorn that is often seen around the entrance to the park. Unfortunately, it was not our day and my only encounter with a Texas Longhorn continues to be the large poster at
Palo Duro Canyon State Park
View from the first lookout point UT Austin.
We drove to Pioneer Amphitheater where the musical drama Texas is shown from June through August. We continued to drive through the park and watched campers, hikers, tourists marvel at the beauty of the canyon. Always the photographer, I managed to take a few shots here and there.
By the time we left the canyon, we were so hungry - it was way past my lunchtime. Lauren's father took us to Hummers which seems to be one of his favorite Amarillo grill and bar. Being in Amarillo, I decided to indulge in a big Texas chili burger. Couldn't even remember the last time I had a hamburger! I saw Lauren's former ballet studio after lunch ... except that it was not a ballet studio anymore.
That evening, Lauren took me to meet her grandparents - granddad and mamadear. They have been married for over 60 years and they are still living in their original home. Isn't that wonderful? Granddad added an extra bedroom to his house on his own. Mamadear told me that granddad was initially planning to wait for me at the door with his shotgun. I am glad he did not -- I
Pioneer Amphitheater
The musical Texas is shown here during the summer from Tuesday - Sunday nights. would have run back all the way to El Paso. Lauren took me to a wall at the house with pictures of the grandchildren when they were still babies. Lauren was the only girl and was placed at the very top - the beautiful red head!
Lauren's brother, Charlie, came a little later. He drove from Oklahoma to meet us. I've seen him in pictures and chatted with him on the phone once. I noticed that the family is very close and granddad and mamdear seem to know all of Lauren's and Charlie's friends. Mamadear even prepared a bottle of goodies for Charlie (I think it was pickled okra). After a nice chat, granddad brought up dinner (well, it was 8:00pm already). We all hopped into our cars and had dinner at Home Plate Diner - restaurant with all sorts of baseball memorabilia. Phili vs Rangers game was on and it was obvious then that all the men in the family are big baseball fans (Yankees fan!!).
Lauren, Charlie and I went back to her mom's house after dinner in time for another surprise. Her mom had taken out Lauren's baby pictures for me to look at. Ahh
Beautiful Palo Duro
Admiring the double beauty of Palo Duro -- I wish I have a scanner! I would never forget her 3rd or 4th grade picture with her big glasses. One can't describe in words how cute she was in that picture. Her mom had also prepared homemade cookies for me to take back. Lauren probably told her already that Henry eats a lot.
I woke up later the following morning. We were taking it easy and I finished packing early. It was our 9 months' anniversary! But it was also the day that I had to fly back to El Paso. We took a tour of the neigborhood and saw some of the mansions in Amarillo. Lauren is staying behind in to spend quality time with her family. I had a quick lunch at Fazoli with Lauren before I headed out to the airport - passing by the Big Texan where they serve 72 ounce steak! Yes, that must be another Amarillo institution.
It was a quick trip to Amarillo. But the important part is that I got a chance to spend time with Lauren's family. They have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel very comfortable. I am sure I will have other opportunities soon to visit Amarillo again. And perhaps, I will then go to the Big Texan.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.046s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 28; dbt: 0.024s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Toenk
Untung Tanamal
Nice start......
Well organized......just like a pro.