Amarillo, Texas

Howdy, cowpokes! I’ve made it to Amarillo, Texas, which means I’m halfway through my move and one giant step closer to becoming a real Californian. I’m officially 18 hours down, with 18 yet to go. Yesterday I made it through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and part of Arkansas. Today I made it out of Arkansas, all the way through Oklahoma, and into Texas. I’m writing this post from The Big Texan Motel, which definitely has a BIG personality.

Today’s drive was about two hours shorter than yesterday’s, but the weather was much worse. I ran into some pretty strong storms at the very start of this leg and again when I hit Oklahoma. Despite white knuckling the steering wheel at points, I made it to my hotel safely in just over eight hours. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would have loved to make it even farther, but the next city/large town was Albuquerque, and that would have added five hours to today’s drive. Thirteen hours is too rough with three furry ones, and I did not want to stop for the night in a small Texas town.

The boys weren’t as sleepy this leg, but they were still very well mannered. Lemon, on the other hand, was dozing in my lap for 95 percent of the ride.

I thought that I’d start dragging by this point, but I’m honestly feeling pretty great. Each mile takes me closer to California, and in the meantime I get to watch the land slowly change as I move across it. I understand now why they say that “everything is bigger in Texas.” As I drove through miles of flat fields of slow moving windmills the sky seemed impossibly big above me. I’ve spent a lot of time nestled between mountains and various city scapes, but I’ve never been anywhere where the sky meets the curves of the earth.

I checked into The Big Texan around 4:30 p.m. and YEE-HAW!! I feel like I’m in a cheaper, campier version of Westworld! (Without the sentient robots and all the killing.) I never would have stopped here if not for Hotwire, but now that I’m here I’m giving myself over to it. I thought I’d feel about as comfortable as a rattlesnake at a square dance, but that could not be further from the truth. I’m as pleased as a pup with two tails.

I am in the “Adobe building,” directly behind a pool the shape of Texas. While I was initially pretty disappointed that Hotwire placed me here, I have to admit that the room is much nicer than I expected. (Granted, I expected the room to be draped floor to ceiling in cowhide and reek of oil and leather.) The western theme continues within, from the barnyard windows to the framed images of men on horses, but it is a campiness I can get behind. (Oh, and for whatever reason, the bathroom also serves as a tanning booth. There’s a tanning light and a switch that allows me to set it to 5, 10, 15, or 30 minute intervals. As if there’s not enough sun in Texas.) To quote Ken, I’m definitely spending the night in a mojo-dojo-casa-house.

Despite billboards promoting a “free” 72 oz. steak at the Big Texan Steak Ranch for the last 140 miles of today’s drive, I opted to grab dinner at Yellow City Street Food, a local, independently-owned restaurant that seemed to specialize in vegan tacos and craft beer.

I had the imposter tacos (fried cremini mushrooms, fresh greens, remoulade, balsamic reduction, pickled onions, and parm) and the dragon tofu tacos (fried marinated tofu, cured slaw, remoulade, green onions, a sweet/soy glaze, and parm). I was not expecting to find a vegan option in Amarillo, Texas, but they did vegan food right. The tacos were fucking delicious. And the crowd was super cool too. (Or, dare I say — hip.) Lots of beards and hand tattoos. It’s hard for me to visit a town without thinking about what it would be like to live there. I definitely don’t think I’d want to live in Amarillo (or Little Rock), but if I did I would absolutely frequent Yellow City.

I’m not as worried about the next two legs ahead of me. Tomorrow is my longest drive yet, at 10 hours, but it’s my birthday and at the end of it I get to watch the sun set over the Grand Canyon. (Spoiler alert!) And the last leg of my trip is the shortest and the one that leads me home. The further I move into the country the more real this move should feel, but I’m still a bit in awe of this life I’m moving toward.

That said, it will be a very early morning tomorrow and I have the season premiere of Big Brother 26 to enjoy from my hotel on the range. I’m hoping I will be able to post from the Grand Canyon, but reception may be spotty. Either way, I will definitely post an update as soon as I can. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, know that I’m basking in natural splendor.