Day 5: Texas Forever

I know we already visited Texas (see our original post about Texas) on our first road trip (we miss you Petry!) but it’s just too large of a state to hit only once. This time we came from the west into Amarillo, TX to spend a day in the land where you go big or go home.

We grabbed a quick breakfast at the Hyatt Place in Santa Fe and got on the road. We used our trusty Roadside Attractions app to figure out where to stop and ended up in Tecumcari, NM at the Route 66 sign and a historic stretch of the highway. We took some pictures and ate lunch at the Cornerstone Deli before continuing our journey.

Our drive into Amarillo consisted of lots of cows and the Wildorado Wind Farm, a 25-mile stretch of wind turbines. Although Texas is known for oil, western Texas has made a big push for wind energy and it shows in huge wind farms around Amarillo.

Picture from north of Amarillo that sums up western Texas:

Right before Amarillo we stopped at another roadside attraction: Cadillac Ranch. After walking through a field we took some pictures of some Cadillacs and also discovered that Amarillo now also houses a Tractor Ranch and a VW Ranch (we stuck with the original). 

Then we checked into the friendliest KOA ever (read my review on Yelp- Amarillo KOA). Not only did they welcome us, they escorted us to our tent site, made sure we knew all the amenities, and offered a free shuttle ride to The Big Texan. 

Although we did not partake in the shuttle ride, we did decide to visit the Big Texan for dinner (more on that later).

We have kept up a lot of our Roadtrip traditions including seeing a ghost tour, going on a factory tour (you’ll see which one later), and listening to Ken’s state mixes (thanks Ken!). We also managed to catch Independence Day on tv July 4. Well, maybe you guys don’t know this but Independence Day: Resurgence came out so we had to see it. 

Below is my review of the movie (not the opinion of all road trippers):

Don’t go see Independence Day: Resurgence with any expectations. It is not straight-to-DVD bad but it does have a lot of major plot holes. Basically, they tried to keep all the things that we loved about the first movie while setting up a sequel with a new cast of characters that we’re supposed to be invested in. Susan Surandon summed it up perfectly: 

“When I read the script, I couldn’t understand what was going on. I just couldn’t understand it. Seriously. A lot of the people from the original one were not going to be doing it, and I read it and I just thought, ‘No. I can’t. I just can’t’.” 

However, I was thoroughly entertained because the special effects were decent and Liam Hemsworth was in it. Also, I kept picturing what it looked like on set and couldn’t stop giggling (I imagined lots of screaming in front of green screens and Jeff Goldblum stopping direction to add his take to what he thought the shot should look like). We basically only paid half-price for a ticket so while keeping all that in mind, I think it was worth it. 

Back to Amarillo, TX… After our movie we made our way to the Big Texan. I’ll let the pictures show the story:

Although we were sure we could have eaten the 72 oz steak if we had tried (it’s free if you eat it within an hour) we all had our 8 oz steaks (smallest steak on the menu) and rolled back into the KOA for a night under the stars (and next to the airport as we discovered throughout the night).

-TechTalkin’ and Walkin’

#teacherroadtrip #jucyworld #southwest #roadtrip #teachers

Day 3: Choose Your Own Adventure

Today we tried something new. Despite the fact that we love each other dearly, and one day hope to be trapped together on a boat sailing from Alaska to Hawaii to complete our tour of all 50 states, we decided to split up this afternoon. After a continental breakfast at our road trip home away from home #holidayinnexpress, a brief panic moment when we realized we had started a 148-mile trip down a road in the desert with only an 1/8 a tank of gas, and a delightful lunch outside next to an adorable King Charles Cavalier named Oliver, we arrived in Albequerque and Casually Kissing Cowboys and I left Suavest of the Seas and Tech Talkin and Walkin at a museum to get all “educated” while we satisfied our pop culture addiction by taking ourselves on a self guided Breaking Bad tour. So readers, we allow you now to choose YOUR own adventure. To read more about Walter White skip below to the 🔷🔷🔷 (blue meth) symbol.  If you’re more interested in learning about what the Museum of Nuclear Science and History has to offer skip to the 🎆🎆🎆 (atomic bomb) emojis. 

🔷🔷🔷 The tour began where the story began, Walter and Skylar White’s home (although it is not Walter White’s birthday and we were not served bacon in the shape of our age).  We found a woman (presumably the owner of the home) sitting in a lawn chair of her garage shouting that pictures could be taken from across the street. This led us to wonder a) is this a full time job for her and b) why didn’t she capitalize on this by charging for photos? Sadly, there was no pizza on the roof (maybe that’s why she’s there!) 

We then drove around the corner to the strip mall which once housed the greatest  sleezy lawyer of all time, Saul Goodman, and found his office has been transformed into a bar. Unfortunately, there was no cranky receptionist to welcome us, however, Saul’s information is still proudly listed on the door. 

Next we cruised over to the setting of the moment of Breaking Bad that finally established our beloved Chemistry teacher slipping into evil incarnate and my personal “can’t turn back” moment in the series- Jane’s apartment. You know what happened there, you know. 

This was the part of our tour in which we wondered, “Where do all the rich people in Ablequerque live?” It turns out, they live in Jesse’s deceased aunt’s neighborhood. Check out Jesse’s pad and also take a moment to remember the sweet, sweet retribution of Jesse buying this house from his parents after they had paid for the remodel. 

Finally, our tour came to an end by paying respects to the One who Knocks and the product that brought him money, stability, and corruption.  

And that concludes the tour. Please skip down to the 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 emojis to read about the conclusion of the day and our celebration of America. 

🎆🎆🎆 Tech Talkin and Walkin headed into the museum to learn about the single most terrifying human invention- nuclear weapons. 

The museum was divided into a history side and science side (fitting, considering the two teachers who visited).  They started on the history side where they saw replicas of Fat Man and Little Boy true to proportion, which are apparently much larger than imagined. 

The epic size of these weapons of mass destruction is of course not their most terrifying aspect. When tested in Los Alamos, New Mexico the heat given off was so high that the sand melted and turned into radioactive glass named Trinitite after the Trinity test. 

At this point our road trippers found themselves on the science side of the museum and had an intellectual discussion about the moral responsibility of scientists. Apparently, after they tested the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer immediately regretted his discovery and quoted ancient Hindu scripture, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” It would make for a great science elective, no?  Naturally, Suavest of the Seas and Tech Talkin and Walkin left wanting to watch more things blow up in the sky. Skip to 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 to read more on that. 

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 To celebrate America, and our 5th anniversary of commemorating the 4th of July from cities around the country, we determined to walk down the road to Balloon Fiesta Park and join the Albuquerque Freedom 4th Festival. We can report that although the fireworks themselves could not surpass Burlington’s (see post from July 4th 2013), the overall event was beyond anything we’ve seen so far- complete with a beer garden, Chick-fil-a vendors (those of you who have been following us will remember how much we love Chick-fil-a), a live show, and couple thousand people. 

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Overall, we were happy to celebrate the 4th of July with the very friendly people of New Mexico! Tomorrow, onwards to Santa Fe (save a place, I’ll be there…)

The Gringo Gaucho

#teacherroadtrip #jucyworld #southwest #roadtrip #teachers