Everything is Bigger!

I awoke this morning with great excitement! Alexis and I put on our jeans, pulled on our cowboy boots, and donned our cow girl hats. Today we were headed into Texas! We drove Route 66 with the wind in our hair and the bugs in our teeth (ok, maybe I'm getting a bit too animated), but hey, we were going to Texas! My love for Texas stems from my time in Austin at grad school, Hook em' Horns! I think Alexis' love was from the promise of a real cowgirl shirt once we got to Amarillo (which she looks absolutely adorable in)!
We stopped at Cadillac Ranch, a 40 some year old roadside attraction along Route 66. Some Texas millionaire planted a bunch of Cadillacs nose down in the middle of a farm field. I visited Cadillac Ranch 20 years ago while doing research at UT. I will have to pull out the old pictures of me there to compare to now. Cadillac Ranch is an iconic part of America that I was excited to share with my family. Although, it did sadden us all how much graffiti was on the cars and that the spray cans were all just tossed aside in the field (100's of them). There was even a family there with 3 kids, all with cans in their hands and dad taking pictures of the defacement they were performing (great parenting!).
We set up camp in a quiet, shady campground just east of Amarillo and went in search of real Texas Barbeque. We found it at a place called Dyer's, known for their award winning ribs. I bellied up to 1/2 a slab with a few Lone Star beers to wash them down. They were fabulous! Alexis sat across from me doing some sort of pulled pork happy dance, and Daiv never spoke as he devoured a plate of pulled pork, brisket, and ribs. Oddly enough, Ryan, who typically has eyes 2x's the size of his stomach, ordered only a plate of loaded fries and was as happy as could be, he did eat all his sister's sides though.
We completed our wonderful Texas day with a stop at a Super Walmart. These Walmarts have everything, including a grocery store in them, they are HUGE! We bought several University of Texas and Dallas Cowboy shirts for the whole family. A day well spent!
Tomorrow, Oklahoma!