The Road Trip, part 2

Day 1 -- Austin to Shamrock (440 miles)

The worst part of any road trip is always getting out of Austin. But we managed.

Alas, we did not hit the road until just before noon, costing us valuable travel time, but onward we went, Google maps at the ready (GPS being something I have as yet resisted). I had had trouble sleeping in the wee hours of the night -- unfounded concern about this road trip -- and so was a bit fuzzy for the first stretch, which was both hot and on the twisty lanes of Texas Hill Country. A jug of ice water and a selection of road food snacks sustained us well. We stopped at some nondescript joint for a late lunch, which left me greatly refreshed. We pushed on.

In the town of Coleman, suddenly a train appeared to our left. I pointed it out to the kids, who enjoy watching trains (we live near a crossing and often get caught waiting for one, which is never too bad, rather fun actually). The train was making good speed, on a long, flat run. Suddenly our road curved to the left and up onto a bridge -- we passed over the train! Cool. And then we were traveling with the train on our right -- and catching up the locomotives! Over the in-car chatter, I barely heard the horns, and so opened the passenger side windows for fullest effect. WHHUUURRRRRRMMMMMMM!!! We were now racing the train head to head -- double cool!

And then the road went back over the train again! Our hardy little Civic zoomed up the arc of the bridge just as the engines were passing under! A tie! Triple cool!

Our paths then diverged a bit, and we left the train behind. Though soon the tracks and our route went back to a closely paralleled journey straight to Abilene, mere yards apart, we didn't see the train again.

Past Abilene, and with Hill Country long behind us, the Texas landscape went very flat, Big Sky country, and as we headed north more scrub and trees were evident. Miles would go by without other traffic. Empty but not desolate. The day's peak heat passed over, and the sun began setting. We made a few short stops to stretch, refresh, and once to fuel the car, but there's just not much else to see along this stretch. The scenery is captivating both in natural beauty and a "look how much there is" way.

We made one last road stop in Childress, herded the kids into the restrooms. The gas station/store catered to trucks, and there were about a dozen parked at the far edge of the lot, most rumbling away in that massive diesel engine way. I walked Amie and Carson over there just to take a look, see them up close. And we found a penny, always a treat.

We pushed on. The sun set. And finally, just before 9:00, we pulled in to Shamrock, straight up the main drag from the south.

Why Shamrock? It is a charming enough little town, and like many other little old Texas towns we had passed through, shows the remains of many brighter, more prosperous days (this once was oil country; we had passed many field pumps, only one of which we could tell was in operation). There is a particular building here, known in days past as the U-Drop Inn, right on the ancient mother road, US Route 66. And in 2006, Pixar featured it in the animated town of Radiator Springs as Ramone's Paint Shop in the delightful movie Cars -- which our son Carson adores.

There we were, motoring through Shamrock, looking for a hotel for the night, and suddenly there it was, ablaze in green and red neon. Ramone's. (I knew it was coming, but not certain where, nor that it would be lit up.) If Route 66 used to be adorned with places like this, it really must have been something.

The U-Drop Inn building (also known as Tower Conoco or the Tower Building) in Shamrock, Texas, lit up at night.

There's a McDonald's just past the U-Drop Inn building, which is never my preferred stop but is a known quantity, so we pulled in for a modest dinner -- the kids got meals with toys, naturally, but I had just a chicken sandwich and coffee and Val made do with just the coffee. (Food from McDonald's or any restaurant of its class works best when one aims low and expects little. The chicken sandwich was actually pretty good.) The toys, silly things that they are, interested the kids (wired from a long day in the car, even well-equipped) more than the food did.

There is a hotel adjacent to the U-Drop Inn, just across the street; we checked in. A brief rest, and we all went outside to look at Ramone's, armed with camera and video. Carson and Amalie both were energetic -- they needed to blow off kid steam -- and a bit tense. This was, at least, the longest single driving day they'll have to endure -- nine hours, stops included.

Amalie and Carson celebrate old U.S. Route 66.

I surprised Val and myself in that, after our lunch break, I felt refreshed, really great. I handled the entire drive, though when at last we stopped I was stiff. To be expected; not enough sleep, very long day of driving. We've got about another 400 miles ahead of us today as well, but the first 100 are a straight shot on Interstate 40 (to Amarillo), and we'll get an earlier start. Plus I slept like a log, so I'm ready.

Onward!