Cadillac Ranch

If you know me, or read my posts, you know I’m kinda weird.  I LOVE weird stuff.  I’m also pretty country.  So if combining the two, what better place than Cadillac Ranch!?  Have you heard the song?  It’s by Chris LeDoux.

Now we call it the Cadillac Ranch
They’re parking cars in the old bean patch

Well…..I don’t know how historically accurate the song is, because there is no barn and certainly no bar.  (sad face)  There is, however, an intoxicating aroma of spray paint that one may be able to catch a buzz from on a busy day.  But it’s okay, vandalism is allowed and encouraged.

Cadillac Ranch came to be in 1974 by an art group known as Ant Farm, and is a bunch of classic Cadillacs buried rear end up in the ground.  The angle at which they’re buried is supposed to be the same angle as the Pyramid of Giza.

Although the Cadillac Ranch isn’t in it’s original birthplace, it doesn’t make it any less of a hot spot.  It’s located off on I-40 in Amarillo, TX on private land.  But visitors are encouraged, spray paint cans included.  There’s been several limes the cars have been totally repainted for movies, or restoration projects, etc.  I don’t think that there’s much holding these old cars together besides the spray paint.

My family and I hit up Home Depot on our way to be able to leave our mark, however long it may stay.

Here’s some extra pics of our family adventure

I was pretty excited to see the gift shop there.  I am a bit of a gift-shop junkie!  But after sitting there for an hour and a half, we decided they may not be coming back from lunch.  Bummer

Holiday Inn Express: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Holiday Inns are usually the best, most well-maintained chain hotels that are available EVERYWHERE.  On our way to Amarillo, TX, we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express near Dallas, TX for the night.  It was fine until 2am when their fire alarm malfunctioned and woke us up to blaring sirens at 2am.  The breakfast in the morning was normal….cereal options, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, etc.  Then as we were packed and leaving, the fire alarm malfunctioned again.  As you, I am sure are aware….once the alarm goes off, the elevators stop working.  So we got to lug our luggage down 5 flights of stairs to get back on the road.  Happy I was not.  And i think the firefighters who had to keep showing up shared my sentiments.

Fast forward to Borger, TX Holiday Inn Express, where we had a reservation.  The hotel got our reservation check in wrong and gave away our room because we didn’t show up on the day they had it set for.  There was apparently NOTHING they, or IHG rewards could do to help us, regardless of the fact that it was THEIR mistake, so we drove an hour to the Holiday Inn in Amarillo.

This hotel is pretty nice.  The decor is very classy-texan, and they have an indoor, heated pool with a slide.  Oh! and a fitness center which I actually did utilize (once).  The staff is very friendly and was more than willing to accommodate any request I threw at them, including extra shampoo or conditioner, a wine glass, a new room key, quarters for laundry, or directions to a nearby tourist spot.  My only negative for this hotel is the cleaning staff.  Not they they don’t do a thorough job, but that they come so late.  Maybe 3pm.  Once, the cleaning lady left her all-access room key in our room, and another, they left their rag and spray.  Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.  The front desk lady also gave me permission to go behind the bar and retrieve my own wine glasses if i want, which means she is either uncomfortable behind the bar, or I have been here entirely too long and earned way too much trust with the staff.  Their breakfast here is essentially a continental breakfast with a server that occasionally fills your coffee. I would stay here again any day of the week and would recommend this location to anyone coming this way.  Right next to the movies, and close to museums and the Cadillac Ranch!

Why we don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day

Okay, so we don’t not celebrate it at all….we sometimes exchange cards, I sometimes decorate the house, and I always buy my kids candy or something red and involving a heart. My husband might buy a heart-shaped cookie cake, or heart shaped doughnuts for us to eat. This year I bought chocolate covered strawberries for us. But I see way too many couples (unfortunately, most of them are women) who put entirely too much stock into Valentine’s day. Did you know St Valentine is the Patron Saint of the Bubonic Plague? *ahem* anyways, like I was saying….Too many individuals allow this day to define their relationship and their happiness. I hope they outgrow this.

One thing that working pretty much my entire adult life in restaurants has taught me, is that a day is only a day on the calendar. I had to work every Valentine’s Day.  (And Mardi Gras Day, And Mother’s Day……) So we never celebrated it.

I would get flowers at work with a card “Happy Mike Loves you Day!” That meant so much more to me than dinner, roses and jewelry on a day that gets lost in the hustle and bustle of my job (Or now, the hustle and bustle of being a mother). Mike bought me a box of chocolates on January 31st for no reason. He brings me home my favorite ice cream and 6 bottles of wine for no reason, or orders my favorite pizza even though he finds it repulsive.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I continue to be madly in love with him. Well, one reason.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day every day, every moment you think of your significant other. Leave a note in his briefcase. Instead of sneaking onto his phone and snooping, sneak and take a provocative picture for him to find. Send her flowers on a Wednesday that say “Happy Hump Day” for no reason. Those are the best valentines….Because there is no reason Valentines has to be celebrated one day of the year, when restaurants are on a 4 hour wait. (Trust me on this one)