Road Trip to Cali: Day 3

So yesterday was Day 3 of our Road Trip, but I didn't have time to write a post about it. So here we go...

On Wednesday night we got into Amarillo REALLy late. So we were exhausted! We stayed @ the Big Texan Motel which is next to the Big Texan Restaurant. I would def. recommend the restaurant, but not the hotel. The outside was nice, but the inside was not so great. It seemed dingy and dirty. Not worth the $80. Anyways, so on Thursday we slept in and didn't leave the hotel until 11:30ish. We hung out @ the Restaurant for a couple hours taking pictures and eating lunch. It was a really cool place! The outside was decked out in cheesy Texan decor and the inside was all western! There was a guy that went around playing the guitar and singing to the guests. When he came to our table, we requested some Johnny Cash!

The food was pretty decent. Meat is their specialty, but their side dishes were not that impressive.

The restaurant actually has a food challenge. If you can eat a 72 oz. steak, plus side dishes, then you get your meal free. They have a big table set up in the front of the room with timers and everything. There was a challenger while we were there. I'm not sure if he finished or not. He had about 13 min. left when we were leaving. The restaurant has been featured on Man vs. Food on the Food Network.  I actually remember watching that episode! So that was pretty cool!

After that, we headed to Cadillac Ranch, which was a  little west of town.  It was such an odd sight! It was actually located right along the highway, so we drove right past it on our way to the exit. Such a weird sight seeing all those cars sticking up out of the ground in the middle of a field! haha There were a lot of ppl there! We hung out there for probably an hour or so. We just walked around taking pictures and then we spray painted some of the cars. (No, we're not vandals haha It's part of the cadillac Ranch experience) It was a lot of fun! We wrote a couple different messages: Cali or Bust, D&K, Hi Mom and Dad and Snick!, Kylee and Jennica Road Trip 2011. I'm sure they were covered up in no time because almost everyone that stops there decorates a car....or so it seems. We met a guy from West Lafayette! We pulled up to the site around the same time and he offered to take our picture. Then when we were back @ the car he walked up and said he had noticed my purdue sticker. Was I from Lafayette? So we chitchatted for a bit. He's driving out to Cali also! It's so cool to run into people with Indiana connections!

After Cadillac Ranch, we headed to Taos, New Mexico. It was a looong drive! Well, not THAT long I guess. About 4.5 hrs. maybe, but we were literally driving up the edges of mountains. I was driving and I hate heights! I had quite a bit of anxiety! haha But it was totally worth it! We saw some AMAZING views! We would climb up these gigantic mountains and then go into these gorgeous valleys which were totally removed from civilization. At one point, it was raining lightly. The strangest rain I have ever seen. There were giant rain drops that we so far apart and they made this loud plopping noise. The sky looked dark and stormy and then the sun would break from behind the clouds. We even saw a rainbow! It was absolutely amazing! Gorgeous! It was definitely a stressful drive though. There were the heights of course and then we were raising the sun. We wanted to get to Taos before dark because driving up those mountains would be dangerous @ night.

Anyways, we got to Taos @ sunset. Then there was the whole escapade with the guy trying to steal my car TWICE! The police came but he had disappeared. So we went ahead and left that hotel and went to a Bed & Breakfast called the Dreamcatcher. It was a CUTE little place! The innkeeper, named Prudy, was so very nice and she had the cutest little dog names Jake. He was absolutely adorable! I love B&Bs!!!!! :) We had to separate rooms that were adjoined by a bathroom. It was a cute place!!!

Well, that's all for now. More tomorrow! Night everyone! :)