Day two...wow is it only day two. We have crossed five states and now sit in Houston Missouri...a hour and half east of Springfield along the Arkansas border give or take. My grandfather had a farm here and we came many a time to visit as a kid. When he passed 23 years ago, mom and I came back, cleaned out the farm and sold it. Driving away I remember talking about how there would never be a reason to return. So here I sit, in the Southern Inn motel...maybe even the same room I shared with my mom 23 years ago. Weird. We just ate at Sonic Burger. Now Mick and I live just two blocks from Sonic in Vista - we can see it from our porch and have never eaten there. But here in Missouri, we used to eat at this particular Sonic as a kid...of course it was the only fast food place in town. Now it shares that status with McDonalds - no surprise there. Houston also has the first Walmart I ever experienced back when Walmart was confined to Arkansas/Missouri. Driving in from California, we were amazed at this "superstore" with their low prices and great selection...this Sam Walton guy was on to something!

So I feel as if I have travelled back in time...my mom, my grampa...how'd I get here and why? Cool to share with Mick as these were people who left my life long before I met Mick. Tomorrow we'll see if we can find the farm - 100 acres along Route 17. No reason to find it other that curiosity....hopefully it's not a Lowes or Home Depot or car lot, but from the looks of the town not too much has changed.

We watched teens at Sonic in their shiney trucks with unmuffled mufflers hanging out on a Saturday night, cruising the main drag (actually there is only one drag. One way into town, one way out). While we ate we watched them circle 3-4 times finally converging in the parking lot of the Town and Country market to do donuts and tire burns in the parking lot, while a carload of girls watched on.

Maybe time only marches on in California...

Things to ponder while on the road...

5:00 this morning we headed to Chicago. Mike, my oldest nephew is moving there for work, for life, for love. So Mick and I loaded a truck with his two trashbags of belongings, his girls household of furnishings and their collective 5 foot television, strapped the mini-Cooper to the back of the uHaul and off we go. It's amazing the things you both see and think when you have hours of driving across country. First, let's just get this out of the way, if you need to take a long trek to Chicago and really want to get there quick, quit caffeine for 5 years as I have done and then reinstate it just for one trip. Right now I could drive us to the moon, and maybe back again. It's sort of like taking noDoze in college, but now it's double packs of crystal light with added caffeine.

As you travel thru these little towns (we are currently about an hour east of Flagstaff on Route 40), many a town begs the question Why? I just assume it is where the wheel fell of the wagon so the train stopped and settled. There really is no other logical explanation. Daggett California...why? Needles for that matter, other than the ability to collect $5 for a gallon of gas...why? Needles has even been romanticized in both song and movie...maybe it's a different Needles.....gateway to California.

So we are seeing big expanse of nothingness and a bit of rain. Mike and Chelsea are on the "high road" currently passing thru Denver and it's snowing on them. Good luck California boy....get used to it, might want to change those flip-flops. My sister is traveling in Mikes car with friends also Somewhere on the "high road". It's like our own version of the Amazing Race - who will find Chicago first. More to come...