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...