Amarillo, Texas

Monday June 8^th – Travel Day -  We left Tijeras, NM mid morning and drove to Amarillo, TX.  We have everyone wondering why we’re backtracking.  Haha  The truth is that Texas is so huge, we only saw the south and mid parts of the state coming through and at some point we have to cover some of the middle states so it seemed to make sense to do it now, so this time around we’re covering the panhandle of Texas, and I kind of like it, so far.  Delighted with our RV Resort this time around.  HUGE sites!  We could probably put 2 RVs and 3-4 cars on this site!  And for the first time in a LONG time, we actually have a paved site.  All the ones out west seem to be gravel, but this one has gravel in all the areas that would normally be grass, but the sites themselves are all paved, which really helps in keeping dust down.  It is SO dry out here!  Still not used to the “no humidity” thing! This is a “sister park” to the USA Park we had in Gallup, so we were expecting it to be really nice.  It’s huge as well, 192 sites with several lovely buildings throughout with laundry and restroom facilities.  Beautiful club house, exercise room, a lovely pool and an adult spa with a large covered area, which is SO nice, as this Texas sun is brutal.  For my RVing friends, definitely put this on on your list if you’re in this area – only $35 night.

Earl joked this is what happens when he lets me drive the RV....haha

Tuesday, June 9^th.  Woke up to a beautiful sunny day, delightfully mild temps, but supposed to be in the high 80’s this afternoon.  We drove into Amarillo this morning to see the Harrington House.  Anyone ever heard of it?  I had not, but now that I’ve learned the history, almost surprised I haven’t known about it before.  Built in 1914, the house was acquired in 1940 by Don and Sybil Harrington, leaders in the oil and gas industry and huge philanthropists.  It is a fine example of the Neoclassical style, with exquisite materials and workmanship throughout.  Remember this is NOT a renovation, but a preservation!!!  So everything is just like it was when they lived there!!  I was NOT happy that I was not allowed to take any photos!  Bummer.  In fact, this place is guarded like Fort Knox!  We had to put our phones and sunglasses in a locker!!  And while we were waiting for the other couple to come (only 4 tour at a time with TWO tour guides, one to give you all the information and one to watch to make sure you don’t steal anything.  LOL I don’t know that was the reason, but it felt that way.) Anyway, we were waiting, and I was just talking to the lady and just kind of leaned against the window sill, and she said, “oh PLEASE don’t touch!!!”  Yikes.  Earl said I had the most surprised look on my face – I felt like a little kid who’d had her hand slapped!  The house was lovely though; if you’ve ever been to Biltmore House, this would be like a smaller version of that, with the same elegant feel and furnishings.  This home is 15,000 sq. ft. with 4 levels, 20 rooms, 8 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces on 4 levels.  We toured 3 of the 4 levels.  We did not see the kitchen or the 4^th floor which we were told were more bedrooms for guests an servant’s quarters.  All of the Harrington china, silver, etc. are on display as well as a myriad of collectibles.  One room had quite a few of her dresses, complete with gloves/shoes/purses, etc.  The home was full of their personal photos taken with quite a few celebrities, Cary Grant,  Gregory Peck, Ronald and Nancy Reagan among many others.   Mrs. Harrington died in 1998 at the age of 90.  What an accomplished woman, with 2 honorary degrees and a huge supporter of the arts.  She personally underwrote 16 entire productions for the Metropolitan Opera!  Look her up if you’re interested, really fascinating story.  Sadly they had no children, so she gave the house and its furnishings to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Society in 1983. She still occupied the property however, and it was later conveyed to the Amarillo Area Foundation, which manages the endowment established in the continuing tradition of Harrington philanthropy. (It would appear there was an unending supply of funds!) Here are a few photos we took of the outside of the home.

 The groundskeeper was there when we were walking around and we asked about this tree.  It was struck by lightning some years ago and the limb was so huge it did thousands of dollars worth of damage to the NEIGHBOR's house!!  Yikes!

We then went to lunch at Cheddars.  I know it’s a chain, and we’d decided when we left home we would not ever eat at chain restaurants, but we’d never eaten at a Cheddars and IF we ever get one near us at home, it would become one of my favorite restaurants!  I don’t know what attracted the manager over to us, but we had asked our server what he would recommend since it was our first time there.  Soon after, the manager came over to introduce himself and welcome us, and wanted to comp us their homemade chips and salsa with queso! Now how did he know how much we like chips and salsa?  THEN they brought over these yummy soft croissants with honey butter (like what they used to serve at HOPS and California Dreamin in SC!) and of course, I was full by the time our food came, so I barely tasted it and brought the rest home. What a pleasant experience!  He said there is one in Kissimmee, so we’ll have to check it out when we get back.
 

Then we went to WalMart to get some prescriptions refilled.  We knew it would take forever, as we had gotten 3 month prescriptions on things, and they had to call each place to verify, so while they were doing that, Earl brought me home to relax and read, and he went back to get the tires on the car rotated and aligned, and picked up our RX.  I enjoyed reading outside, beautiful fluffy clouds and wonderful breeze made the high 80’s temp seem perfectly ok.  I finished reading the Auschwitz Escape, by Joel Rosenberg,  AWESOME book!!   Read it!

After Earl got back, and we talked awhile, we decided to take a long bike ride around the park.  We came in about 7:00, still bright daylight, but seemed warm so the RV was nice and cool.  We were not hungry at all, so skipped dinner.  A great first day in Amarillo.

Wed -  June 10^th was a work morning.  We had the major job of defrosting the refrigerator/freezer.  I HOPE someday they’ll make RV refrigerator/freezer units that are frost free like we have at home!  Fortunately we have a small refrigerator unit that we keep underneath for extras like drinks, etc. so we piled that full of all the freezer stuff so it would keep well. All the really perishable things in the refrigerator we piled into the sink with ice packed all around it and covered it for the 3-4 hours it takes to thaw out the freezer.  Yuck, not my favorite thing to do.  Earl also got handles put on my 2 pull out pantry doors making it much easier for me, as the suction grip on RV drawers are TIGHT, which is good for traveling, but hard for me to open. We did some other puttering and cleaning while waiting for the freezer so it was a very productive morning, though not a lot of fun.  haha

This afternoon we went to the pool and spa areas and at the spa we were the only ones there, so we had a very pleasant afternoon reading and sitting under the covered portion of the lanai.

Thursday, June 11^th we enjoyed a slow paced morning, and then took off to go to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. “Palo Duro” is Spanish for “hard wood” in reference to the Rocky Mountain Juniper trees still seen in the canyon. The Canyon is approximately 120 miles long, 600-800 feet deep and is the 2^nd largest canyon in the country.  They call it the Grand Canyon of Texas. 

It is over 27,000 acres and is in 2 counties. It is impressive and beautiful in its grandeur.  We had allowed too much time, and it was HOT so we ended up going back into Canyon and going to the library and reading for a couple of hours.  This was by far the hottest day we've had - 94 degrees today!!  I do NOT like that! Then time to head back to the Canyon for a BBQ dinner and then attending a performance of “Texas”, the outdoor musical drama which celebrates 50 years of production this summer! This is the most attended outdoor drama in the country!  Having loved Unto These Hills and The Lost Colony, we were excited to see this production. It goes on every year from June 2 through mid August. It gave a glimpse into what it was like with the first settlers in Texas and ended with a rousing patriotic finale that would just bring tears to your eyes.  Once again, we were impressed with the intense pride of Texans, both in their state and in our great country!  The production incorporated faith and some hymns in the storyline and it was overall a very memorable evening.  ONLY disappointment was not being allowed to take photos! Bummer. Here's a couple we took before it started. If you're ever in this area though, it's worth seeing this production!

 On our way back, we had quite a nightly showing of “heat lightning” – I don’t remember seeing anything like this before!  We didn’t get home till about 12:00 p.m. and shortly after, there was a tremendous hailstorm!  I slept through it all like a baby, but Earl told me about it the next morning, as he was even a bit concerned wondering if a tornado could be brewing.  We woke up to clear skies and another day of loving life! What's weird is that yesterday was 94 degrees - today was 64!!
 

Friday, June 12 – as soon as I write that date, I immediately think of our best friends, Orlan and Sheila Thomas who celebrate their 43^rd Anniversary today.  Missing them – we have so many fabulous memories of shared times over the years.  One of our life constants and greatest treasures.  

We caught up on email and FB this morning and read for awhile.  Then decided to go into Amarillo….. we stopped by the famous Cadillac Ranch….not sure what all the fuss is about.  But EVERY time we’ve driven by (it’s only a couple miles from our RV park) there are people there!!!  Even in the rain!!  The cars are buried in the ground and people spray paint all over there.  The paint has done little to preserve them apparently as most are in serious decay, just barely hanging on by pieces.  Interesting, I guess, but I wouldn’t drive a long distance to see it.  Not to mention it’s in the middle of a field and MUDDY!

It was predicted rain, and did indeed have scattered rain, so later in the afternoon we went to a movie – saw McFarland USA – loved it.  Great true story!

Saturday,  June 13^th -  This morning I had a much needed appointment at a hair salon.  I always am a little fearful of going to someone totally new, but didn’t have a choice when traveling.  She definitely got scissor-happy, shortest I’ve been in many years, but hey, it's summer time, and it’ll grow, and she did fairly well on the color. So counting my blessings.

This afternoon we went through the RV Museum in Amarillo – VERY interesting…..

Yep, we've come a long way in RV style....not sure I'd be so into "camping" back in the day.

And is this not THE cutest dog house??

On our way home we stopped by this place that has 3 old Cadillacs that supposedly belonged to John Wayne, Willie Nelson and Elvis....

 

Time for dinner – have y’all heard of the famous Steak House in Amarillo where they offer a 72 oz. steak FREE if you eat it all!!!  Yikes – I cannot even imagine anyone being able to do that, AND you have to eat all the sides – salad, shrimp cocktail, baked potato… all in under one hour.  The record holder did it TWICE in an hour!!!  And it was a young mother of 4!!!  Normal size, and everything!!  Unbelievable!!  My steak was 8 oz. and I only ate half of it!  After dinner we went looking for longhorn cattle.  All the time we have spent in Texas, famous for their longhorn cattle – haven’t seen a one!  Still no luck, so…maybe it’s a figment of the imagination.  The only ones we’ve seen are mounted in steak houses.

We have learned that in Texas, just like in Florida, the weather can change in a moment.  We had a tremendous storm tonight.... it got really dark and eerie looking and then heavy rain and hail!  In just a few minutes it had stopped and there was a beautiful sunset!

 

Sunday – June 14^th – Beautiful day!  We watched The Cross of Mount Dora’s live streaming this morning and then enjoyed reading outside in our lawn chairs….met our delightful neighbors from San Diego, also full timers.  David and Marie – what a great Christian couple!  She is Greek and they have a place in Greece where they spend 3 months a year.  They’re on their way to North Carolina, so we’re going in opposite directions, but we shared SO much in common, so we’re hoping to run into each other again!  We caught up on laundry and then went to dinner in Amarillo at Cheddars again….. yummy, one of my new favorites.  On the way home, another horrendous rain/hail storm!  Crazy.  I was happy to get back in the RV.  We’ll be leaving in the morning with changed plans.  Looks like continued rain and flooding for Texas, so we're changing directions again.  Heading for new adventures….stay tuned.