Took two sleep breaks last night, the last one at Buc-ees. It’s an interesting place and exactly what I expected. I did splurge and get a breakfast burrito. It started out well, with brisket I think, but by the end, well it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

Was making some good time when a sign with the distinctive brown and white of the National Park Service caught my eye (side note, does that brown have a special name? I’ll have to find out!): George Washington Carver National Monument.

I’ve always been interested in him, if only because I love peanuts and a good PB&J (which I did make myself later in the day). So I figured why not.

Sadly, Google Maps was NOT helpful here. It couldn’t give me directions. It simply suggested what I assume came from the website. Normally I wouldn’t care, but on the way I almost missed a turn because I only saw the sign in time.

To say the monument is off the beaten path is an understatement. It’s literally a back road off a back road off a side road from the Interstate. That said, I’d say it’s worth the stop!

So, while not on any of my bucket lists, I’m glad I took the detour.

My next stop led to another unexpected stop. I stopped in Tulsa to take a photo of a place that shares the name of a friend. (sorry, I’d share, but not currently uploaded to my cloud account). While there I decided to put in my contacts. I had been driving all morning with my glasses and figured it was time. Well, my left contact had other ideas and is currently somewhere in my car. Fortunately there was a Lenscrafters not far out of my way so an unplanned stop there got me a replacement for the sinister lens that left me.

From there, a few stops at roadside attractions, but nothing of note.

For the end of the day I decided to make a “run for it” and get to Texas before getting gas. It was close. I wouldn’t say I was on fumes, but my tank was empty and my bladder overfull! But I made Texas.

Next was a few stops trying to find a place to eat and here I am at Backstreet 200 in I believe Panhandle Texas.

I do need to figure out how to get my phone to correctly upload photos over a data connection and not wait for a Wi-Fi one.

That said, I have to say, been thinking a lot about my Dad today. My Mom and Dad probably introduced my wanderlust before I even had memories. This included a trip across country including apparently an unfinished section of I-80 through Colorado where my Mom had to drive while fearing she’d drive over the edge into the Colorado River.

But the first cross-country trip (or nearly we didn’t make the Pacific) that I actually recall was with my Dad, his then girlfriend and her daughter. We took much this same route, especially the last 1000 miles or so. I’ve been this way via car at least twice since then, but that was the first time. I’ll have more thoughts on the matter in the future I’m sure.

But enough for now. Time to eat.