A Fun Little Last Minute Surprise Visit...........

• Jcbl-martin's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Canyon

Trip Start Jun 24, 2010 Previous
Entry Trip End May 18, 2011 Next
Entry

  Canyon, Texas
Saturday, July 10, 2010

Sometimes it's worth the time to backtrack just a bit…………………… such was the case with our choice of breakfast locales this morning. We had bypassed this joint last night on the way to our motel, but after hearing all the great stories about it we heeded the recommendation of our Route 66 travel guide and returned about 12 miles to the superb Midpoint Café.  This little oasis is in Adrian TX, a one-business town whose existence relies solely on the fact that it is "geo-mathematically" the center of Route 66, with the big sign across the street from the café proclaiming that it is 1139 miles to Chicago thataway and 1139 miles to Los Angeles the other way!   OK, so reason enough to honor that geographic fact by putting a great little namesake café right on the spot!   The Midpoint Café has a very limited menu, with it’s simple but tasty vittles (most notable amongst the offerings are the “Ugly Crust Pies” – definitely don’t let the name sway you from delving into a little slice of dessert heaven…….), but the big draw is that this place is a die-hard Route 66 fan’s dream!  It is decked out in the coolest memorabilia (of course you can have pretty much anything you want from the rather extensive gift shop………..), and the owner, Fran, is the nicest, most personable lady.  We chit-chatted with her for quite a while, and when it came around to how we happened to stop by here, she was totally intrigued with the idea of our Grand Adventure, so much so that she asked us to put her on the e-mail list so she could “follow along with y’all”!  Now ain’t that nice!?  ;-)                                                                          

It’s also intriguing the people you meet in the least likely of places sometimes………………..just as we were leaving the café, up drove two rather burly looking guys on Harleys who parked right next to us.  I gave them just a casual Hello nod and smile, then one of them approaches me, removes his helmet which reveals a long beard-covered well-weathered face (it was about this time that I was pretty sure I was gonna become parking lot roadkill.............), then he asks me in a VERY non-Harley-dude voice (a seriously strong but inordinately gentle Australian brogue) if I would be so kind as to take their picture in front of the café.  Yep you're right - the vision of a rough Harley dude coupled with the politest of soft congenial voices just didn't quite paint what we would consider the usual picture.  But with welcome relief I obliged them with a photo, then we started chatting for a few minutes………….come to find out, they rented these Harleys to go on a cross-country tour across the U.S., and when they’re done they’ll return home to………….Melbourne Australia!  Which is where we’re gonna be in December!  So we chatted some more about our hoped-for adventure Down Under, then exchanged names and phone numbers, and one of the guys (who happens to be a park ranger) says to be sure to give him a call and he’ll get us all set up for some camping along the southeast coast of Australia!  Ain’t life grand!?  G’day, Mates!

OK, so after our yummy breakfast, and after checking out a few more savory gems along Route 66, we hit the road again and decided to go out on a limb and try connecting quite spontaneously with an old friend who until just last night we didn’t realize lived as close to our travel route as we thought.  So off we went to the town of Canyon TX to pop in on Alice and Terry (Alice was the former music director at our church back home for several years).  What a great surprise visit!  Oh my gosh, we sat around their shaded patio and chit-chatted for several hours, reminiscing about the crazy (but fun 'n well done) music stuff we used to do at church way back when, and then also filled them in on our Grand Adventure, which was received with wide eyes and even bigger (and much-appreciated) travel blessings!  ;-)    And we had the chance to tickle the ivories for just a few minutes too!  And as Benjamin said: “whoa, I needed that - I was really getting piano-sick!”.   We were oh-so glad we picked up the phone and made the surprise “hey Bobby Jo, this is Bubba” call to connect up with Alice & Terry – what a delightful little side trip!

Leaving Alice & Terry's place, we made a quick stop (at Terry’s suggestion – thanks!) to view the Palo Duro Canyon (second in size to only the Grand Canyon………..and right here in Texas!  Go figure!).  It’s a gorgeous place, just a little surprising to find a jewel like that in the middle of the Texas flatlands.

Slideshow Share

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Route 66 - in every form you can think of!	Cadillac Ranch - 2	Cadillac Ranch - 3	Quite the motley crue, don'tcha think??
"Grand" Canyon, Texas

Previous Entry Next Entry