In September 2021, son David and I hit the road on a five-day cross-country adventure. We traveled through seven states, from Arizona to North Carolina, with overnight stays in Amarillo, Conway, Nashville, and Knoxville. The scenery was beautiful and the weather grand, and along the way we visited a handful of great attractions. Click HERE to read a short introduction to our great adventure.
“On the Road to Conway” is the second in a series of stories.
“On the Road to Conway” is the second in a series of stories.
Conway, Arkansas (Tuesday, September 14, 2021) The La Quinta Inn & Suites, our home away from home in Amarillo last night, was THE BOMB! David and I had a great night’s sleep and woke refreshed, “full of spit and vinegar,” as the saying goes. And it was a good thing, too, as we needed all the energy we could muster this day to sustain us on our 565-mile drive through the eastern half of the Texas Panhandle, across the Sooner State, and halfway into Arkansas!
The temperature was in the low-70s when we left Amarillo and in the mid-80s when we reached Conway. The sun shone brightly throughout the day, and there was nary a cloud in the sky. In other words, the weather was picture-perfect!
Last night, David and I had steak dinners, which we washed down with a flight of beers, at The Big Texan. Needless to say, neither of us were ready for a sit-down breakfast this morning. So, we grabbed a couple of to-go bags when we checked out - juice, fruit-in-a-cup, muffin, and breakfast bar, which was enough to keep the hunger pangs at bay until lunch.
Yesterday, David drove the distance from Show Low to Amarillo. This morning, as we neared his car, he handed me the keys and said, “Your turn to drive.”
Well, I must have had an incredulous look on my face because he asked, “What?”
“Do you remember how many miles I drove on our first road trip?” I chuckled. And before he could respond, I added, “Exactly zero.”
This was an indisputable fact, as David drove every one of the 1,700+ miles from Atlanta to Tucson in 2012.
David hesitated for a moment, and then, with a bit of a smirk on his face, he said, “Yep – I guess I did. But I didn’t think you wanted to drive.”
“Oh, I did,” I insisted, “but you weren’t ready to give me the keys to your beloved Scion.”
He laughed, which told me I was right!
IMHO, this was the least exciting travel day of our trip. The terrain was largely flat – no mountains or other beautiful landforms, like the ones we saw yesterday. And there were few noteworthy attractions along the way – least wise, none that we felt compelled to stop and see.
No matter, though, as today was about grinding out miles so that we would have short drives to Nashville tomorrow and Knoxville on Thursday – two cities we were anxious to explore. This proved to be a great strategy!
David saw me eye the gas gauge as I got behind the wheel. With a note of assurance in his voice, he said, “Don’t worry. There’s a Love’s Travel Stop in Erick, Oklahoma - a little over 100 miles down the road. We’ll stop there for gas and coffee.” That’s my son, I thought, always a step ahead of me!
One of the things I enjoyed about traveling with David was that we could talk for an hour or more…or not. Which was to say, we were equally comfortable filling our time with conversation or with silence. Silence was silence, but our conversations covered a full range of topics, from personal and shared experiences to world events.
Twenty minutes or so into our drive, I started a conversation.
“I don’t know if you recall, but on our last road trip, we stayed at the Comfort Inn, just down the road from La Quinta. We drove almost 600 miles that day, from Little Rock through Oklahoma City to Amarillo. It was dinnertime when we checked in, but neither of us were hungry.”
Last night, David and I had steak dinners, which we washed down with a flight of beers, at The Big Texan. Needless to say, neither of us were ready for a sit-down breakfast this morning. So, we grabbed a couple of to-go bags when we checked out - juice, fruit-in-a-cup, muffin, and breakfast bar, which was enough to keep the hunger pangs at bay until lunch.
Yesterday, David drove the distance from Show Low to Amarillo. This morning, as we neared his car, he handed me the keys and said, “Your turn to drive.”
Well, I must have had an incredulous look on my face because he asked, “What?”
“Do you remember how many miles I drove on our first road trip?” I chuckled. And before he could respond, I added, “Exactly zero.”
This was an indisputable fact, as David drove every one of the 1,700+ miles from Atlanta to Tucson in 2012.
David hesitated for a moment, and then, with a bit of a smirk on his face, he said, “Yep – I guess I did. But I didn’t think you wanted to drive.”
“Oh, I did,” I insisted, “but you weren’t ready to give me the keys to your beloved Scion.”
He laughed, which told me I was right!
IMHO, this was the least exciting travel day of our trip. The terrain was largely flat – no mountains or other beautiful landforms, like the ones we saw yesterday. And there were few noteworthy attractions along the way – least wise, none that we felt compelled to stop and see.
No matter, though, as today was about grinding out miles so that we would have short drives to Nashville tomorrow and Knoxville on Thursday – two cities we were anxious to explore. This proved to be a great strategy!
David saw me eye the gas gauge as I got behind the wheel. With a note of assurance in his voice, he said, “Don’t worry. There’s a Love’s Travel Stop in Erick, Oklahoma - a little over 100 miles down the road. We’ll stop there for gas and coffee.” That’s my son, I thought, always a step ahead of me!
One of the things I enjoyed about traveling with David was that we could talk for an hour or more…or not. Which was to say, we were equally comfortable filling our time with conversation or with silence. Silence was silence, but our conversations covered a full range of topics, from personal and shared experiences to world events.
Twenty minutes or so into our drive, I started a conversation.
“I don’t know if you recall, but on our last road trip, we stayed at the Comfort Inn, just down the road from La Quinta. We drove almost 600 miles that day, from Little Rock through Oklahoma City to Amarillo. It was dinnertime when we checked in, but neither of us were hungry.”
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“I’ll tell you what I remember of that day,” David broke in. “The lunch we had at Ingrid’s Kitchen in Oklahoma City was awesome! I had a grilled Reuben that was piled high with corned beef and sauerkraut and served with a side of German potato salad. Oh – and I had a chocolate fudge brownie for dessert. Delicious!”
Later, I checked the trip photos on my phone. Sure enough, as you can see in these pics, David was spot on! “And I also remember,” he continued, “that I was beat when we got to the hotel. I fell into bed while you visited a museum.” |
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“Your mind’s a steel trap!” I quipped. “The American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum was a short walk from the hotel. It was closed when I arrived, but outside were many life-size sculptures with plaques that told the story of the American Quarter Horse.”
“So,” David prompted, “what did you learn?”
“Well, let’s see,” I said as I dug deep into my memory. “For starters, the quarter horse got its name from the race distance it excelled at – a sprint of a quarter mile or less, in which it reached speeds up to 55 miles per hour!”
“Geez!” David exclaimed as he glanced at the dashboard. “That’s not much slower than our current speed.”
“I also read that a horse named Refrigerator, who ran in the 1990s, was the first sprinter to earn more than $2 million.”
“I betcha that bought a lot of hay,” chuckled David.
So it would, I mused, as I fell back into silence, with the miles clicking by as we crossed the state line from Texas into Oklahoma.
“So,” David prompted, “what did you learn?”
“Well, let’s see,” I said as I dug deep into my memory. “For starters, the quarter horse got its name from the race distance it excelled at – a sprint of a quarter mile or less, in which it reached speeds up to 55 miles per hour!”
“Geez!” David exclaimed as he glanced at the dashboard. “That’s not much slower than our current speed.”
“I also read that a horse named Refrigerator, who ran in the 1990s, was the first sprinter to earn more than $2 million.”
“I betcha that bought a lot of hay,” chuckled David.
So it would, I mused, as I fell back into silence, with the miles clicking by as we crossed the state line from Texas into Oklahoma.
It was mid-morning, and my navigator announced, “We’re coming up on the exit for Love’s.” Sure enough, up ahead I spotted a sign that soared high in the air: ‘Love’s’ in black letters against a bright yellow background, topped by a large red heart. The digital price for gas looked too good to be true – and sure enough it was, as the actual price was $2.80 per gallon. David pumped gas while I bought a couple of cups of coffee – one for David, one for me.
I hung onto the car keys, determined to drive a while longer. David didn’t object.
Soon he commented, “About two hours before we reach Oklahoma City. I was thinking…” he said as his voice trailed off.
I could guess what he was thinking, but it was his thought, so I asked, “What?”
“I’ve been salivating over the food we had at Ingrid’s. We’ll reach Oklahoma City a little after noon, so how about if we stop there for lunch?”
“You read my mind,” I answered, and with that, David mapped our drive to Ingrid’s.
To co-opt a few words from Simon and Garfunkel, we drove a short time ‘within the sound of silence’. I couldn’t say what David was thinking about – his new job or home, lunch at Ingrid's? – but my mind wandered back to the few hours we spent in Oklahoma City on our last road-trip. Before long, I interrupted David’s thoughts with a question: “Do you remember what we did before we had lunch at Ingrid’s?”
“That’s easy,” David scoffed. “We went to the skeleton museum. It was eerie, but very interesting.”
I hung onto the car keys, determined to drive a while longer. David didn’t object.
Soon he commented, “About two hours before we reach Oklahoma City. I was thinking…” he said as his voice trailed off.
I could guess what he was thinking, but it was his thought, so I asked, “What?”
“I’ve been salivating over the food we had at Ingrid’s. We’ll reach Oklahoma City a little after noon, so how about if we stop there for lunch?”
“You read my mind,” I answered, and with that, David mapped our drive to Ingrid’s.
To co-opt a few words from Simon and Garfunkel, we drove a short time ‘within the sound of silence’. I couldn’t say what David was thinking about – his new job or home, lunch at Ingrid's? – but my mind wandered back to the few hours we spent in Oklahoma City on our last road-trip. Before long, I interrupted David’s thoughts with a question: “Do you remember what we did before we had lunch at Ingrid’s?”
“That’s easy,” David scoffed. “We went to the skeleton museum. It was eerie, but very interesting.”
Did you hear about the skeleton who wasn’t cool?
He didn’t have a hip bone in his body!
~ Unknown Author
He didn’t have a hip bone in his body!
~ Unknown Author
A ‘humerus’ pun, right? (Cue up the groan soundtrack!)
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Well, there was nothing funny about the Museum of Osteology, which displayed skeletons of animals from around the world.
“It was interesting,” I agreed. “Similar to a zoo, but none of the animals had skin!” |
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David snickered and then said, “The building wasn’t big, but it was packed full of skeletons – a couple hundred or more species of animal, as I recall. There were snakes and lizards, monkeys and apes, small and big cats, an ostrich and other birds, and even a humped-back whale. I also remember the photo you sent to mom. She wasn’t happy with you.”
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Boy, was he right! I snapped and sent a pic of a green-cheek conure, sans feathers. Why? Because we owned one. His name was Monty, and he was special – truly a member of our family. Debra didn’t see the humor in the photo...and she let me know, in no uncertain terms. Well, I thought at the time, another lesson learned!
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David called out directions to Ingrid’s Kitchen as we reached the outskirts of OKC: Continue on I40 east to I44. Head north on I44 to Northwest 36th Street. Go east on 36th to North Young Boulevard. And soon he said, “Our destination will be on the left.” And sure enough, it was!
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The outside of the restaurant was just as we remembered it. The inside was too – a large rectangular room with an L-shaped display case, plenty of seating, and a casual atmosphere. When we stopped here in 2012, we learned that Ingrid Simon opened her namesake restaurant in 1977 and sold the eatery in 2001.
The display case, which we passed as we made our way to the order station, was filled with mouth-watering pastries, cakes, and other desserts. It was tempting to skip the entrées in favor of a few desserts…but we didn’t! |
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“Well,” I said to David when we reached the order station. “What’s it gonna be?”
“I’m hungry, so I’m having the sausage and schnitzel platter,” he replied. “It’s a veritable feast,” he continued, as he read to me from the menu: A breaded pork loin cutlet grilled and topped with brown gravy, choice of sausage, sauerkraut, red cabbage, German potato salad, and fresh baked bread.
With a nod to David, I said to the cashier, “Two sausage and schnitzel platters, please.”
I paid for our meals (cash only) and took the numbered flag for our order, which I placed on our table.
Tick-tock, tick-tock went my watch. Minutes went buy – 20 to be exact – and then a waitress stood next to our table with two plates in hand. “Don’t mix up our meals,” I said to her with a wink.
“I’m hungry, so I’m having the sausage and schnitzel platter,” he replied. “It’s a veritable feast,” he continued, as he read to me from the menu: A breaded pork loin cutlet grilled and topped with brown gravy, choice of sausage, sauerkraut, red cabbage, German potato salad, and fresh baked bread.
With a nod to David, I said to the cashier, “Two sausage and schnitzel platters, please.”
I paid for our meals (cash only) and took the numbered flag for our order, which I placed on our table.
Tick-tock, tick-tock went my watch. Minutes went buy – 20 to be exact – and then a waitress stood next to our table with two plates in hand. “Don’t mix up our meals,” I said to her with a wink.
First, I tasted the schnitzel – it was grilled to perfection. Then I took a bite of the sausage – delicious – and continued clockwise around my plate until I had tasted everything. David did the same.
“Well,” I asked, “is this as good as you remember?”
“Better!” he responded, with a big smile on his face. “I’m going to savor every bite!”
“Me, too,” I replied.
As we finished our meals, I asked, “Ready for dessert?”
“Absolutely,” David replied. “Leave it to me.” And with that, he headed back to the counter.
“Well,” I asked, “is this as good as you remember?”
“Better!” he responded, with a big smile on his face. “I’m going to savor every bite!”
“Me, too,” I replied.
As we finished our meals, I asked, “Ready for dessert?”
“Absolutely,” David replied. “Leave it to me.” And with that, he headed back to the counter.
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He returned a few minutes later with an assortment of pastries – cherry pudding bar, streusel, and baklava. Well, all three more than satisfied my sweet tooth!
Ingrid’s Kitchen was, by far, the highlight of our day. |
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As we left the restaurant, David extended his right arm with an open hand, palm up – the universal sign that he wanted the car keys. Fair enough, I thought. I drove 260 miles…let David drive the rest. “The rest” was 300 miles according to Google Maps – about four and one-half hours.
Now, I was the navigator without much to navigate, as our route was due east on I-40 with no stops other than for gas. I loved to Google stuff as we drove, and soon I found myself doing this.
“David,” I said as we passed Tinker Air Force Base, “do you know that our drive from here is literally downhill.”
“What do you mean,” he asked.
“Well,” I continued, “the elevation of Oklahoma City is about 1,200 feet and the elevation of Conway is 320 feet – so we are heading downhill from one city to the other!”
And so it went, as we made our way across the relatively flat terrain of east Oklahoma to the Arkansas state line: David drove while I looked up and shared fun facts and worthless trivia.
Now, I was the navigator without much to navigate, as our route was due east on I-40 with no stops other than for gas. I loved to Google stuff as we drove, and soon I found myself doing this.
“David,” I said as we passed Tinker Air Force Base, “do you know that our drive from here is literally downhill.”
“What do you mean,” he asked.
“Well,” I continued, “the elevation of Oklahoma City is about 1,200 feet and the elevation of Conway is 320 feet – so we are heading downhill from one city to the other!”
And so it went, as we made our way across the relatively flat terrain of east Oklahoma to the Arkansas state line: David drove while I looked up and shared fun facts and worthless trivia.
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Soon after we crossed the state line, I said to David, “According to Google Maps, Alma is about 14 miles down the road. Do you remember Alma from our road trip in 2012?”
“I sure do,” he replied. “You were doing then what you are doing now – looking up stuff as we drove. You found a roadside attraction that you said we had to stop and see – the world’s largest can of spinach.”
“I sure do,” he replied. “You were doing then what you are doing now – looking up stuff as we drove. You found a roadside attraction that you said we had to stop and see – the world’s largest can of spinach.”
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“Right you are,” I said. “We found it after we drove around and around the town. It turned out to be a spoof – a very large tank painted to look like a can of spinach. We had a good laugh, as I recall!”
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Alma, you see, promoted itself as the “Spinach Capital of the World” because it was home to Allen Canning Company, which produced more than half of the canned spinach in the U.S. – more than 60 million pounds a year. That’s a lot of spinach – perhaps even too much for everyone’s favorite sailor man, Popeye!
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Before we left Alma (in 2012), we stopped at the town center for a photo op with Popeye. By the way, that’s Popeye in the background!
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Interstate 40 lies north of the Arkansas River and south of the Ozark mountains, home to the 1.2-million-acre Ozark National Forest that was created by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. We caught a glimpse of the foothills, but not the mountains, as we drove between the towns of Ozark and Clarksville, and never did see the river, which seemed to always be just the other side of the trees that lined the interstate.
We arrived in Conway early evening. There we checked into a Hampton Inn – clean, quiet, and comfortable, but a step down from our hotel last night.
Conway was known as the “City of Colleges” (there were three), but it’s real claim to fame was a little-known country singer by the name of Harold Lloyd Jenkins. Never heard of him, right?
Jenkins, so the story goes, realized that his given name wouldn’t sell records, so he placed two fingers on an atlas of the United States. One finger pointed to Conway, Arkansas, and the other to Twitty, Texas. And with that, Harold Lloyd Jenkins was reborn as Conway Twitty! (Try this yourself and let me know what your name would be.)
We were beat from a long day’s drive, so we opted for a simple dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel. We ordered chicken salads and water – a light dinner after a heavy lunch. It was the right call!
We arrived in Conway early evening. There we checked into a Hampton Inn – clean, quiet, and comfortable, but a step down from our hotel last night.
Conway was known as the “City of Colleges” (there were three), but it’s real claim to fame was a little-known country singer by the name of Harold Lloyd Jenkins. Never heard of him, right?
Jenkins, so the story goes, realized that his given name wouldn’t sell records, so he placed two fingers on an atlas of the United States. One finger pointed to Conway, Arkansas, and the other to Twitty, Texas. And with that, Harold Lloyd Jenkins was reborn as Conway Twitty! (Try this yourself and let me know what your name would be.)
We were beat from a long day’s drive, so we opted for a simple dinner at a nearby Cracker Barrel. We ordered chicken salads and water – a light dinner after a heavy lunch. It was the right call!
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We plan to reach Nashville around noon tomorrow – plenty of time to see some sights ahead of a fun outing tomorrow evening. I look forward to sharing our day with you.