42

In addition to being the answer to the universe's biggest question, it is now also the number of states I have visited with our trek through Oklahoma.

Though it's totally flat as far as the eye can see, Oklahoma was quite beautiful. The green fields are dotted with grazing cattle and the big blue sky is broken up by fluffy clouds hanging in the distance. There are also a huge number of wind turbines along the highway (I guess Oklahoma is where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, so it makes sense to harness it).

We stopped in downtown Oklahoma City for some BBQ and to visit the Oklahoma City federal building memorial. It's a beautiful tribute and very moving. They dedicated the last remaining wall from the building to the survivors and have chairs to represent all the dead - including some small chairs for the 19 children who were killed. 

It made me reflect on my time as a federal employee and think about all the kind, wonderful people who dedicated themselves to federal service. And given the current political climate, it made me fearful of other emboldened nut jobs who hate the government and demonstrate that in monstrous ways.

We left downtown and headed west to charge at another outlet mall. This one was much nicer and more lively than the one in Mississippi. We took our time and wandered through some stores before hitting the road once more.

Re-entering Texas felt sort of maddening - like our progress had been undone. But, it's a huge state, and this was not a new plan. We made our way to Shamrock, Texas for our next charge. The supercharger is at an old gas station that still has the old pumps out but obviously not working. When we arrived, it was late afternoon and everything was deserted. The bathroom there gave me the creeps big time. There was a haunted or Bates Motel vibe around the grounds. But, it was cool to see the old cars and gas pumps of a bygone era.

 

 

As we were mid-charge, a car pulled up with a couple greasy and shifty looking young men. One gave me the most unsettling look and wave, and I insisted that we leave immediately. Because we weren't done charging, we had to stay under 70 MPH until we reached Amarillo. But, I just had a bad feeling that we were sitting ducks with a lot of valuables in a very nice car who needed to get the heck outta there. Maybe I was wrong and overreacting. But, maybe I wasn't.

We finally arrived in Amarillo and had a gourmet meal at the Whataburger. Apparently, you can get avocado on your burger there now - classy. I had wanted to go while we were in Texas, so now the random junk food bucket list is complete (Bojangles and Waffle House were the other two). As we dined in our plastic booth, a stray dog wandered past the window, clearly looking for discarded burger bits. By the time we left, he was gone.