Day 4

We blasted out of Missouri and entered into Oklahoma. We swapped twisty roads for flat stretches that spanned into the horizon. The speed limit was sixty-five mph and the towns just flew by. We saw a lot more old cars today because the climate is warm and dry. The cars don't rust nearly as much as they do in the north so they just sit. We saw a lot of VW Beatles and 60's Mustangs. One car that really caught my eye was a black Mercury Cyclone. It looked mean and like it has seen it all before. My car looked young and inexperienced in comparison. A little while after that we stopped by this big blue whale. It was a water park back in the heyday of the road and it had been restored. It was the first site on the road that we were actually able to climb on. One thing that really struck me was that there was graffiti in it and some dudes from Spain had etched their names in the top of it. I am surprised that something that is so American would be interesting to people from other countries. The road here was so flat and there was really nothing to see in some stretches. My father made the comment about how he likes the security of the interstate. He likes having guaranteed lodging and the knowledge that he knows where he is going. The highways are tempting and understandably so. We would probably be in California by now. However, they don't really give a sense of adventure. We were driving through Tulsa today and saw all of these art deco buildings and old cars and signs. If we had stayed on the interstate we would have just gone by. Granted we did get lost in Tulsa and were forced to stare at a map and scratch our heads for a half an hour but that is all part of it. This trip is not just about the road but the places that we see and how it makes us feel. The car, the road, my Father, are all part of it. This trip is a journey back in time and the monotony of Oklahoma might be boring but it shows us what traveling back in the day was really like. Finally, what the road brings is a sense of the unknown. That crazy feeling that just around the next bend might be the coolest thing in the world. Yes a blue whale is odd but it makes you feel like you can hear the sounds of the kids playing and the parents yelling. The road is a time machine and we are at its mercy. As I look out of the window at the modern America that we stay in during the night, it makes me want to get back on the road. Knowing what is just around the bend is no fun. Avoiding that feeling is one of the reasons that we are doing this.  

Facts Know By Few: A section of Route 66 was taken from Oklahoma and put into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.   

Favorite Food: Mexican food from a restaurant called  La Mansion

Two Favorite Songs:

1.       Mad Man Moon Genesis

2.       Rock Bottom UFO