Visiting Route 66 Shops in Amarillo

Today we spent time driving the old route 66 in Amarillo. The old section just west of downtown is really neat. They have an old stoplight and street lights. We visited several antique shops and before we decided to get something to eat. We had some swamp things and a couple cold beers at the Blue Gator. A pretty step back to the old days here.

Cal Farleys Boys Ranch

Today we decided to visit the Boys ranch (http://www.calfarley.org/). It is about 60 miles out of Amarillo. We were greeted at the main office and saw a real neat movie about the ranch narrated by Red Steagall (http://www.redsteagall.com/). We then was given a ride to the Cafeteria and had a wonderful lunch. We were then driven around the ranch and got to talk to some of the boys there. It was amazing. They take these boys in and do not charge a dime! We were shown one of the houses they stay in. They have 6 bedrooms of 2 to 3 boys in each room. There are 2 set of houseparents and it was really neat meeting and being able to talk to them. The most amazing thing is not once were we asked to make a donation and we were unable to find a place to pay for our lunch. They exist totally on donations and do not take any government money. They used to be self sufficient growing and raising all that they ate. The government stepped in and now they have to buy some things to meet FDA standards. They are in the old town of Tosca which was given to Cal to start his ranch for boys. A real neat adventure and experience.

4th of July trip back home

Boy what an adventure. We left Amarillo on 4 July to go back to Fort Worth and celebrate Raquelle's Birthday. While we were dining at Joe's Crab Shack, somebody decided that they like the XM radio in my truck better than I did. They smashed the passenger side window and tried to steal the XM radio, took Honey bunches purse and direct TV receiver and also broke into the truck next to us. Boy talk about an expensive trip. Honey bunch had our spending money and all her address's in her purse along with both of our debit cards. Had to spend Wednesday going to bank to check book replaced, new cards and window ordered. They installed it Wednesday around 3pm. We spent the night and drove back to Amarillo Thursday. We got back around 11:30 am and went back to work at 2 pm.
But on a lighter note we got to spend an extra day with our Grand Daughter and the in-laws. They really seem like a good bunch of folks. We also met Ben's Grandmother. Raquelle says her and Ben will try to come up and visit us at the KOA.
Oh well guess this just goes to show you can not be too careful now a days. A lesson learned.