But everything is bigger in Texas....

I called it, rather than stay another night in Oklahoma (no offence) I made a decision to press on, chase the sun and get into Texas...like we weren’t hot enough. So over the border into Texas we raced....to Shamrock, an Irish town in Texas? Sure.... When I say town, I mean, as ever, a tiny gathering of roads, a ‘Main Street’, some run down houses and the required amount of churches. Shamrock it seems was a little different. All of the hotels were Irish themed...The Blarney Hotel, The Shamrock Inn, there are shamrocks on most front doors and apparently there was a piece of the actual Blarney Stone...ok... Why? No one seems to know. There was one Irish family farming there in the 1800’s, then when the railroad went through there, they needed to call it something, so Shamrock it was. They have a St Patrick’s Day parade every year - and there is ONE Irish family still there (we were proudly told by the lady in the local town museum who was surprised to see us and desperate to get back to her fag)

The one thing there isn’t is an Irish bar...there is no bar. There is actually no nothing really to eat or drink so we have pizza in our room, which is fine...can never have enough dough (or cheese, or beer) Despite thus lacking, I actually quite like Shamrock, we go for a great run in the morning and we go to a great little tiny town museum (with the aforementioned Smoking Lady) which was curated by someone with a real eye, recreating rooms, shops and even a great 100 years of technology room, which started with Pioneer tech and ended with a man landing on the moon (one of the astronauts from one of the moon landings came from fairly close, not the actual town, but close enough...

Onwards onwards... A couple of stops along the way to see the World’s Biggest Barbed Wire Collection and America’s Biggest Free Standing Cross, Texas’ Biggest Peace Sign (you get the drift) and we get to Amarillo, seeking craft beer and something not fried or dough filled to eat. The first we succeeded in, the second not so much. We get a discounted rate in a great hotel with free breakfast and waffles in the shape of Texas and a great pool which we seem to have all to ourselves and head out for adventures....landing in what at first seems like the only hipster bar in town....complete with Open Mic Night at which we were the only ones old enough to drink, the acts bar one were terrible but enthusiastic and we were adopted by a gang of kids who looked at us aghast when we said we didn’t eat meat, couldn’t believe the pictures of Herne Bay by the sea and wanted to ‘be the Texan girl that bought the English a drink’ (by which I think she meant t would I go buy it as she was under age) Other people do Route 66 to see sites and giants...a big tick box of things to see...we meet characters, our rainbow tattoos seem to attract the LGBTQ folk in small towns and we have drunk a LOT of craft beer (and Sam doesn’t even like craft beer!)

We spend 2 nights in Amarillo because we want to go hiking in the canyon...so UP EARLY and out and oh my DAYS... Palo Duro Canyon is simply astounding. My eyes were not big enough to take it all in, it was so vast, so achingly beautiful, so dramatic, so stunning...I know I am generally excited about most things (according to Dais) but this just wow. We chose a ‘moderate’ trail and like historical adventurers set off (with the required amount of water, but woefully lacking in insect repellent) Luckily the way out to Lighthouse rock was cloudy and warm but not baking, making it an easy trek. Our lizard count was exceptional, we encountered a snake, saw a TARANTULA (Jesus Christ, apparently they move slow...I did not) and we got bitten by bitey things that HURT...but OH MY, the countryside... just not enough words and no amount of pictures will ever do it justice. Stunning. Possibly my favourite day so far of the trip... it felt epic and like I was actually in a film. Loved being outside, no sound, no people and a trail JUST adequately signed to make you feel as if I was a true adventurer! I wish we could have stayed and walked more trails...it felt so so good.

But...a swim called 🙂 and we had to venture into town again (with the BIGGEST Lyft car ever, I almost needed a step ladder) so we found (obviously) the trendy town brew pub, all bare brick and wood and then a short stroll (America towns are actually quite small once you get inside their M25) but THEN, after some adequate but not great food, we find THE BEST PLACE YET!! A bar with vintage arcade machines and pinball and great wine, beer and margaritas and funny folk laugh over me drinking tea hot WITH MILK and me and Sam play endless rounds of Asteroids and Pac-Man and I play over and over on Game of Thrones Pinball and we LAUGH at finding such a hipster place and that this is our life and WE LOVE IT. Everything is big in Texas (except the options for vegetarian food...god too many carbs) AND I LOVE IT.