The thrill of the open road was calling my name, not to mention seeing my roommate’s younger brother graduate from high school. So on May 29, we loaded up my single cab Ford and headed out for the open road.

Before we hit the open road, I made a map of where we should go, Abilene, Lubbock, Amarillo, and then, Groom.

We left our house May 29 around 3 in the afternoon. Abilene was our first stop so we could fill up with gas and snacks. Through miles and miles, static on the radio, and poorly planned puns, we made it to the Red Raider capital of the world, Lubbock.

 From Amarillo to Groom is a straight shot on Route 66, so I put the cruise control on and rode the infamous road lit by sparse, random vehicles, my headlights and the stars and moon.

The next day for lunch, we met up with Tyler’s parents at what could second as Groom’s City Hall: Dairy Queen. This DQ, just off of Route 66 seemed like it had been there ever since 66 was put in place.

Then, the big day came, Tanner’s graduation day. I thought I had graduated in a ‘small’ high school class with 235 students; Tanner beat that with an astounding 9 students. The ceremony was well done with the few students they hosted and before we knew it, the reason we drove seven hours to Groom was over.

Some of the cool things we did on our trip was eat, sight see and see old friends. The first place we ate that is worth mentioning was Coyote Bluff Café in Amarillo, made famous by the Travel Channel show, Man Vs. Food, the restaurant features six different kinds of hamburgers, grilled chicken and French fries.

I went with my favorite burger, the mushroom and Swiss with grilled onions. The burger was incredible, the tenderness of the patty with the sweetness of the grilled onions and taste of the sweet mushrooms made the burger delicious and the bun the was light and sweet. It paired wonderfully with the other players of the burger win. Our waitress told us that the buns were ordered daily from a bakery in Amarillo.

The fries were more than just ‘fries.’ They were seasoned perfectly with salt and fried to a golden brown crisp. The only thing I do not like about CBC is they do not take debit cards, but all in all, I highly recommend this restaurant.

Before we knew it, our panhandle trip was over. We left Groom Sunday morning and drove the Western Hemisphere’s second largest cross just outside of Groom. The cross standing at 190 feet was impressive to see.

From there, we drove to Cadillac Ranch just west of Amarillo. The ‘ranch’ was old Cadillac cars buried nose down in the ground of a cattle pasture. Littered by empty spray paint cans, random trash and tumbleweeds the pasture looked like the apocalypse of Larry Joe Taylor Fest.

In the middle of the pasture stood the cars, like a beacon of light in the dark, unmissed by everyone who drove past. The cars reeked of paint, but were cool to see nonetheless.

I think the sheer randomness of the ranch is what I liked most about it.

We made Lubbock that afternoon and met one of my friends at the Cap Rock Café. The café and bar had signs that bragged about being the “Best Place To Have A Beer” in Lubbock. Being known for it’s party atmosphere, saying the best place to have a beer in Lubbock is a large achievement.

We started with an appetizer of fried jalapenos and onions, while waiting on my friend. I’m not a large fan of jalapenos, but found these to be just as wonderful the onions. When my friend (Kelsey) showed up we ordered our food: chicken fried steaks. The chicken fries were mediocre. The meat was well tenderized but it was drowned in grave and it did not have that good of a flavor.

All in all, our west Texas trip resulted in new friends, delicious food, awesome sights and many miles traveled. For everyone, I highly recommend packing up a vehicle and driving into the great unknown.