Day 14

A drive along the old Route 66 was what Matthew wanted; shame it took an hour to find the thing! Once on the way, we stepped back in time to a world of gaudy signs, cheap motels and kitsch diners. We chose to stop in Stroud for lunch at the Rock Café - apparently the owner was the inspiration for one of the characters in Pixar’s Cars. "I’ll be healthy and have a salad," says Matthew. Ha, the salad was of course done in true American style - covered in cheese, croutons and dressing. It also was not small by anybody’s standards! We met a typical American who chose to sit down with us and ask if we knew his relatives who were from the North of England. Yes our country may be small but there are still over 60 million people living there and strangely we don’t know them all!
Heading back on the road, we pretty much drove all day to finally arrive in Texas, home of the 72oz steak, and a sign at the visitors centre warning us of rattlesnakes. Having read that the current champion managed to consume the steak, along with the accompanying jacket potato, salad and bread roll, in under 9 mins, we opted for a ‘normal’ steak dinner in a different establishment. Washed down with a couple of margaritas, which seem to be the drink of choice here, we were happy. Back to the $37 room we had for the night and believe me, you get what you pay for!