Our Lunch Takes a Train Ride

We got out of Texas safely.  Thankfully, the panhandle isn't nearly as wide as the rest of the state!  It was getting dark by the time we crossed into Oklahoma, so we stopped for the night in Elk City.  In Oklahoma, when they build a loop to either go through or bypass a city or town, they don't give it a different number.  So through Elk City (and I have since learned several other cities in Oklahoma), there are two I-40s.  One is the interstate.  The other is the business loop, which goes through the business district of Elk City and tracks the old Route 66.  Our hotel was on the I-40 business loop/old Route 66.  We got off I-40, drove through town, and back on I-40 business loop to the hotel.  When we left the hotel the next morning, we pulled out onto the street, went straight through the light at the corner, and were magically on the non-business loop I-40.  It was a very unique interchange, and we've done some driving.

As we passed Oklahoma City, we waived good-bye to Route 66 because we were continuing on I-40 to Tennessee.

The drive was uneventful through there.  At one point, it was my turn to drive, but the road just rocked me to sleep.  After 15 minutes, I had to pull over and have Bruce take over.

We stopped for lunch in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the All Aboard Restaurant and Grill.  It's lunch on a train - with a twist.  Instead of getting on a train and eating in the dining car, your lunch gets on a train, which drives around a track high on the wall, and delivers your food to you.  It's really awesome!

It's decorated with in a train motif and has tables with those children's wooden trains that have magnets for the cars to attach together for the kids to play on while waiting for their food.

You can even get a hat for your li'l engineer!

The food was excellent, too.  Bruce had a burger, and I had a catfish po' boy.  My po' boy was awesome, and Bruce liked his burger, too.  No hot pepper to ruin his lunch this time!  We were driving so we didn't check how "good" and "better" the beers are, but you can get a "good" beer for $3 and a "better" beer for $3.75!

A little over four more uneventful hours later, we pulled into Bruce's cousin's place in Tennessee for a rest and visit before heading further south.