Susanne Gunning

Lubbock to Shreveport - 535 miles

Well we found Buddy Holly but he was veiled and not to be unveiled until we left Lubbock!

The Bloody Holly Story

Buddy Holly (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959) born in Lubbock, Texas

We drove straight through Fort Worth and Dallas and only stopped at roadside rests. A big day of driving and I discovered a that coke caffeine gave me a lift on the road.We were delighted with our RV park at Shreveport – Tall Pines. The managers were so friendly and their amenities top class.

Alburqueque to Lubbock - 330 miles

Strong winds and lots of dust made the driving a little more difficult; however we had little to complain about as the people of Alabama were suffering loss of life and destruction from tornadoes. We had breakfast in a ‘diner’ called Country Pride.

The long haul breakfast - fried eggs, hash browns, french toast, bacon, biscuit and sausage gravy

Memories of Route 66

Fort Sumner was an interesting stop at the Billy the Kid museum; a family collection of memorabilia from a couple of generations of the Sweet family. Donald Sweet was very welcoming and happy to share a few stories.

Billy the Kid - shot at 21 years, 1881

And for the night, we stayed at another Walmart Carpark. This time we spotted it quickly and went to see the Manager and we were in. We searched for the Buddy Holly memorial and were told that it had been shifted, so we decided to take a quick look on our way out of town next morning.Back at the carpark, entertainment included sirens and a fire engine arriving to extinguish flames at a fast food store at the other end of the park. The winds were very strong that night, but in the early hours of the morning the nearby light pole stopped rocking as the winds died down. Still, we felt safe as the security man drove around the car park, occasionally pausing to step outside, light up a cigarette and chat on his cell phone.