We made it as far as Santa Rosa, New Mexico on our first day of travel, east on Interstate 40, and took a room for the night at a Holiday Inn Express on the east side of town. The desk clerk recommended the US 66 Cafe as a place for good chile rellanos. We took her advice but were disappointed. The cafe and service were nice, but finding Mexican food to our liking, even in New Mexico, can be tricky.

The next day, Monday, April 18, we crossed the Texas panhandle, not stopping in Amarillo, but continuing on I-40 to the outskirts of Oklahoma City, where Linda used a coupon from her "Room Saver" booklet to get us accomodations in a brand new Comfort Inn, just off the freeway.

This is a view of the sunrise over Oklahoma City, taken from our hotel room the next morning, Tuesday, April 19.

As we obtained our breakfast in the hotel, later that morning, a television special was showing the memorial services taking place at the Murrah Federal building site, where so many inoccent victims lost their lives to an act of domestic terrorism on this date, 15 years ago. It was very sobering to view this scene of the survivors and the families of the fallen, who had gathered with others of their fellow citizens to the remember what happened on that fateful day. It reminded us again that our freedoms are not free but are purchased for us by the blood and sacrifice of so many others. These good people in Oklahoma City and the State of Oklahoma have pledged never to forget.