Day 6 (part 2): Golden Light Café in Amarillo, Texas

Steve had read about the Golden Light Café, located on historic Route 66 in Amarillo TX, in “Roadfood” and based on our route, we figured it made sense to stop there for a quick bite on the way to New Mexico. We arrived at around 5:00pm and were greeted by our friendly waitress Courtney. We ordered a couple of Shiner Bock’s (a Texas beer) and when she saw our Massachusetts licenses, she asked how we heard about the place. We explained about “Roadfood” and the fun began.

Courtney returned with four beers instead of just the two we had ordered and said they were compliments of the owner Marc, who was out back and was glad we had stopped by. She then brought over Golden Light t-shirts for us and a moment later, we were approached by two friendly patrons. They had heard we were from Boston and asked us to join them on the back porch with the rest of the Saturday regulars. We couldn’t have asked for a better local experience on our trip! This was the nicest group of people and we were both touched by how welcoming they were. Here is a photo of us with the Golden Light Saturday crew:

We chatted, drank great beer in the Texas heat, and enjoyed delicious food (including a dish kind of like nachos but made with Fritos – amazing!) with these great people, and we ended up staying for four or five hours. We learned about their annual tradition called “Quituation” which began as a retirement party but became a yearly celebration of anything you’ve quit ~ a marriage, a job, anything. Dale showed us the blue school bus he’s renovating, and Katie described what it’s like to get a mammogram (good luck at your appointment on Tuesday, Katie!). Roger and Steve traded hats, and Steve is now the proud owner of a Buck’s Sporting Goods cap while Roger may be seen around Amarillo wearing a Michigan hat.

Steve and Dale on the big blue bus.

The bar next door (where we heard the evening’s entertainment doing their sound check) displays these seats which used to be in the movie theatre where “The Last Picture Show” was filmed.

Our t-shirts from the Golden Light. I’m wearing mine right now!

These nice folks were interested to learn about our trip and wanted us to alter our itinerary so we could spend at least the night in Amarillo, if not longer. We wished so much that we had time to stay and see more of their town but alas, the road was calling. We needed to get to Tucumcari, NM since we had reservations at the Blue Swallow Motel, which ended up being another great stop during SoSA.

We can’t thank Marc and all the kind folks at Golden Light enough for a wonderful afternoon and evening (thanks especially to Roger for generously picking up the tab for our beers and dinner!). It was a truly unforgettable experience, and we’ve both vowed to try to bring some of your wonderful perspective on life home with us. We hope you all enjoy reading the blog during the rest of our trip!

Next we made our way into a beautiful sunset as we drove to New Mexico, where we arrived at the Blue Swallow Motel on Route 66 . . .