Grand Adventure

Chapter 6

 'Breaking the Law' by Judas Priest blasted out of the speakers as Eddie guided them down what used to be Route 66. It was no longer an official U.S. highway but you could still drive sections of it and they had been exploring various sites along it all day.

They had driven into Tulsa last night after the ferry boat ride and found a place to park and sleep and then this morning they headed out. They had found the giant Gold Driller and Eddie had taken Dani's picture in front of it. It was just as Amelia had told them, a giant statue that was basically a tourist trap for a quick photo but it was still cool to see. They had seen an original service station that was closed down. They had stopped at the Mother Road Market for some lunch, enjoying fried chicken sandwiches and fries. Now, they were like Ahab, on the hunt for the great whale.

Eddie noticed that Dani kept glancing at the clock. He'd asked her about it, but she'd acted like it was nothing. It was clearly something, but he was letting it go for now. They were on vacation. They shouldn't be on a schedule anyway. There was nothing he was concerned about doing except enjoying his time with her.

He'd loved watching her yesterday when they were on the ferryboat. Her face when she looked down to see the paddles had made his heart want to explode out of his chest. He loved how excited the smallest things made her. Dani was always telling him he enjoyed the simple things in life, but she was the exact same way. She was so easy to make happy and he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing exactly that.

"Holy shit!" Eddie exclaimed, causing Dani to jump and pull her feet back from the dashboard. "There it is! It's literally a big blue whale!"

"Well, what did you expect?" she asked with a laugh. "A big black cat?"

"Shut it," he snorted, pulling the van in the lot and parking.

They got out, walking up. They passed under a welcome sign featuring two blue whales and a Route 66 symbol. He couldn't believe it. Some dude actually had this massive whale made for his wife. It was insane, a whale just sitting along the side of the highway. Dani had told him that it used to be a roadside animal attraction, with alligators that roamed free and a pit of poisonous snakes. Apparently, the wife had her hand chomped by an alligator and only saved herself from being pulled under and drowned by clocking it on the nose. The husband got bit by one of his snakes and the wife saved him somehow. He had to admit, he wasn't sure he would have been so keen to come if those reptiles were still roaming around.