I have traveled to numerous locations around the country, but I’ve never been to Arkansas. So, I was really excited this past weekend to have the opportunity to go. My boyfriend’d kids are currently living there with their mom on 800 acres in a tiny town where the closest city is an hour drive. We flew into Kansas City, MO, early in the morning. It was a quick flight where thankfully we caught a nap before our long drive south.
Upon reaching the airport, we grabbed our bags and picked up the rental car. Our destination was still four hours away down winding roads. As we drove, we crossed a sea of hills and open prairie. Things just seemed slower, more serene, when compared to what I know of Fort Myers these days. Everywhere you looked there was a whole lot of nothing, and it was good. It felt like this would be the part of US that promoted 4H, and listened to country music. On a Sunday morning, everybody you know is in church, and when you shop downtown they still tip their hat when a neighbor passes by. Like something out a Norman Rockwell painting.
It’s really beautiful. It reminds you of what life may have been like back in the day, before the high-fi, wifi and endless reality TV. It’s wholesome. I’m guessing a much healthier way of life than many of us may ever get to experience. There is a ton of wildlife living among the tree lined dirt roads, barns and houses, ponds and open sky, patches of forrest, caves and gullies. Even in the bitter cold, which hovered just above 10 degrees much of our visit, you could feel the calm in the air, and in the night you could see stars easily as the nearest light from any big city was literally miles away.
On top of the experience of all that is Arkansas, it was equally awesome to see everyone. The weekend seemed to breeze by. Even though the cold of winter sunk straight into our bones, we braved it, piling into the truck and heading to check out the Ponca Wilderness Area. There were amazing views of caves, rock formations, and clear blue river water. We saw a herd of elk while we were headed back to the house. So, we took a few pictures and took it all in. About half way home we stopped at a cute little truck stop. They had everything from gifts to candies, deli service and hot foods. We decided to stay a bit and grab a sit down snack.
Later that evening back at the house, while watching a movie on the television, I realized I felt a bit nauseated. I ignored it and it seemed to not hit me all that terribly hard. We finished out the day and eventually went to bed. Around 3 AM that’s when I finally crumbled. I was sick, real sick. Basically spending a good 20 hours sleeping and going to the bathroom, over and over again. It was probably the most sick I’ve been in a long time. The next day a few more of us got sick, but it was only those who had the chicken items at the gas station the day before. A case of food poisoning. Eventually I got over it, but it felt like I spent a huge chunk of time secluded in misery in the bedroom. It was not fun.
The next morning we had to head out. Our visit was just a long weekend and we had to be up by 1AM. By this time, unfortunately, the others were finally getting what I had had, but this morning we had to drive four hours back to Kansas City, for a flight that was to last another 3 hours home. I felt bad for the others, but was sure glad I was over it before having to travel. Stroke of luck for me.
They remained strong, doing what they had to to cope and meet the flight on time. We got on the plane finally pulling into Punta Gorda, FL, right on time. After getting our bags, we headed outside for our ride. As soon as we hit the pavement the heat and the humidity were like a brick to the face… Welcome home.
