Things We Should Do Differently Next Time We Visit Arkansas
John and I spent last weekend in Hot Springs, Arkansas for our 4 year anniversary. We had a good time, but it could have been better. Here are some basic rules to follow next time you go to Arkansas; learn from our mistakes.
1. Bring the Tent Poles. John and I had a small misunderstanding. He said he took the "tent stakes" to school to mark off the football field. I was pretty unhappy about this, but he said he knew right where they were, and would remember to bring them. I was in charge of putting everything in a pile in the dining room, and John was in charge of packing the car. The misunderstanding comes in the fact that I interpretted "tent stakes" as "tent poles." On the way to Poplar Bluff Friday night, I asked him if he remembered the "tent poles." He said he brought the "tent stakes," like the "tent pegs," and not the "poles." Uh-oh. I blame him for taking our stuff to school, and not thinking on his own when he packed the car to realize we didn't have tent poles, and he blames me for putting everything we needed in a pile, and forgetting the tent poles. When we got to the campsite and inspected the tent bag, I started to cry and wanted to go home, and John rigged up this big long rope and made our tent stand up miraculously.
2. When they say, "20% chance of rain" start building an ark. So, after we both felt pretty good about the standing tent, it started to rain. It rained 80% of the weekend. We were wet in the tent Saturday night. It rained all day Sunday, cleared up a tiny bit Sunday night, rained again overnight, and then was kind of clear when we woke up, but then started to rain again as we pulled away. Sleeping bags wet, socks wet, pillows wet, towels wet, chairs wet, fire wet.
3. They take the term Mobile home to it's highest (or lowest) level. We saw an RV that people turned into a home; garden, car port and all. I'm pretty sure it still had wheels. I was amazed at the overall poverty in Arkansas. Besides Little Rock, I don't think anyone makes more than $20,000 a year. John says going to Arkansas is like going to a third world country.
4. Find out when you can and cannot buy alcohol. They don't sell alcohol on Sundays. You can buy it in a restaurant, but not at the gas station we drove 10 miles out of our way for. Not quite sure what not selling alcohol on one day a week does for anyone?
5. Don't ask the lady at the buffet breakfast restaurant about the weather. She'll give you a lecture about how she leads a purpose driven life, and after she got off work last night, she prayed, and didn't have time for the TV or the weather. I think that means we are going straight to hell.
1. Bring the Tent Poles. John and I had a small misunderstanding. He said he took the "tent stakes" to school to mark off the football field. I was pretty unhappy about this, but he said he knew right where they were, and would remember to bring them. I was in charge of putting everything in a pile in the dining room, and John was in charge of packing the car. The misunderstanding comes in the fact that I interpretted "tent stakes" as "tent poles." On the way to Poplar Bluff Friday night, I asked him if he remembered the "tent poles." He said he brought the "tent stakes," like the "tent pegs," and not the "poles." Uh-oh. I blame him for taking our stuff to school, and not thinking on his own when he packed the car to realize we didn't have tent poles, and he blames me for putting everything we needed in a pile, and forgetting the tent poles. When we got to the campsite and inspected the tent bag, I started to cry and wanted to go home, and John rigged up this big long rope and made our tent stand up miraculously.
2. When they say, "20% chance of rain" start building an ark. So, after we both felt pretty good about the standing tent, it started to rain. It rained 80% of the weekend. We were wet in the tent Saturday night. It rained all day Sunday, cleared up a tiny bit Sunday night, rained again overnight, and then was kind of clear when we woke up, but then started to rain again as we pulled away. Sleeping bags wet, socks wet, pillows wet, towels wet, chairs wet, fire wet.
3. They take the term Mobile home to it's highest (or lowest) level. We saw an RV that people turned into a home; garden, car port and all. I'm pretty sure it still had wheels. I was amazed at the overall poverty in Arkansas. Besides Little Rock, I don't think anyone makes more than $20,000 a year. John says going to Arkansas is like going to a third world country.
4. Find out when you can and cannot buy alcohol. They don't sell alcohol on Sundays. You can buy it in a restaurant, but not at the gas station we drove 10 miles out of our way for. Not quite sure what not selling alcohol on one day a week does for anyone?
5. Don't ask the lady at the buffet breakfast restaurant about the weather. She'll give you a lecture about how she leads a purpose driven life, and after she got off work last night, she prayed, and didn't have time for the TV or the weather. I think that means we are going straight to hell.
posted by happylaney @ 8:47 PM
1 Comments:
At 1:35 PM, June 01, 2005,
Anonymous said…
man, i thought the tent debockle was the only thing wrong with your weekend!!! sheeesh! i shoulda told ya about arkansas, it is mostly a pit, sad to say...they have a decent quality inn in pocahontus though.
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