Arkansas and Missouri…my impressions

Arkansa and Missouri….

   I tried to listen to some history of these states but I kept dozing off. Most of it had to do with the civil war. My first impression of Arkansas was it was stunning. Very green with lots of  interesting rock formations. The drive from our friends house to our next stop in Eureka Springs Arkansas took us on a back country two lane road that followed a river. We stopped  to check out the river but it was sweltering hot. Too hot to swim if that makes any sense. We saw lots of neat old barns and farm houses.  As we first pulled into Eureka Springs we were excited. It was really cool at first glance. Very western but artsy. If old Victorian architecture is your thing , this is a place you will probably like. I saw this listed on a list of America’s best towns that also included Carmel Ca.  The town was built around some “healing springs”. I have to say my personal opinion is that although there was lots to look at that was interesting and pretty, it didn’t have a good vibe to me. The area is filled with churches, crystal  and tacky souvenir shops. There were some art galleries,  but in my opinion  the art had a creepy vibe. 

  We found a nice Rv camp ground. It was 36 dollars for the night. Jimmie argued that we can stay for free across the street. I wined .. “ but its our 30 year anniversary , can’t we splurge and plug in so we can have air conditioning for the night?” I pulled the anniversary card and  won that argument. Good thing because it doesn’t cool down at night and the air conditioning in this van is a life saver. 

  Over all I couldn’t get through Arkansa fast enough. There’s a lot of really large bugs and very hairy beards. It seemed all the men had these long ZZ Top style beards, many wore suspenders and few smiled. I think I saw a few of the original billy bob teeth and everyone seemed to smoke. It seemed there was two types of people, extremely religious or the I worship Satan type.  I didn’t see much in between.  There of course were also some very friendly people, but this was my overall feeling. I just didn’t like it.

  We saw a wine tasting room and we decided to give it a try. I realized I am officially a snob. For starters Jimmie is a sommelier so I am acquainted with good wines. We walked into the wine tasting room and were greeted by a friendly woman eager to tell us about the tasting notes of these Arkansas wines. Now my palate is not refined exactly but I have been spoiled for sure. She pulled out two Dixie cups. That was our first clue. As she went down the list of wines I was so grateful she provided a place for us to dump what we don’t drink. After the first few tastes I was like Wow this is why I have never heard of Arkansa wine before. These were hands down the worst wines I have ever tasted. I am not so snobby as to turn down a glass of two buck chuck but this was another level. Try notes of really bad vinegar, rotten apples or Clorox mixed with kombucha.  We tried to not laugh. We couldn’t look at each other. We did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings  but if we would have made eye contact I know Jimmie would have laughed and spit his wine across the room at the  wine maker with his long beard and suspenders who kept staring at us. We behaved but it was an exercise of self control. Yes I guess I am a wine snob. It was an experience to remember.

   Missouri is very green. Not many towns and we are just trying to cruise through to get to the east coast at this point. We did stop off and see some other friends who just moved here. We had a nice visit. A few hours later in our drive we were  surprised to see a horse and buggy cruising alongside the freeway. The freeway was not busy like California freeways but it was busy enough that I was shocked and a bit worried for the safety of the buggy. The buggy took a right turn. We were curious and turned around and low and behold there was another buggy with a man and woman who looked like they were on a set of little house on the prairie. We drove down the road and caught up with the first wagon. A big healthy horse was cruising down the road hauling a family with a brood of kids all dressed like the turn of the century. I felt a little bad for them because it was so hot but the kids were so cute. A little boy barely fit in the back of the wagon his legs were folded and he looked as confused by us in our Winnebago as we were by them. As we passed all the kids yanked there heads around to see us and we stared at them back smiling of course. They were cute as buttons. We were in Amish country. We saw several more wagons. I saw a brave woman who wore little round spectacles and a big blue dress with a bonnet literally crossing the freeway with her horse and buggy. She had a look of seriousness on her face not much different than if she were an old lady driving her Mercedes. We looked up a Amish grocery store and hoped we could buy some goods like honey or pies, But when we  pulled up to the “store” a buggy was tied up outside. It seemed to be closed but I’m not so sure they would ever be open to sell to us. I wondered if it was just for Amish people. What an interesting way of life!  I would guess in many ways that could be a nice childhood for children. No tv, No video games. Just simple farm life. 

  We stopped at an old cemetery. We love old cemeteries. They are like museums for us. Our first date ended at a cemetery in Dublin. We Were only barely 18 and 21 and we didn’t know as we were waking around that cemetery that only a few months later we would be married. We had just the night before reconnected. I was staying at my brother Daves house and my friend Andrew invited me to Berkeley to listen to a band. When I got in the car there was Jimmie. I had had a crush on him when I first met him when I was only 14. He didn’t pay much attention to me back then. When we got to the punk club it was jam packed with people, Mohawks and piercings decorated everyone but us. I couldn’t take the crowd so I went outside and sat on the curb. Jimmie followed me out and sat next to me and we talked and talked. At some point I gave him my number. He called the next day. I borrowed my brothers convertible Volkswagen cabriolet and picked him up. I had recently had my heart broken by an older guy and for  some reason I figured the best solution for my wounded heart was to have a first kiss, and I liked Jimmie enough so I figured he was the perfect candidate. I had never kissed a boy before. I wanted to be like my other girlfriends who had already kissed lots of boys. I figured if they could do it I could too.  I was always the girl who was friends with the boys and I was more interested in making them laugh then stealing kisses, but it was time, I was 18. It was about time I had my kiss like everyone else and he was cute! I had a huge crush on him when I met him 4 years earlier.

  After eating a grilled cheese sandwich Jimmie said he would take me on a drive to this great hill with a view of the whole San Francisco Bay. As we drove up the windy road I had butterflies in my tummy. I was nervous but I was ready for this and when he said to pull over at the pull out I figured this was it. We were at make out point.  We got out of the car and he talked about the bay and the view  and rambled on about this and that, but I wasn’t listening. I am pretty sure at one point I closed my eyes and cocked my head like I saw in the movies but nothing happened. We got in the car and kept driving. We ended up at the cemetery that night and ran around  curiously reading all the tomb stones. 

   We were together every day for the rest of that week until I had to go back to Oregon. We sadly said goodbye and still no kiss, but at this point I cared less about the kiss and more about him. He made me laugh. I wasn’t nervous around him, he felt safe. We wrote letters back and forth and spent hours on phone  calls that we had to pay for by the minute. After two months Jimmie came up to Oregon to see me. Our first stop was at my sisters house. She had five kids and I loved them all so much. He sat down and played games with all the kids and laughed so genuinely with them giving them all the attention they deserved.

   I am not totally sure but I think it was the first night at my house. Mom and Dad went to bed and left us watching Frankenstein on the couch. After A while his hand slowly moved across and landed on top of mine. I sat staring at the movie and wouldn’t move at first, heart racing. Soon though I turned my hand up and held his. He bent over and kissed me soft and sweet. Long story short  I went from my first kiss to my first make out session in the matter of an hour. At some point He said “ I think we should get married” I said “ I do too”. A few months later we were married and here we are thirty years later. 

  I would never recommend this to any kids, but for us, with the help of friends, family and mostly faith it has ended outstandingly well. We have worked out the most of our troubles and decided loving each other is the best and easiest thing ever. We still love old cemeteries. I still love making out with him. I still love driving around on strange windy two lane roads with him. Three kids and thirty years later, That first kiss I never had ended up like this. 

Kentucky and  Tennessee here we come….