Good day! Today is sunshiney and bright and warm. Yesterday we spent the day trying to outrun a storm and ending up getting caught anyway.
We awoke at the flying J travel center. Apparently I have a roommate right now DX My house is too small for a roommate, yet he sleeps in the kid area. He brought a lot of dirt and dust.
We drove into Arkansas along the I 40 so we stopped at the Welcome Center and picked up some brochures. Atreyu found one not too far in Murfreesboro he really wants to go to.
So we started heading South east. We pulled off at a Walmart neighborhood center that had a gas station to try and get some fuel. I got a couple donations, but then the gas station attendant came up and told me that tornados had touched ground in the county and then the sirens went off. She gave me all the cash she had. The Walmart building is a storm shelter so we parked the bus close to the door and went into the store. The thunder storm was intense. Galixy was just trying to pull the lollypops off the shelf by the register and all around not being ruly.
After it let up, we started driving but the lightning persisted so I pulled off in Witcherville at a Park. The people having a family reunion at the community center came over and brought us some leftover pizza and fruit. A guy named Charles emailed me and told us we could park at his house for the night, but that his parents also owned the antique store next to the park and that police shouldn’t bother us if we just wanted to stay there. I got hit by a major case of the sleepies, so we just stayed there.
This morning was rough for me. My house is too small to be this crowded. I can’t support everyone on the bus. Nor should that be the deal. He does seem to try, but it’s hard with my solitary eccentric ways…
I dropped a little letter in Charles mailbox before heading out of town. We stopped at a rest area for a short time before heading down the road a little further, where we ended up seeking out another.
The second was lots bigger with plenty of picnic tables and a pond for fishing. The walking trail was cute and woodsy. To our dismay the charging plugs weren’t working. We had a picnic. Some time before our departure we had a police officer stop to admire Bugus. He was very friendly and even tried to turn on the electricity for us. He had coloring books and stickers galore for the kids. They were stoked.
We had a pit stop at a River access right off the highway. It was a hot day and the kids really enjoyed the water.
We drove down to Mount Ida where we got kicked out of the route66 gas station for loitering within a half hour. So we went to the grocery store and purchased dinner. Nobody even stopped to talk. Some people took pictures or waved. I made dinner and didn’t clean up after. Well, just enough to drive down to Hot Springs.
So far it looks like a magical little town of 40k population. It’s part of a National Park. I’m going to postpone Atreyu’s Dino dig adventure for another day to be able to check out this town tomorrow. I bet there’s a lot to see, maybe even a soak for us involved. A playground will be easy to find here, too.
CJ is out in Walmart charging his phone. He’s gonna try and practice his discreet spange while getting his battery as high as possible. He likes running his phone a lot. If not music, he’s showing the boys a video. I let him in on road research. And little rules about not flying a sign after dark, something I feel ingrained in me. I feel like something’s blocking my way with this expectation of romance between us. I don’t think I can share my bus like this yet. I might feel lonely on occasion, and like I need help, a lot, but I feel like I have forgotten how to relationship. Maybe if it wasn’t like he just moved into my home after I’ve known him for 3 days. (Damn. How dumb am I?) Maybe if the romantic feeling hadn’t faded so rapidly for me… I have no excuses. He’s a sweet and amazing person that makes me laugh. I just don’t feel kissy or smoochy and it makes me sad to think I mislead him and myself. I still need to talk to him, but I feel like writing it out is helping me organize my brain about it. I sincerely hope he will understand and remain my friend. I hope I can get him set up on his feet to where he can continue on his path in whatever manner he wants.
So… I’m going to indulge on a little more candy and switch the plug to charge the DVD player. I promise I’m trying to be more consistent with my writing. Maybe I shouldn’t promise, that stuff backfires on me a lot. I’m just rolling down my path, doing what I think is right. I’m doing my best possible…. Just confusing if that best is sufficient for everyone at times.
Loving you!
Matilda the Bugus 