I know way too many songs involving the words, "little rock."
"ooh, ooh, Little Rock. Think I'm gonna have to slip you off..." (Reba)
3 am ET- wake up
4 am- depart for BWI
5 am- arrive BWI
6 am- flight is cancelled
7 am- depart on new flight
7:20 am- recognize man in seat next to me- arch enemy.
7:30 am- ask flight attendant for a can, she gives me a cup instead
7:35 am- man in seat in front of me suddenly reclines his chair, causing my drink to spill in my lap.
7:36 am- every bad word i know goes through my head. go to lav, clean up, and scrounge for a blanket in front of whole plane looking like i've peed my pants.
8 am CT- arrive Memphis- pants still wet
8:01 am- i've missed connecting flight, must sit around for 2.5 hours. scrounge around airport for sweatpants or something. no luck. pants no longer look like i've peed them, but i'm still cold and wet on the inside. give up and read. and book plane tickets. and order 500 t-shirts. and call doctor's office. and watch cnn. and tell complete strangers i went to mason. and correct complete strangers when they think mason is in maryland.
10:45 am- get on next flight to little rock.
11:30 am- flight actually takes off (30 mins late)
12 noon- we land
12:02 pm- stand in front of sign wondering where my camera is when i need it. "Please hold children's hands on escalators. No strollers or wheelchairs on escalator. Persons with barefeet are encouraged to use elevator." Seriously. It doesn't say, "no barefeet in the airport." or "no barefeet on escalator." It says, "encouraged to use elevator." 1 pm- get rental car, drive towards hotel.
1:01 pm- get attacked by the black flies living in the car
1:30 pm- Get to hotel, check in, and grimace when I realize I am in a room with a "special view overlooking the Clinton library."
2:00- meet up with Blake, grab stuff, head to the base in seperate cars.
2:30- driving through the middle of nowhere Little Rock pass some of worst poverty ever seen. Can't help but wonder why it is people actually think the governors of this state are good people. They should be shot for allowing people to live in this squalor.
2:45 pm- following directions. "Turn Right on Clinton Drive." Can't help but laugh.
2:47 pm- thought crosses my mind. "Wow, I know ranges tend to be in the middle of nowhere, but this is ridiculous." 2:48 pm- "Wait, I'm not looking for a range. I'm looking for an entire military base. Something is wrong here."
2:49 pm- directions come to a screeching halt at a dead end road in someone's driveway. Commence Plan B (where Blake calls local police department and asks for a little help.)
3:30 pm- arrive at correct destination. Maybe it's just my DC upbringing. But when I pull onto a military base I fully expect to show my ID, and have my car searched. In the past 6 months I have been on Quantico, Ft Myer, Andrews, Bolling, and the Pentagon. This was the routine at each place. And in some cases I had guns with me, and that process takes a few minutes. But not here in Little Rock! Here the guard takes my license and says, "Is this a military ID?" "Um, no, it's a VA driver's license." I ask for directions, he tells me, I go. I expect that Blake will be a while since he's got guns in the truck. But no, he just gets waved on in.
3:45 pm- find our destination. Oh my. This is not a "show" in the usual sense. The "covered pavilion" we're supposed to be in is more "tent on gravel" than "covered pavillion." And it's going to rain all day tomorrow. Great. We set stuff up, and leave.
4:30 pm- Feeling ever so adventurous we go to the Little Rock Wal-Mart. Classssss-y. And then we went to Gander Mountain, Academy Sports, and Outback for dinner. I bought men's carpenter jeans at Gander. They are not flattering, not cute, but very comfortable. And more importantly, not still damp from the airplane incident.
9 pm- back to the hotel- EXHAUSTED
9:59 pm- hit publish on blog, while wondering if I can sleep in a hotel decorated in Clinton Memorabilia? Will just the picture of him in my room give me seizures in my sleep? Or worse yet, how can I wake up knowing that the view outside of my window is of the Clinton Library?
"ooh, ooh, Little Rock. Think I'm gonna have to slip you off..." (Reba)
3 am ET- wake up
4 am- depart for BWI
5 am- arrive BWI
6 am- flight is cancelled
7 am- depart on new flight
7:20 am- recognize man in seat next to me- arch enemy.
7:30 am- ask flight attendant for a can, she gives me a cup instead
7:35 am- man in seat in front of me suddenly reclines his chair, causing my drink to spill in my lap.
7:36 am- every bad word i know goes through my head. go to lav, clean up, and scrounge for a blanket in front of whole plane looking like i've peed my pants.
8 am CT- arrive Memphis- pants still wet
8:01 am- i've missed connecting flight, must sit around for 2.5 hours. scrounge around airport for sweatpants or something. no luck. pants no longer look like i've peed them, but i'm still cold and wet on the inside. give up and read. and book plane tickets. and order 500 t-shirts. and call doctor's office. and watch cnn. and tell complete strangers i went to mason. and correct complete strangers when they think mason is in maryland.
10:45 am- get on next flight to little rock.
11:30 am- flight actually takes off (30 mins late)
12 noon- we land
12:02 pm- stand in front of sign wondering where my camera is when i need it. "Please hold children's hands on escalators. No strollers or wheelchairs on escalator. Persons with barefeet are encouraged to use elevator." Seriously. It doesn't say, "no barefeet in the airport." or "no barefeet on escalator." It says, "encouraged to use elevator." 1 pm- get rental car, drive towards hotel.
1:01 pm- get attacked by the black flies living in the car
1:30 pm- Get to hotel, check in, and grimace when I realize I am in a room with a "special view overlooking the Clinton library."
2:00- meet up with Blake, grab stuff, head to the base in seperate cars.
2:30- driving through the middle of nowhere Little Rock pass some of worst poverty ever seen. Can't help but wonder why it is people actually think the governors of this state are good people. They should be shot for allowing people to live in this squalor.
2:45 pm- following directions. "Turn Right on Clinton Drive." Can't help but laugh.
2:47 pm- thought crosses my mind. "Wow, I know ranges tend to be in the middle of nowhere, but this is ridiculous." 2:48 pm- "Wait, I'm not looking for a range. I'm looking for an entire military base. Something is wrong here."
2:49 pm- directions come to a screeching halt at a dead end road in someone's driveway. Commence Plan B (where Blake calls local police department and asks for a little help.)
3:30 pm- arrive at correct destination. Maybe it's just my DC upbringing. But when I pull onto a military base I fully expect to show my ID, and have my car searched. In the past 6 months I have been on Quantico, Ft Myer, Andrews, Bolling, and the Pentagon. This was the routine at each place. And in some cases I had guns with me, and that process takes a few minutes. But not here in Little Rock! Here the guard takes my license and says, "Is this a military ID?" "Um, no, it's a VA driver's license." I ask for directions, he tells me, I go. I expect that Blake will be a while since he's got guns in the truck. But no, he just gets waved on in.
3:45 pm- find our destination. Oh my. This is not a "show" in the usual sense. The "covered pavilion" we're supposed to be in is more "tent on gravel" than "covered pavillion." And it's going to rain all day tomorrow. Great. We set stuff up, and leave.
4:30 pm- Feeling ever so adventurous we go to the Little Rock Wal-Mart. Classssss-y. And then we went to Gander Mountain, Academy Sports, and Outback for dinner. I bought men's carpenter jeans at Gander. They are not flattering, not cute, but very comfortable. And more importantly, not still damp from the airplane incident.
9 pm- back to the hotel- EXHAUSTED
9:59 pm- hit publish on blog, while wondering if I can sleep in a hotel decorated in Clinton Memorabilia? Will just the picture of him in my room give me seizures in my sleep? Or worse yet, how can I wake up knowing that the view outside of my window is of the Clinton Library?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving a comment!