Our adventure started on Sunday morning. We woke up around 5:30 AM, got our final packing done, had some breakfast, and were off. Out the door by around 7:15, which is what we were planning. We figured that leaving on a Sunday meant less traffic (and that was the case–thank goodness).

The trip down I-57 was, as always B-O-R-I-N-G. If there is ever a route that needs Robot Drivers, it’s this one. Nothing but 65 MPH on a straight flat line. We rolled through Illinois without a problem, just a long (couple of hours) hike. Then we curved over to Missouri and connected with I-55 South. Missouri was just the same as Illinois, except no “Welcome Center” and shitty rest stops. Luckily, we were only in MO for a bit and quickly passed into Arkansas.

Once in Arkansas things started looking up. Much greener, and more hilly, as we moved from the East (around Memphis) toward Little Rock (in the center). We rolled into our hotel, on the west side of Little Rock, at 5:30 PM. A total of 650 miles in 10.25 hours–an average speed of 63 MPH. Not too shabby–especially since that included lunch and pee breaks. (Thank goodness for 70 MPH speed limits outside of Illinois.)

Little Rock was our halfway point, so we were only spending the night and wouldn’t be able to explore much. We ended up driving around a bit and found a really good mom & pop grocery/taco place. Really nice looking with good food. It was funny, here we were in the middle of Arkansas eating at a place that could have been in Chicago. I was really surprised by the number of Mexicans we encountered in Little Rock. They were outnumbering the white-trash hicks!

After dinner we headed off to beloved WalMart (hey, we’re in Arkansas–we HAVE to go to WalMart). Picked up some snacks, drinks, and a cooler. Again, I was surprised by the mix of people. It was probably the most diverse WalMart I’ve ever walked into (not that I visit them a lot, but still). Hispansics, Whites, Blacks, Indians (not Native Americans), etc. It was pretty wild.

On a funny note, I bring up two strange things we saw in Little Rock. First was the street names in our area. The main street running by our Hotel was Mabelvale Road. We took that up to a three way intersection: Mabelvale Road, Mabelvale Pike, and Mabelvale Main. We took Mabelvale Pike (I think) to the mall, where the road became Mabelvale Plaza. The Little Rockers must love Mabelvale!

On the way back was the second thing that made me chuckle. It was a political sign. One of those big “vote for….” that people stick in their lawns. Well, there were a bunch that said “Vote For Doc Holliday”….guess what for? Sheriff! I almost bust a gut. I’ve got a picture of it that I’ll post later.