16 July 2011

49

I'm in St. Louis right now for the American Veterinary Medical Association's annual convention and, folks, it is hotter than all hell here right now. And it's only going to get worse.

Anyway, I flew down here a day earlier than I needed to for one particular reason - so I could scratch this off my list:

Arkansas.jpg

I know you're all thinking WTF right now, and trust me, I wouldn't go to Arkansas without a good reason. Or at least a good enough one. And the reason is that Alaska is now the only state I have left to visit.

I don't even know when exactly I decided I should visit all fifty states, but I do know that it came about very organically. I grew up in a family that did road trips, so it was natural for me to keep doing them as I got older and started living my own life, or at least when I still had enough time to do them and not enough obligations to keep me from it. And at some point within the past 10 years, I did a tally and realized I only had Hawai'i, Arkansas, and Alaska left.

Hawai'i got crossed off the list 5 years ago, and Alaska would have been on my list of places to see either way, so Arkansas kind of came down to finding a good enough excuse to get there. A conference within a few hours seemed reasonable enough, so I rented a car and went.

Suffice to say, I don't have a reason to go back now, but if any of you should ever find yourselves in Jonesboro and in desperate need of a civilized, lefty-artsy fix, I recommend the Echo Coffee House, which is in a cozy converted residence and where they play NPR. And if you happen by there when they're having a pottery sale, I recommend picking yourself up a little souvenir.

Catfish.jpg

10 comments:

Tiger Chanter said...

An oasis in a hillbilly desert! Who knew?!! ;)

Chris said...

LOL - is that a catfish?!

It's absolutely miserably hot and gooey here, so I can't even imagine how bad it is in St Louis.

Unknown said...

On the other hand, rejoice. You could be slowly dissolving in a continual shower of chilly Scottish rain. Ah - the Caledonian summer, promising everything and delivering...diddlysquat.

Anyhoo. Hiya. Long, long time, no post and I promise, I will do better, and will get my blog back on track if only because of you and your kind words. Hope all well with you and D. xxxxx

Mel said...

Debi! Seeing you surface has made my day, no matter the weather.

Unknown said...

You too, Mel. More later. For now, consider yourself hugged. xxxx

Molly Bee said...

Glad you're back to bloggin' a bit Dr. Mel. I LOVE the pottery. Knitzu has started me on a pottery kick. She sent me two mugs, one with a chickens and one with hedgehogs. Must keep my eyes open for a catfish to add to my collection!

karen nichols said...

One of my bucket list items is also to visit all 50 states. I can see myself renting a car and driving a couple of hours to check one off the list!

Are you going to BlogPaws?

Anonymous said...

I have an ambition to visit all 50 states, too. The only ones left are Delaware and Louisiana. #2 Son just got engaged to a lass from LA, so it's only a matter of time until I make it to Baton Rouge.

Alwen said...

Woo hoo! Alaska has to be cooler, right? And what a nice little fishy.

tornwordo said...

I think I have 5 or 6 left to do. Of course I've got the provinces now added to the list. I've been to Arkansas! I stayed at hands down the filthiest motel I've ever stayed in. It still gives me the creepy crawlies when I think about it.