Arkansas Archives - Moving Peaces

I’m telling tales about my solo road trip last month, which took me from Raleigh, NC to Des Moines, IA and back. Clearly, this is in the middle of those two places, so feel free to start reading about the first leg of the journey if you haven’t already.

638.0 miles Birmingham, AL: After a few hours of travel, I was thrilled to stop for coffee with the ever-so sweet, Jamie Golden. A friend introduced us on twitter, so when I realized my travels would take me through Birmingham, I was feeling bold and thought I’d reach out. Jamie is a podcaster, cake pop maker and simply all-around fantastic person. We talked for a few hours and laughed like we had been friends for years. We told stories, she shared some wisdom and told me about a podcast I had to hear. Our conversation carried me through the rest of the day as I drove through big rainstorms, flash flood warnings and parts of Mississippi.

879.8 miles Memphis, TN: You heard me set the scene there, right? “It was a dark and stormy night…” and then I arrived in Memphis. Well, okay. So I didn’t have the best set-up for my destination, which just isn’t fair to this fine city. On the trip, this was the part I was most on edge about beforehand and ended up being my least favorite. I did stay with a couchsurfer, who just wasn’t quite how I had hoped or expected based on her profile. But when it’s late at night in an unknown place, you roll with the punches and decide that you can make it through the night, so I did. The next morning I woke up bright and early, determined to work in a few places that would change my outlook. Thankfully, a blogger sent me some good recommendations of local coffee shops which helped a lot. I think Memphis likely has a lot of awesome things going on, but I didn’t get the chance to experience them this time. At the end of the day, I decided to keep on with my trip and embrace the next place, but I truly believe many will visit or live in Memphis and love it.

1,037.9 miles Little Rock, AR: I had no idea what Little Rock would be like. I knew it was a city in a state that has some natural beauty and lakes in it, but didn’t know much else. This was my final stay with couchsurfers on the journey, and they were as kind as can be. Immediately upon my arrival they greeted me along with all their friends before we headed downtown to eat some fried catfish. They really tried to convince me that not all of Arkansas was about fishing, but they sure did talk about it a lot. The whole group seemed to love being outdoors, whether that meant hiking or kayaking or exploring. Unfortunately, I had arrived too late to join in for any of those activities, but I so appreciated being a part of their group of friends for just an evening as we walked along the Big Dam Bridge downtown after dinner.

1,257.4 miles Bentonville, AR: This is the point in the journey where I felt like I had arrived. Hardly my final destination, but this is where I would stay for a few days with my dear friend, Angela. Do you ever have friends you can talk to for hours and then still want to call them again tomorrow? This is that kind of friendship. We’ve been friends for over a decade and to this day, she’s one of my closest friends. The funny thing is, we haven’t lived in the same place for more than half of that time and hadn’t seen each other in over a year. It was so good to see where she lived and get a better feel for what her life looked like (not just how it sounded over the phone). We both worked during the day and then at night we would explore the town and a few museums. Bentonville is a small town, but it’s also the home and birthplace of Walmart, which makes for an interesting mix of bigger city culture with a small town size. We walked through Crystal Bridges, ate dinner at her favorite restaurant, browsed some antique shops, visited her workplace and toured the ~~propaganda~~ Walmart museum, where I proceeded to eat the tiniest ice cream cone that has ever existed.

1,440.4 miles Kansas City, MO: Okay, this is where the trip took a bit of a twist. Kansas City was a planned stop… and then it wasn’t… and then it was one anyway. Angela and I originally talked about visiting the area together and finally decided to go together for just the day but in separate cars. About a half hour into the trip, she called saying her car needed repair, a bit unexpectedly (it’s a long story), and she had to turn back but to keep going without her. At that point I figured I would just drive straight to Des Moines since I didn’t really have any real plans in KC and had been there before. Then I saw a sign for the Kansas City Zoo in one mile and on a whim took the exit. You see, my freshman year of college I actually went to a college in Missouri and still had a few friends in the area, one of whom happened to work at the zoo, which I knew thanks to social media. So I showed up at the zoo asking for Janna and was sent in towards the new orangutan exhibit to find her. Knowing I lived in North Carolina, she was quite surprised to see me for the first time in over five years. This was not the KC visit I planned, but it was the best kind of detour.

And then I kept driving. More to come.

Here’s the deal: I’m out of town right now. Yesterday I posted a video about our trip to Argentina, because well, it was way past due. The thing is, I’m currently road tripping and have been gone for the past two weeks. What!? Crazy, right?

Turns out that going out of the country and coming back to normal life can make you go a little crazy, which is exactly what happened to me. It was a (mostly) good crazy that caused me to hope and dream for big things. Before I knew it, I was planning a solo road trip with 45+ hours of driving over the course of three weeks. I visited towns I’ve never been to, stayed with couchsurfers along the way (aka former strangers), saw dear friends and surprised my mom upon my arrival. Believe it or not, this trip isn’t even over yet.

Here’s the route: Raleigh, NC>Charlotte, NC>Greenville, SC>Atlanta, GA>Birmingham, AL>Memphis, TN>Little Rock, AR>Bentonville, AR>Kansas City, MO>Mason City, IA>Des Moines, IA>St. Louis, MO>Nashville, TN>HOME

I kept most of the details pretty hushed online up until now because I thought it would be fun to surprise my mom and she, being my mom, reads my blog. The shocked expression on her face was totally worth it. But now, I can’t wait to share some of my experiences along the way with you!

So far, the route has gone through a few changes since I first dreamt it up, but since I started the trip it has followed the final plans fairly well. The first few days were quite possibly my most adventurous. Not only was I couchsurfing, but I was also visiting a bunch of cities I’d never been to before and had no idea what to expect. On top of that, I’m also working remotely during the week days, so my time and experiences may be limited in all of these places but I still get a glimpse of things along the way.

In case you’re wondering…my husband is not on the trip, primarily because his work is not remote, but also because this trip made sense for me and not for him this time. He got to stay home and work on some of his big dreams and goals. We knew this was a matter of pursuing opportunities as they come–for both of us.

I have taken photos, made memories, thought through life, shared meals, visited dear friends, and become friends with (otherwise) perfect strangers. I definitely hope to give you more of a destination by destination summary later on, but for now, just want to share a few basic things I’ve found along the way…

Context carries a lot of weight. When I had an introduction or someone mentioned my trip, suddenly I was an interesting person with a story to tell but other times I was just another girl in the crowd whose story appeared boring and ordinary.
Creativity can strike in the most bizarre places…and it won’t run out if we use it.
Everyone has a messy house. Maybe you’re that one weirdo who doesn’t have laundry or dishes or a pile of random things on the counter, but you’re in the small minority. Seeing a lot of other (normal) homes has me convinced that it’s okay to have a house that looks well, rather lived in.
There are a lot of (dead) armadillos by the side of the road in Arkansas.
The culture changes in different parts of the country. Different pasts, different stories, different thoughts.
A lot of people think they know how you should live your life. The ones that admit they don’t know the answers but are striving to do their best with what they’ve got are the ones I trust the most.
Some parts of the country just simply aren’t great places to visit.
No matter how nice you are, you might say the wrong thing one day. It feels like the worst moment ever as soon as you realize you hurt someone but had no idea at the time.
Some local coffee shops are amazing, others leave a lot to be desired.
There’s a ton of gospel music on the radio in the South.
Late nights paired with early mornings will catch up to you.
Solo road trips are more rare than I realized. I’ve been told a few times that I’m brave for going at this alone, especially as a woman. Maybe that’s true and in some ways this trip feels meaningful but in a lot of other ways, it feels pretty average. I am only driving between two to six hours at a time and for a big part of the trip I’m with people I know. The fact that I had the opportunity to do it makes a huge difference, but what I’m actually doing is not epic in itself.
Travel isn’t for the purpose of merely “seeing all the things and going all the places.” It’s to gain perspective and understanding, all the while challenging yourself.
I love to travel, but there’s more to life than traveling. If I had to give up everything to travel, I don’t think it would actually be worth it. My relationships, friendships, home, skills and goals hold huge value to me. I think sometimes travel seems glamorous, but it can come at a cost to other aspects of our life.

Moving Peaces

Arkansas

Trip Log: Birmingham to Kansas City

Solo Road Tripping