Message Board Comments |
| Pine Tassel said... After 2000 miles, I bet the hot springs felt great! Congrats on finally visiting all 50 states. That's just another grand feat you've accomplished. It sounds like you're doing well at generating publicity. Don't worry about the low turnout in Little Rock. It's hard to get noticed on Memorial Day weekend, especially since most tv stations have a skeleton crew. Maybe you should have ridden an ATV through town! Love, Pine Tassel Anonymous said... Hi Ms.Erskine! I hope your having a nice time. I'm surprised you haven't given up yet. I couldn't even ride from Portland to South Portland. I'm glad for you. Have a nice ride for the rest of the way. Your bud, Anonymous said... Ms. Erskine, What's up Ms. Erskine? This is John. I'm one of your future students.
Did you really like riding through the desert? Were the hills hard
to ride up? Well they would be for me. Patti said... Helloooo! Are you pushing yourself too hard? This is like reading Stephen King's "The Green Mile" novelettes. We have to wait for the next (update) book to read what's going on. I await with baited breath...stay safe out there. It's hurricane season now. Watch out for flying trailers! ....Patti Donna Agren said... Hi Regina, Cole showed me how to do this. Please be careful. You are in all our prayers. Enjoy the hot tub. Donna |
Soaking It Up in Hot Springs Thursday, June 02, 2005 |
| Another week, another state gone by as we are now in Hot Springs, Arkansas, cooling our heels on a much-needed day off. And there really are hot springs in Hot Springs. Go figure. But first, let's recap the week that was... We left Norman, OK with full bellies and good spirits after having met with the local celiac support group there. Plus, the local Norman newspaper had a big article about our trip, so we felt good about our stop there. We headed east out of town, and passed through the town of McAlester, which was big enough to have a decent newspaper, so we stopped in and asked to speak to a reporter. The woman we spoke to was very interested in my story, and she wound up writing a nice piece about the ride, which we read on their website a few days later. Another success story! After McAlester, the big towns were few and far between, so we concentrated on getting in some big miles each day. Eastern Oklahoma is very different from the western part of the state. It's a lot more green, there are actually trees, and there are real hills to go up and down. There is a scenic parkway that runs from Eastern OK into Arkansas, and we rode that for a little bit one day as it did a roller-coaster route up one steep hill and down another. It was quiet, there was no traffic, and a gentle rain was falling, and it was really quite peaceful. But it also was taxing our legs, so we eventually switched to another road and entered Arkansas. Arkansas was a landmark state for me. Before the trip began, I had been to all 50 states except for Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. We had already ridden through TX and OK, so Ark. was the last state left for me to visit. Now I can say that I've been to them all! Soon after crossing the border, it started to rain. Hard. So we took a break, waited out the rain, then got on our bikes again and finished off our day. The next day, it was off to Hot Springs. It was also Memorial Day weekend, and everyone was out on the roads, towing either a boat or an ATV (or both) as they looked to get out on the water or into the woods. Turns out people in Arknsas love their fishing and ATV-ing. We had been in contact with the celiac support group in Little Rock, and they had set up an appearance for us at the Wild Oats Market and possibly a TV interview. So we raced along to Hot Springs, then got in RV for the detour up to Little Rock. Little Rock wasn't on our route, but if we can get some exposure, we'll go anywhere. The appearance at the Wild Oats was a little disappointing - it was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and there wasn't much of a turnout. Also, the tv crew never materialized, so in terms of publicity, we didn't feel like we accomplished much. On the plus side, however, the local support group hosted a fish-fry for us, where the people were wonderful and the food was delicious. Special thanks go to the head of the support group, Anne Luther, and her partner Joel, for their kind hospitality. We left Little Rock refreshed and relaxed and thankful for the new friends we'd made. The next morning we headed back to Hot Springs to get back on our route. Before getting on the bikes again, though, we decided to treat ourselves to a hot springs bath and massage. We were at the halfway point of our journey, and we deserved a little pampering! It was a nice experience, as the town is known for its natural hot springs and thermal baths - people have been coming here for a hundred years to do just what we were doing. We checked out the National Park, located in one of the grand old bath houses, and walked around town, which was pleasant. We left the next day knowing that we were more than 2000 miles into our journey - we had already accomplished quite a bit in five weeks and hopefully we will accomplish even more in the five weeks ahead. Regina |