Everyone can admit that the summer and even winter in Arkansas is pretty nasty. The summers are too humid. You sweat and sweat and sweat. The winters are cold, but without all the constant pretty white snow to make the outdoors look good. There is just brown, dead grass staring at you through the window most winter days. Summer is green and lush to the eye and winter does have some snow, but both seasons are pretty undesirable. But, BUT(!), the fall and spring make up for those bad winter and summer days. The color from the blossoms on the trees and bushes, and the temperatures, and fall colors are just grand. Trust me on this point. They don't call it the natural state for nothing.
Plus, the people of Conway, AR are some of the friendliest you'll ever meet. Real southern manners. And I liked living in the bible belt, I love the religious climate and interest. And Conway is a college town times three which makes it awesome times three.
But it was time to leave and get settled in a condo before baby arrived. So we left and made our way back home to CA. But not without some drama and El Paso, TX time.
Drama: Before leaving Conway, our friend Kevin told me that my front tires were pretty worn. I kind of ignored his comment, knowing that all my tires were basically one year old and that two of which had been replaced in the past 2 months (thanks to bad drivers and a minor collision). So clearly, my tires shouldn't be bald. But, as we were planning on leaving El Paso after a lovely mini-visit, something (aka The Spirit) prompted me to check my front tire. I was stunned at what I discovered. My left front tire was completely bald. Like all the metal wires of the tire were protruding. And it looked like it could pop at any minute. Mind you that I had driven 14+ hours the previous day at 70-85 mph speeds. Talk about being protected on that drive! So after discovering this massive problem, Cody and I spent some extra time in El Paso buying a used tire and getting my alignment fixed by some very nice and helpful men. Good thing Cody speaks Spanish...and good thing El Paso is right on the border because the time and material was inexpensive! I kept thinking the whole day at how blessed I was to be inspired to check my tire. Who knows what kind of disaster can befall you when your tire blows at 80 mph with a truck not too far behind you.
El Paso: I am such a discoverer...I love walking around and experiencing new places. I'll admit that the natural landscape of El Paso is ugly desert - not the St. George or Phoenix type of desert - but the nasty, ugly type of desert found in far east side California. That being said, I loved the town of El Paso. It had a lot of Mexican charm and fun architecture. Plus, as I said earlier, it has nice, helpful, Spanish-speaking men.
Here are a few pictures of downtown El Paso. I hate that I didn't take a picture of the "barely there" tire:
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