Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

When I last left you on our trip, we had just arrived – long way around – at our country rental house near “GASS-vul” Arkansas. It was about 7 p.m., the house brightly lit and a “balm in Gilead.”

We unglued our bodies from the van and spent 20 minutes prying the luggage and all sorts of paraphernalia out of the van and up the steps into the house.  Due to our belated time of arrival and it being Saturday night we decided to go out to eat.

We choose a place from a short list of places I had researched online and found among the brochures at the house.  It was up in Bull Shoals, about a 15 or 20 minute trip.

As we were getting ready to leave, our landlords came by and they were a wonderful couple.  They lived on the hill behind us, they said, and had horses.   They had totally re-done this property for rental and kept it full most of the year.  We could see why – it was lovely.

As we headed out to eat,  Tom programmed his GPS (of course), while I took along a map to the place I had printed out at home.  It was after 8 p.m. when we arrived in the closed up little town of Bull Shoals, but it looked like everyone in town was here at the restaurant we’d chosen.  Dressed up in wild costumes.  Buzzing in and out and all around.

We had forgotten it was Halloween night, and with what looked to be like a wild party going on, doubted the eight of us could be seated.  We all waited in the van while Tom scoped the scene out.

It took a while, and we half way wondered if he’d joined the revelers, but he finally returned, saying they’d take us – handicapped seating (for Jim, a polio victim as a boy of 10) and all.

We were in the back by the bar.  (Convenient, I thought, after the wearying day, but then I demurred.)  Everyone, including all of the waitresses, were in full regalia.  Ours had on a cap and gown.  She was cheery and helpful and we had a good time talking with her.

Dinner was slow, but good and the scenery was – well – spectacular, to say the least.  (You should have seen the girl in the humongous fat suit & bikini – or maybe not.)  Then, the karaoke singing began in the front room.  All country and western as far as we could tell.  We decided it was time to go.

But, we needed (I needed) some milk for my coffee for the next morning.  Everyone nixed trying to drive back over to Mt. Home to Super Walmart, but there didn’t seem to  be much other choice.

I’d about resigned myself to a diet Coke in the morning for some caffeine when we came to a little gas station/convenience store at the turn to our road home (we had come out the “right” way and were backtracking that way home, ignoring Mabel – the GPS).

A couple of the ladies in our van went in for milk and something or other while the rest of us sat there in the white van.  About that time, two spooky looking totally dressed-in-black guys entered the store.  They looked like armed robbers.

We froze.

We were not only fearful of a robbery, but that we were somehow caught in the middle of it.  Debbie & Arlinda were in the store and it looked as if we were the “get away” vehicle parked near the door.

Then, a patrol car pulled up behind us.  We didn’t know whether to laugh at the hilarious circumstances (assuming the alarming looking guys in loose black clothes were really costumed for Halloween) or cry at being put in jail as gangsters while our loved ones inside were held as hostages.

Luckily for us, they were harmless Halloweeners and the policeman left.  (Thank goodness for small favors.)  We drove on “home,” got as much stuff sorted out as possible and all wearily fell in bed.  It had been a long day and we had three more to go.

To be continued . . .