The trip through Oklahoma and back through the stovepipe in Texas seemed to drag on. I sneaked a nap at a rest stop and arrived at the City of Eureka Springs, Lake Leatherwood Campground in the early evening. There was an middle-aged couple who were tent camping at the prime site overlooking the lake. My old favorite site, further down toward the lake, where I'd run over the fire ring last year, was occupied. Though the occupants would likely have left before the night was out, it was a large party of noisy young folks by the campfire. I decided to pull up to a site near the showers. Being near the bathes is never a bad choice.
I called my friend whom I had met in town last year. Dan was a high school history teacher. He's a sailor, an innkeeper as well. After we'd met last year, he had asked about trading services. He said that if I let him stay at my home Tampa while he attended a sailing school in Clearwater, Florida, he would let me stay at one of his luxury rooms at an inn later in the year. That had worked out perfectly for the two of us and I was looking forward to meeting up with him again. Dan who said he'd be playing croquet at the park the next evening and invited me to join him. I said I'd be there. I started setting up Ellie Mae for sleeping. I rolled the motorcycle out, removed my toolboxes and lowered the bunks. Instantly I was home sweet home. I took a luxurious hot shower. How long had it been? Twelve days? I had been showering under the spigot of a 5 gallon water jug perched on top of Ellie Mae. I don't think I've enjoyed a shower so much as that evening. I dressed for town, cranked up the bike and headed into Eureka Springs for the evening. It was a Thursday, and not much night life was going on. I found that one of the clubs was doing an open-mic night. I went in and ordered some food. The first act was an acoustic folk singer. He wasn't that bad, and certainly entertaining to sit and listen tolive music. Deonn walked in. Deonn was my friend from Eureka Springs who had spent some time in Tampa with me last year. I chuckled to myself. This was a small town, but what were the chances that she would walk in when I was there. She sat across the room from me at the other side of the bar. I was still chuckling, thinking whether I'd approach her, and how. It had been a long time since I'd seen her, and hadn't told her I'd be in town. Then she turned and looked across at me. I guess it was a little too dark for her to recognize me as I waved and smiled. She turned back around to the singer making no response. I chuckled again thinking that she would be rather surprised to see me if I walked over and decided that I would do just that. As I approached smiling, Deonn still didn't recognize me for a moment, but as soon as I spoke she realized who I was. She gave me a big hug. We both laughed. She told me about having a new place in town, the friend she was seeing, her new job, and how cold it had been the winter before. I got her up to speed on my travels so far. We decided to walk over to another bar. We walked along the thin sidewalks, by the thin streets that parade you before the multitude of shops and boutiques and diners and pizza joints. These businesses seem to multiply with each of my visits to Eureka. We found the spot that was playing some kind of bluesy bluegrass. We heard the end of one song, but the bar closed and we had to leave. We walked back to the open-mic and I got introduced to a few of the singers. I asked Deonn if she would like to take a bike ride the next day, and said I'd call her. It was really a treat to have these friends to visit as I traveled.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment