An irritating buzzing sound filled
the air followed by a loud slap. I reached towards my cheek as the sharp pain
spread through my face. Startled and confused I quickly sat up to find myself
starring into Kate’s smiling face. She laughed and replied to my questioning
countenance with a courteous, “You’re welcome”. Still groggy I tried to come up
with a witty response but failed and retreated to the cover of my mattress. A
small laugh escaped her lips and once again I feel as if she has bested me. I
got up to find myself completely covered in mosquito bites and was equally
angry at the fact that Kate didn’t seem to have any. With hesitation, we both
quickly packed up. Eager to be on
the road again we set off without bothering to stop for breakfast. Twenty minutes
went by and both of us could tell the other was starving. Finally we were
forced to succumb to our stomachs and stopped at the nearest gas station. Two
crispy cream donuts caught our eyes and we couldn’t resist the temptation.
There was also a water fountain inside the building so we got a chance to
refill our water bottles. On our way to the cash register a newspaper picture
lured me towards it. The picture was one of a violent storm and caution was
printed in big letters before the title. Instantly intrigued, I learned forward
to read the print briefly and was relieved when I found out it was based in the
Rockies, far enough away that it shouldn’t be a relevant to us. Kate and I both
paid for the donuts and we were on our way again.
I stared out at the landscape as
the car rumbled towards or destination. The land has notably changed; it has
become more lush and sustaining. Even the humidity has seemed to lower sense we
left. I couldn’t resist the thought that Florida might closely resemble the
scenery before my eyes. I have seen many pictures of Florida and heard positive
comments on its behave, but still a small hint of doubt is still implanted in
my chest. I stare back at the horizon and then back at Kate. When we were kids
our parents would take the whole family onto the highest hill in sight so we
could have a great view of the ocean of colors rolling across the sky. Our
family… The time span between our last conversation has not been considerable
long, about a month’s time, but still I yearn to see them again. The saying you
don’t appreciate something until its gone is truly starting to make sense to
me. I smile as childhood memories flood into my mind. My reverie was broken by
a sharp turn from Kate to make the exit into Little Rock, Arizona. She told me
to be the lookout for a nice place to eat lunch. Scanning around the town, I
was surprised by how hard it was to find a cheap restaurant now that the law
was passed forbidding fast food restaurants. The old malls resembled ghost
towns with their bordered off stores and abandoned parking lot. Finally I
spotted a Subway and we veered to the right into the parking lot. We leaped out
of the car and entered the restaurant. Across the wall, there was a large group
of pictures. One on the far left caught my eye and after a few seconds I
realized it was an orange farm in Florida. I closed my eyes. We are almost
there, almost there. At least, I hope we are almost there. I hope we make it in
time…
Picture of the orange farm in Florida in Subway
After
lunch, it was back on the road. Again. I must admit, I am a little bit sick of
eating footlongs for almost every meal. I can’t complain to Trevor though,
because we need to focus all of our energy on making it to Sarasota. We only
had two days to make it there, or else our family wouldn’t be able to drive to
their job interview. And without that job interview, we didn’t have any
guarantee of work. And without any guarantee of work, we don’t have any
guarantee of survival. And without that—oh gosh, I need to stop worrying! I
will go insane if I keep on thinking of all the negative outcomes, even though
they heavily outweigh the positive ones…
We finished the last book in the
Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, at about three in the afternoon. Even though I
had read the book at least five times, I still cried when Prim died. Trevor
couldn’t believe it when I told him that I cry every single time I read it;
but, as Mary Collie well knows from water polo, I cry at just about everything,
including cooking shows! We both really needed a distraction from the long,
monotonous road; I only wish I had more audio books on my iPod.
Our snacks were running low. I
decided to open the box of Sweet & Salty Nut Granola Bars. Trevor and I
each ate one; the car filled up with the delicious smell of peanut buttery
goodness. Trevor also munched on some of his leftover footlong as I drove.
Unfortunately, our not-so-great quality food was beginning to take a toll on
us. I hadn’t been feeling good all day; I knew that we needed to get to
Sarasota as soon as possible, because we couldn’t eat better quality food until
we got there, due to the cost.
In New Albany, Mississippi, we passed by a movie theater. I
longed for the cold temperature, delectable candy, and salty popcorn that it
brought. I could almost taste the sweet peanut butter in my favorite Reese’s
Pieces. The Lorax was showing! I knew we couldn’t spend money on movie tickets
or waste any time, but it was hard not to feel disappointed. At the end of the
week, all of our hard work could be for nothing. What happiness would be in our
lives anymore, when we knew we had failed our families? Oh gosh, I’m doing it
again! I tried to make myself and Trevor feel better by making some weird
faces…
My weird, embarrassing attempt to make Trevor laugh!
We made it to Jasper, Alabama, at
about eight that night. After driving around for a little while, we decided to
eat dinner at a Pizza Hut. The cheapest, largest meal there was the $10 Dinner Box, so Trevor and I agreed to share that.
Our dinner box from Pizza Hut included pizza, breadsticks, and cinnamon sticks
We ate our dinner mostly in
silence. As we munched on the pizza and breadsticks, Trevor’s face was furrowed
with concentration. When I asked him what was wrong, he quietly said to me that
he couldn’t bear the idea that we would let down our family. It was then that I
truly realized that Trevor and I were feeling the exact same way, and how dire
our situation really was. And the worst part was, I didn’t know what I could do
to make him feel better. And even worse, we were giving up when there was still
a chance that we would make it to Sarasota.
I knew that we needed some cheering
up. When we got to our campsite in Jasper, we immediately went to go check in.
After parking our car in our campground, I told Trevor that I would be right
back. I walked around to all the other campsites to see if anyone had a guitar
that I could borrow. I asked about twenty people before one couple was nice
enough to lend me theirs for an hour or so.
The area around our campsite in Jasper, AL
Trevor’s face was absolutely
hysterical when I came back: he looked around confused for a second, and then
quietly asked if I had stolen it. I laughed and told him most definitely not; I
took it because I knew he needed to be distracted from the harsh reality of our
world. Trevor started laughing uncontrollably when I started playing and
singing Lean On Me, one of the best, cheesiest songs ever. After I began
belting it out with my horrible voice, Trevor finally joined in, probably in
order to make me lower my voice. We played just about every song I knew, from
Here Comes the Sun to Pumped Up Kicks. It was exactly what we needed! Trevor
finally looked happy for the first time in days.
We returned the guitar at about ten
that night. We thanked the couple profusely, for they were able to bring joy
back into our lives that night. As soon as we got back to our car, both of us
promptly fell asleep, trying to remember the joy of that night and forget the
cruel actuality of our situation.
Details of Day 4:
Route:
Followed I-40 east from Okemah, OK, to Conway, AR. Then, we
took US-64 E to Memphis, TN, where we got onto US-78 E to Jasper, AL.
Breakfast:
Donuts from gas station in Weleetka, OK.
Cost: $3.
I-40 & Highway 75
Weleetka, OK 74880
Lunch:
Two $5-Footlongs
at Subway.
Cost: $10.
1 Stagecoach Village Dr.
Little Rock, AR 72210-4750
Dinner:
One dinner box
from Pizza
Hut.
Cost: $10.
1160 Hwy 78 W
Jasper, AL 35501
Hotel:
Stayed at a campground in Jasper, AL.
Cost: $22.
2030 3rd Ave S
Jasper, AL 35501
Gas:
Stopped first in Atkins, AR, to fill up the tank.
Cost: $59.50.
1209 N Church St
Atkins, AR 72823
Stopped for a second time in Sherman, MS.
Cost: $50.75.
460 3rd Ave.
Sherman, MS 38869
Money spent on Day
4:
$155.25.
Money left after
Day 4: $647.81.
Miles Driven: 593 miles.
Hours Driven: 9 hrs., 35 min.
Bibliography:
Salarpi, Niki. Weird Face in the Car. Facebook.com. Web. 4
March 2012.
Unknown. Blackwater Park. Blackwaterpark.com. Web. 4 March
2012.
Unknown. Mandarin Orange Farm. Panoramio.com. Web. 2 March
2012.
Unknown. Pizza Hut $10 Dinner Box. Guysgab.com. Web. 3 March
2012.
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