Hot Springs, Arkansas – Serendipity Strikes!

When we last saw her, Jessica was stranded in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Read on for the inspiring next installment…

(3) …In which Things Get Better.

Till now, I’ve left out an important part of the story: Pete. He’s a Hot Springs resident, and a couchsurfing.org member. My main goal in Arkansas was to camp and hike alone, but I’d contacted him just in case: even if I didn’t surf his couch, he might be a good person to know. It’s always good to have a friend in a new town, right? I figured maybe we’d go hiking together, since we’re both outdoorsy types.

Well.

Pete is a smart guy: he goes hiking at 6am when it’s still cool. Me, I slept through 6am and decided to hike at 10:00 Friday morning. It was way-too-frickin-hot to hike anywhere, and there I was, struggling my way up the side of a mountain. Pete called me just as I reached the top and started descending into downtown Hot Springs, with a river of sweat flowing down my forehead.

“I’m going swimming later,” he said. “Wanna go?”

Any other day, I might have said no. But the thought of immersing myself in something other than my own perspiration sounded just like heaven, and I gave him a definite YES. And so, a few hours later, Pete and his friend Evelyn picked me up, and we drove out to Lake Ouachita.

Soon I was feeling better and more hopeful. Finally I had cool air on my face, and I wasn’t completely on my own in this town. Pete’s car followed the road up a green hill and over the dam… and there it was: water. A cool, deep, clean, still lake surrounded by trees. Thank you Jesus.

We weren’t the only ones escaping the heat: the swimming area was full of kids and families and some drunken high school kids who went cannonballing off the docks and the rocks.

Pete and Evelyn and I floated for hours, making small talk and letting the water mix around us. It was perfect in the lake, and I started feeling sane again. But as soon as we’d get out of the water, that soggy, brow-mopping heat assaulted us again. And so we just stayed in the lake until the sun went down.

By the time we left the water, I’d asked Pete if I could stay with him for a night or two. I felt guilty about asking, but I knew another day in the Arkansas heat would be disastrous for me; it was time to get a little humble and ask for help. Pete was a little reluctant, but still a stand-up guy: he agreed to pick me up the next morning.

(4) …Things Remain Pretty OK.

The next couple of days were a time of quiet and recovery for me. I helped Pete do some painting (he was getting ready to sell his house); he took me to the farmer’s market. We ate plums and pondered the backyard. He dropped me off downtown so I could catch the new Björk documentary.

I walked home Saturday night in the balmy dark, along Bathhouse Row where teens teemed and couples with country-twang accents barhopped. Outside the yellow-lit streets, the Arkansas hills were dark and hot and full of life.

The air itself seemed alive, full of odors and sounds. I’d read about the perfumed night breezes in this part of the world, but never understood it till now. As I walked through the barely-contained wilderness, some new fragrance wafted around me every few seconds. Honeysuckle, grass, mimosa, leaves, magnolia… The roadsides rustled and buzzed, and huge insects flocked around the tall streetlights. Outside the small circles of light they cast, a million tiny creatures were living out their lives in the underbrush. I started feeling better, a little. Better, but lonely.

this is a walking stick bug on a Lexus

Up to now, I’d always had a plan, a destination. Here in Arkansas, I felt aimless and lost. I didn’t know anyone but Pete, and I’d have to leave his house on Monday morning. Where would I go? Ahead of me lay the East, an area I hardly knew. My money was getting low, too: how would I navigate all those cities and highways? What, exactly, was I getting myself into?

And so I walked home through that perfumed night, and fell asleep on Pete’s couch with a tear or two in my eye. In the morning, I told myself, something would work out. Some plan would present itself. It had to, I needed it to. I needed a little help to get out of this one.

(5)…In Which Serendipity Arrives!

Sunday morning, Pete and I discussed my plans. He needed me to leave the next day so he could meet the realtors, and I knew I couldn’t stay in Arkansas. My friends Kevin and Nicole lived in Louisville, Kentucky; they weren’t expecting me for another week, but I could probably show up early. But there was no chance of finding a rideshare from Hot Springs to Louisville on such short notice! I’d have to buy another expensive bus ticket. Oh well, another $85 down the drain. It seemed to be my only option.

Until! A short while later, the phone rang. Becca, a girl from Dallas who’d surfed Pete’s couch before, was going on a roadtrip with her girlfriend Vee. Could they stop by tonight and sleep in the spare bed? They’d be gone in the morning… headed for Louisville.

Miracle of miracles! I jumped on the phone and confirmed: yes, they were definitely headed to Louisville. Yes, they had room for me and my backpack. And no, they didn’t need any gas money, since they were headed there anyway.

Really? Really. Yes, they were on their way.

Suddenly everything seemed possible again. I called Kevin.

“Jessica!” he answered. “When are you coming?”

“Tomorrow!”

“#%$^@ awesome! I can’t wait!”

And just like that, I had a plan.

What a relief. I can’t even tell you how good it felt. Last night I’d felt alone and directionless, praying that luck or serendipity would toss me a line. And not even twelve hours later, here I was with a free ride to the next stop and hosts that were actually eager to see me….!

And so it was that the next morning I hopped in a little red hatchback with a couple of awesome chicks. By Monday night I was safe in a cozy Louisville apartment with Kevin and Nicole, two of my favorite people in the world.

Nicole & Kevin! More photos soon!

Everything turned out A-OK, and that’s the story of how I got in & out of hot water in Hot Springs.

THE END!
Tune in soon for tales of Kentucky!