Husbands, take your wives for a drive

Saturday, Jan. 5, was absolutely beautiful. Linda and I decided it would be a good day for a drive, but first we called Bill Mitchell and made it out to meet him for breakfast at Miss Mary's Cafe in Gentry.

This is becoming something of a tradition with us and one which we treasure. We often end up talking about the same things as Bill and I repeat old stories and Linda laughs at all the right places. But it isn't about having to come up with something new each time. I think it is much more about fellowship and kinship and common interests than anything else. We love Bill and Bill loves us. It's just that simple.

Bill ordered a Western omelet, while Linda ordered her usual blueberry pancake. I had two eggs over medium with bacon, toast and hash browns. All three of us enjoy drinking coffee so, for a while, the coffee and the conversation flowed freely. There was no rush, so we took our time and casually solved most of the world's problems while taking no credit for it since most of our solutions were plain common sense.

After about an hour and a half, Bill headed back home to cut firewood and we headed east to enjoy the beautiful weather on a January day. Oftentimes, when Linda and I head out for a drive, we go east, but not always; and, oftentimes, we do not have a clear destination in mind. We like the Jasper area. In fact, I tallied up the number of times we actually drove over to the Boxley and Jasper area in 2018 and it came to 25. That averages about every other week. So, I guess you could say we like it over there.

But on this Saturday, I was thinking of the Green Forest and Berryville area. We love the town square in Berryville. It has the quaintest, small-town feel to it. There are a couple of small cafes and a few antique and flea market type businesses, as well as a used book store. There are some interesting murals painted on the sides of a few of the old buildings.

I found one mural particularly interesting since it was a map showing the route Highway 62 takes through the U.S. According to the mural, Highway 62 is the only highway that runs all the way from Canada down to Mexico. Linda and I agreed to drive on 62 up to Niagara Falls sometime in the fall since we are kind of planning on going to New England this year if it works out. It looks like 62 runs up through Ohio, not far from where our youngest daughter, Faith, lives. She is due with her fifth baby this month. My birthday is the 15th, so I have encouraged her to keep that in mind. She thinks I am funny.

Linda and I stretched our legs in Berryville and did a little shopping in a flea market there. I found a small wooden cup that I thought would look good in my shop as a holder for a couple of items I keep by the shop door. Linda had earlier suggested using a plastic cup, but I am not into plastic. She agreed and the purchase was made for one dollar. You can't beat that.

After leaving Berryville, we decided to head north on Highway 221 simply because we had never been on that road before. I think the highway number changes to 39 at the Missouri border. We drove up to Blue Eye, which is where we got our dog, Blue. We had come in from a different direction to get her, so we were able to enjoy some completely new scenery for a bit. But all of the scenery is unfamiliar enough to us to still feel new and intriguing. We drove on up to Branson but did not dawdle there. One restroom break and it was on around the lake and down to either Cassville or Eureka Springs. We came on a scenic overlook and pulled in to again stretch our legs. Linda seemed to want to go on to Eureka Springs so that's where we headed.

We got there just about the time our favorite Italian restaurant (Cafe Amore) opened, so were able to enjoy a wonderful meal. Linda had baked Zita with salad and breadsticks, while I had the Scampi D'Amore with grilled chicken. There's really nothing that compares favorably to Cafe Amore in Northwest Arkansas, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

After supper, it seemed good to both of us to stay the night in Eureka Springs so that's what we did. Next morning, we got up early and left for home without eating breakfast. I guess we were both ready to be back home even though we both had enjoyed a great little outing.

Husbands, take your wives for a drive and don't plan it to death. Remember the old Steppenwolf song, "Get your motor running, head out on the highway, looking for adventure, in whatever comes our way." Enjoy!

Sam Byrnes is a Gentry-area resident and weekly contributor to the Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 01/16/2019