Stuck...

Turned out I was in luck the other day when waiting to see if someone was going to turn up for a room, nobody did and I was able to thoroughly enjoy a hot shower and a warm bed, I was a happy man I tell ya, thanks again for that Darrell, was a blessing to run into you!

The next morning after finishing breakfast I was back on track towards the town of Blytheville which was only about 20kms away. I arrived there in the afternoon around 4:30. Seeing it was a Saturday night I was hoping on trying to find a church to camp at so I could attend the service in the morning. I passed a lady who I asked for directions. She kindly directed me to a church in exactly the direction I needed to go. Arriving just before dark I set up my tent and settled back to read my book before bedding down for the night. Just as i was about to call it a night, I heard someone yelling out to me "you didnt think I forgot about you did you sir"? Poking my head out of my tent I found the lady who had given me directions standing there waving a bag of good old KFC. Gold! I had not eaten since lunch that day and was famished. As Belinda (the ladies name) took off in her car I took a peep in the bag to see not only KFC, but also a big, beautiful chocolate cake. Belinda you made my night...  thank you.

It was 4 in the morning when the first drops hit the rof of my tent. The rains had arrived, 10 mins later it was pouring. The service finished around 10am and I had been invited by a member of the church to her grandparents house for lunch. I was keen on getting moving but seeing as the rain had not let up and it looked as though it was not going anywhere soon, I happily agreed. After a good home cooked meal I was preparing to get my things together as the rain had eased a little, when one of the young nephews of my friend ran through the lounge room startling one of the dogs of the house. The dog took off after him and took a leap at him as the young boy was running into the kitchen. Unfortunately the dog was quicker than the boy and took a hold of the boys backside with his teeth. The poor little fella was quite rightly shattered and a little shaken up, but that was all luckily. Reckon the dog needs a good kick up the arse, I could not believe that after the dog bit the boy the owners of the house were angry that the boy provoked the dog by running through the house. But lets not talk of that anyore hey.

I left the house and continued on south. I managed to get only maybe 3 kms down the road when the showers that were lingering around turned into heavy rain. Even with my waterproof gear when the rain is that heavy it gets through and wets me through, especially my feet. I was in luck though as I spotted a motel down the road with cheap rates. I headed in and grabbed a room for the night as the rains had definetly settled in for the day. The manager has been good enough to dry all my clothes for me and I have had a shower and have settled in and am watching the classic movie A Time To Kill.

After checking the forecast for tomorrow it seems as if the rain is going to be just as bad tomorrow and with the added bonus of flood warnings for the area. I really want to keep heading south and get to Memphis which is about the the 3/4 mark of the trek but if the rain has not eased a little I hate to say it but I might be stuck here again. My achilles tendon has been aching for the last 3 weeks so this could be an opportunity to rest it maybe before heading to Memphis. I have spoken to two doctors about it through emails and they both told me it could be tendonitis which is not something I want to aggrevate anymore as it is quite painful at the moment, specially in the mornings.

We will just see what tomorrow brings, that is the beauty of the whole adventure...