Read about our musical return to delightful Fayetteville AR
25 August 2016 (day) Fayetteville Arkansas
I had an overnight stop at McKinney Texas on the way from Dallas to Fayetteville Arkansas.
The plan was to leave early and get the 4 1/2 hour drive out-of-the-way as early as possible. But jet lag betrayed me and I did not leave until late in the morning. The drive would now take the greater part of the day and I was on a schedule to arrive at my destination by 4 pm for fayettevilleroots festival registration and hook up with my friend Dawn before that evening’s festivities.
Mojo Dixon (aka ‘The Loon in the Afternoon’) on the Sirius FM Outlaw Country channel was loooooooooohoveing! country with Paula Nelson from Austin Texas on the subsequent long shift and, between them, they kept me entertained with some terrific music.
The journey was almost exactly 300 miles, heading northeast on the I-40, from Texas through Oklahoma (around Fort Smith) and into the lush and mountainous Ozarks in which Fayetteville is nestled.
Only time for two brief stop-overs on the way. One was just out of McKinney for coffee and a car snack and the other Sallisaw Oklahoma (where my accent was very amusing to my friendly late lunch server).
I made it to Fayetteville on time, parked the car (a quarter for an hour on the meter – Melbourne please take note!), completed my registration and accreditation at The Chancellor Hotel and happily re-united with festival co-organisers Bryan and Bernice Hembree.
Speaking of reunions, we met Dawn at last year’s festival and she had kindly agreed to host me this time. I was very happy to see a friendly face after all my hours in transit. Together, with her friends Jason and Janna, we motored to the nearby Garner Farm for a special food and music experience for the VIP festival ticket holders.
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