A New Adventure
It’s cold in AR / TX. As a matter of fact it rather reminds me of my days in Boston growing up. The winters were cold and snowy there… here it’s just cold. Although this morning when we left to get Stasia enrolled in school, there was " frost on the pumpkin," the temp was only 31 degrees and there was a light frost on the truck. Ah for the “cold” days of sunny So. Cal when the temp was 55 and I felt the chill.
It’s kind of dreary looking around here and that’s why it reminds me so much of Boston. The last couple of days have been quite chilly and overcast (although the sun was out yesterday a good part of the day). All the trees are bare of leaves and the shrubs and small bushes are just sticks. It will be lovely in the spring cause they get enough rain and humidity down here to make the floral and fauna pretty lush… that I’ll be looking forward to. In the neighborhood, there are several large trees – no, I have no idea why kind – but I will learn that later on.
This morning we got Stasia enrolled in the magnet school that’s about a 5 minute drive from the house. Schools in this district, and we’re in the Arkansas School District, start at 8:00 AM and get out at 3:15 PM. Stasia didn’t go to school today because we didn’t have all her records from the Pueblo West school. A fax was sent to CO but because they don’t start back to school till the 7th, we didn’t have the proper info for the AR district. The school here is called Kirkpatrick Magnet with an emphasis on Math, Science, Computers and Wellness. We took a tour of the school; met Stasia’s teacher and several of the other teachers as well. They have a great computer lab where the kids are currently making a robot that they will program (yes, they are teaching 3rd graders how to program) to do different things. I was impressed with all the things the children are doing in the 3rd grade and I think Stasia will do quite well and enjoy the school very much. Tomorrow (1/5) will be her first day and although she is a bit shy about it, she will do fine and make some new friends. Luckily there is a soon-to-be 9-year old next door and they have become fast friends already.
The area where the house is located is a nice upper middle class neighborhood close to a lot of things. The house is a 4 bedroom / 2 bath with a closed in patio room that runs the length of the back of the house. Stasia will have a separate room for all her toys and the patio room will be used for an exercise – dogs sleeping – Wi play area. It’s a very cool set up.
After we got the initial paperwork done for Stasia’s enrollment in school, she and I took a little drive to do some errands. One errand was to the post office for stamps. The building is very old and as you can see and read (hopefully) it sits in both states. Unfortunately I didn’t have my came i
n my es.
There are other interesting buildings in the area and after a stop at the Chamber of Commerce, I got some info about buildings and history of this area. I’m going to have some fun exploring all these places.
We are also relatively close to other parts of Texas including Dallas (about a 3 hour drive SW), Shreveport, LA (about a 5 hour drive SE) and San Antonio (about a 5 hour drive south). These are some of the interesting places we are going to investigate on weekends when Jenia is not working. Kirk is still working in St. Louis but will be able to get here more often because he can take a 10-hour train ride (overnite) to get here which will be more comfortable than a 9-hour pickup truck drive. The train station is in both states also. The front part of the train will be in TX and the back part of the train will be in AR.
Driving around the area is an adventure in and of itself. The streets are not clearly marked and you don’t know the name of them until you are right on top of them ready to make a turn. Of course there is a church on every other corner, on both sides of the street, since we are right in the middle of the Bible Belt. Once I get a better map of the area it will be easier to get around and get familiar. I do know how to get to Interstate 30 and there are a lot of stores and things off that. It’s pretty much the main drag where a mall, Books-a-Million (no Barnes & Noble in this area – it’s going to be B&N.com for any book orders), Big Lots and several good restaurants are located. Once things in the house get a bit more settled, I’ll have an opportunity to go a-searching.
One thing that has stood out right away for me is the warmth and charm of the people in the south. Sure they talk with funny accents, but then again, I’m sure I sound strange to them with my mixed Boston – west coast twang. In all instances, so far, there has been a politeness that I’m not used to and a friendliness that you certainly don’t find in So Cal. There is the common “ma-m” and “y’all” from store clerks and restaurant help. People, mostly the men, hold open doors for you and step aside to let you pass. I remember that from when Kirk and Jenia lived in other parts of the south, and that behavior is alive and well here in AR
Stay tuned for other episodes of transitioning from sunny So Cal to the incredible “sun belt south” of Texarkana, AR
It’s kind of dreary looking around here and that’s why it reminds me so much of Boston. The last couple of days have been quite chilly and overcast (although the sun was out yesterday a good part of the day). All the trees are bare of leaves and the shrubs and small bushes are just sticks. It will be lovely in the spring cause they get enough rain and humidity down here to make the floral and fauna pretty lush… that I’ll be looking forward to. In the neighborhood, there are several large trees – no, I have no idea why kind – but I will learn that later on.
This morning we got Stasia enrolled in the magnet school that’s about a 5 minute drive from the house. Schools in this district, and we’re in the Arkansas School District, start at 8:00 AM and get out at 3:15 PM. Stasia didn’t go to school today because we didn’t have all her records from the Pueblo West school. A fax was sent to CO but because they don’t start back to school till the 7th, we didn’t have the proper info for the AR district. The school here is called Kirkpatrick Magnet with an emphasis on Math, Science, Computers and Wellness. We took a tour of the school; met Stasia’s teacher and several of the other teachers as well. They have a great computer lab where the kids are currently making a robot that they will program (yes, they are teaching 3rd graders how to program) to do different things. I was impressed with all the things the children are doing in the 3rd grade and I think Stasia will do quite well and enjoy the school very much. Tomorrow (1/5) will be her first day and although she is a bit shy about it, she will do fine and make some new friends. Luckily there is a soon-to-be 9-year old next door and they have become fast friends already.
The area where the house is located is a nice upper middle class neighborhood close to a lot of things. The house is a 4 bedroom / 2 bath with a closed in patio room that runs the length of the back of the house. Stasia will have a separate room for all her toys and the patio room will be used for an exercise – dogs sleeping – Wi play area. It’s a very cool set up.
After we got the initial paperwork done for Stasia’s enrollment in school, she and I took a little drive to do some errands. One errand was to the post office for stamps. The building is very old and as you can see and read (hopefully) it sits in both states. Unfortunately I didn’t have my came i
n my es.There are other interesting buildings in the area and after a stop at the Chamber of Commerce, I got some info about buildings and history of this area. I’m going to have some fun exploring all these places.
We are also relatively close to other parts of Texas including Dallas (about a 3 hour drive SW), Shreveport, LA (about a 5 hour drive SE) and San Antonio (about a 5 hour drive south). These are some of the interesting places we are going to investigate on weekends when Jenia is not working. Kirk is still working in St. Louis but will be able to get here more often because he can take a 10-hour train ride (overnite) to get here which will be more comfortable than a 9-hour pickup truck drive. The train station is in both states also. The front part of the train will be in TX and the back part of the train will be in AR.
Driving around the area is an adventure in and of itself. The streets are not clearly marked and you don’t know the name of them until you are right on top of them ready to make a turn. Of course there is a church on every other corner, on both sides of the street, since we are right in the middle of the Bible Belt. Once I get a better map of the area it will be easier to get around and get familiar. I do know how to get to Interstate 30 and there are a lot of stores and things off that. It’s pretty much the main drag where a mall, Books-a-Million (no Barnes & Noble in this area – it’s going to be B&N.com for any book orders), Big Lots and several good restaurants are located. Once things in the house get a bit more settled, I’ll have an opportunity to go a-searching.
One thing that has stood out right away for me is the warmth and charm of the people in the south. Sure they talk with funny accents, but then again, I’m sure I sound strange to them with my mixed Boston – west coast twang. In all instances, so far, there has been a politeness that I’m not used to and a friendliness that you certainly don’t find in So Cal. There is the common “ma-m” and “y’all” from store clerks and restaurant help. People, mostly the men, hold open doors for you and step aside to let you pass. I remember that from when Kirk and Jenia lived in other parts of the south, and that behavior is alive and well here in AR
Stay tuned for other episodes of transitioning from sunny So Cal to the incredible “sun belt south” of Texarkana, AR
Really enjoyed reading about your adventures to and from Colorado and your preliminary explorations of Arkansas. Now that you've started the blog up again, this is a perfect time to keep it going, as a record of your settling-in process. Can't wait to see photos.
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