Arkansas and Mississippi

We arrived at Mike and Pam’s place mid Sunday afternoon. They are near Amily, south west of Little Rock, Arkansas. Mike and Pam were at the horse races when we arrived so our kids played with their grandkids Hannah and Jacob or Bob as Mike calls him. We also caught up with Tara’s husband Cameron (Tara is Pam’s daughter). Josiah had his first ride on Mike’s track. He thought it was pretty cool as it has an arenacross section.

Their place is out in the sticks as we would say in New Zealand. But it is beautiful. The house with a verander, the tall trees, the clean fresh air, the pond and the flowers in the green grass. We could get use to living there. Joel got to fish in the small lake and caught two fish (check out the photo below...objects in the picture appear much smaller in real life).

Monday was school in the morning then riding for the afternoon. Joel rode Jacob’s bikes, first the peewee, then the cobra. They were a bit small but Joel was just excited about being on a bike.

On Tuesday we went to Little Rock to Tom’s Kawasaki shop and bought Joel a Kawasaki KX65. It is a bit big for him and he is learning to use the gears. Mike and Pam then talked us into going to a race in Mississippi with them which was a great idea considering it was on our way through the South and for Josiah to ride. That night we had dinner with Mike and Pam and their family. One of the things Joel and Chris tried was some hot sauce. Chris bought some hot sauce in Louisiana and has a small amount on some meat dishes. The hot sauce Mike pulled out has a warning on it…do not give to small children. This sauce is powerful with a capital P. When Chris tasted it and it brushed the top of his lip it burnt like mad. Joel said it was pretty weak (what the?).

On Wednesday we left for Prentiss, Mississippi, with Mike and Pam to race at Golden Pine Raceway (http://goldenpineraceway.com/). This is a fine track. It is a big track and fast. There are big jumps, rollers, elevations and fast sections. We got to the track around midnight having travelled convoy with Mike and Pam, and also one of their riders, Brock.

On the way we stopped off at Vicksburg at the casino for a meal. The casino is on the Mississippi river on a boat and you walk through the casino to the buffett. It is unlawful to have casinos in Mississippi so they build them on the river (which is between Mississippi and Louisiana) although it is permanently fixed to the shoreline. After dinner we had a look at the battle monuments of the civil war beside the casino and watched the barges travel up the river. There had been a lot of rain in the last few days and the current down the river was massive. Often the barges looked like they weren’t going forward at all. After dinner at the casino we then travelled to Jackson. We gassed up and filled up with water and purchased food for the days ahead.

On Thursday Mike and Pam worked to get the race and track ready. The kids did schoolwork. On Friday Chris helped out with practice and Janine helped out with sign on for the riders. Sarah helped out with selling t-shirts over the weekend (she sold quite a few, especially to young boy riders about her age). We also got to meet another racer who rides for Mike, a guy called Chris Tracy. Chris Tracy has a pro licence and looked great on his Pro Circuit Kawasaki KX250F. Chris got to ride it around the paddock and was amazed at the power of the engine.

On Saturday and Sunday Josiah raced. He raced well on Sunday and got third in the 7-11 modified class which means he can race this class at a regional qualifier in order to get to the USA MX nationals (called Loretta Lynns) . This was a great result considering he was racing against modified bikes and some older kids.

There was some bad news on Saturday for Joel. Chris took Joel out to a paddock to ride his new bike. At the end of the riding, Chris was going to double Joel back to the RV. Chris took off too fast and Joel fell off the back of the bike. Joel’s arm got caught in the back wheel and broke just below the shoulder. We raced Joel to the local medical centre. The x-ray showed the break and the doctor sent Joel on his way to the University Medical Center in Jackson in an ambulance (about an hour away). It was a long night. We were initially advised they may need to operate on Joel and put a plate on the broken bone. In the end it was recommended that his arm be placed in a sling and strapped to his body as the break was too high to his shoulder to cast. The sling would allow the bone to realign and then fuse together. He will need to be taken back to the hospital in a week or so to see if the bone is healing well.

That night, Mike and Pam took Sarah, Josiah and Chris to the local buffet for dinner. One of the things on the menu was fried frog legs (most things are fried in the South). They said it tasted like chicken. Sarah and Chris disagree and won’t be trying it again.

We had planned to go to Disneyworld in Orlando after Mississippi but Joel’s situation now meant we had to head back to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. We will get some rest.

Like the week before when we left the Bellingans in Plano, it was sad to say goodbye to Mike and Pam, and the rest of the crew. A big thanks to them for helping out when Joel was hurt. Also, it was Sarah’s birthday on Sunday. She gave up her “birthday rights” and allowed Josiah to race on the weekend. Mike, Pam and Tara bought her a really nice Thor sweat shirt.