LONG STORY SHORT By Kristine McGowan Our route over the last two weeks gave me whiplash. First, we made our way south from Kentucky into Arkansas and Texas. Then we turned right around and headed back into Arkansas, and from there on to Missouri, Illinois, and finally Indiana. Our route looks odd on a map, but we chose it largely because of sports. We wanted to hit the Major League Baseball stadiums in Dallas, Houston, and St. Louis while their teams were in town, and after that, we had to get to Indianapolis in time for the biggest race of the year. I’d like to tell you that’s all we were doing over the last two weeks: watching baseball and cheering on the vroom-vrooms at the Indy 500. But I can’t. More than anything else, we were tracking the weather. As you may have heard, 2024 is turning out to be one of the most active tornado seasons in recent memory, and we’ve been dogged by storms for the last two weeks. On our way to Dallas, violent thunderstorms were carving their way through Texas. In Arkansas, our emergency weather radio sounded off dozens of severe-weather alerts for our area within a 12-hour span. In St. Louis, our Cardinals-Cubs game was postponed due to thunderstorms. And at the Indy 500, we huddled in a tunnel and under the grandstands with thousands of other guests for two hours while thunder roared overhead and rain doused the track. So yeah. We’ve been a little stressed. But we’ve also been incredibly lucky. Those storms in Texas? They migrated south toward Houston, missing us.* The alerts in Arkansas? The worst of them affected counties adjacent to ours but not Hot Springs, where we were staying. In St. Louis, those storms incited a tornado warning directly south of us but not on top of us. And, despite having to take shelter at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we still got to see a full Indy 500 later that day. Maybe it’s luck, or maybe our guardian angels have been working overtime. Either way, we’re grateful.** Now, here’s a look at what we’ve been up to—between studying weather forecasts, that is. Where have we been?Memphis, Tenn.  We only had one day in Memphis—one of our few storm-free days, actually—and we made the most of it. We spent the afternoon at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, which preserves the site where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated (pictured above left), and we spent the evening on Beale Street. We even managed to grab some Memphis barbecue and listen to live music at B.B. King’s Blues club (above right). It was a soul-soothing night before the weather caught up to us. Hot Springs National Park, Ark., &Gateway Arch National Park, Mo.  Believe it or not, between baseball games and storm tracking, we managed to visit two national parks recently: Hot Springs and Gateway Arch. Thanks to the weather, we didn’t do much in the former, but we got an unexpected adrenaline rush in the latter: We rode a tram 630 feet up to the top of Gateway Arch—and discovered the arch was swaying with us inside it. Park employees gave us 10 minutes to enjoy the view at the top, but we were ready to head back down after five! Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ind.  Above all else, our primary goal over the last two weeks was to get Jason to the Indy 500—and fate sure tested us in that endeavor. Bleak forecasts leading up to the race proved fairly accurate, and we had to take shelter with thousands of other race fans for two hours while a storm tore across the track. Despite the delay, the race began later that afternoon, and we got to watch all 200 laps before storms threatened the area again. It was a long day, but seeing Jason’s face light up when the cars hit the track made it all worth it. Where are we going next?Our route is starting to make a lot more sense. We’ll cut across the central U.S., making stops along the way as we head home for a brief travel break and to celebrate our niece’s third birthday.  85. Indianapolis, Ind. 86. Chicago, Ill. 87. Columbia, Mo. 88. Kansas City, Mo. 89. Denver, Colo. 90. Mesa Verde National Park & Durango, Colo. * They also missed our friends near Houston, thankfully, and we got to meet up with them for dinner and talk about just how crazy those storms were.
** Especially after learning just how devastating those storms were elsewhere.
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