the joy in the journey

northwest arkansas is booming. every time you turn a corner there's a new restaurant, store, or shopping center popping up. we now have a krispy kreme, starbucks, and fudruckers, all within a 30 mile radius. and yet something has been lost in the midst of all the "coming soon" signs, the joy in the journey.

it seems like there are a plethera of sacred establishments popping up in nwa, but they no longer carry the magic that they once held as a long distance destination. I remember my freshman year at the U of A, my roomate and I had nothing to do one saturday so we hopped in his jeep and drove to the nearest Krispy Kreme...four hours away in Kansas City. I have grown up a Krispy Kreme fanatic. Every time I see the sign i remember the stops my family would make at the one in memphis, down the street from Graceland, on our way to Oxford, Mississippi for an Ole Miss game. It was a special occasion. but now I work less than two miles from one and have yet to enter it. it just doesn't seem the same.

the same goes for concerts as well. for some reasons I enjoy a show if I have to drive a while to see it. I think it adds to the whole stepping into another world experience (e.g. guster in tulsa, coldplay in austin, weezer at mizzou, dmb at virginia beach, david crowder also in tulsa).

now i know more and more cool places are going to be coming here and someday we may actually have a chipotle, taco cabana, p.f. changs, or cheesecake factory and i will be very excited. but they will never hold the same type of memories they had when we had to ride for awhile, together, to get there.