Home >> On the Bus >>Day Two

Day Two of the Ultimate Hippie Vacation

Mr Haynes came up to the hotel fairly early to have breakfast with Keith and me. Everyone else was still asleep.  He was very tired and did not intend to spend another night on the bus. He said he just couldn’t sleep and since there was not water, there were no bathroom facilities and he had not shaved in two days.

However, he gamely went fishing with Cody after breakfast. The Roaring River park has a hatchery so there are lots of trout just waiting to be caught. Nevertheless, our intrepid fishermen did not have any luck fishing with the wrong bait and soon Mr. Haynes disappeared. (I knew he had snuck off to take a shower before we lost the hotel rooms.)  While we were waiting for Mr. Haynes, Keith did catch a small fish and I spent some time chatting with Tara (road crew) and Brian while we waited for Mr. Haynes’ return.

Soon after that we were back ON THE BUS again ....

Cody and Jimmy Kimmel

Did I mention that Cody has trouble driving and talking on the phone at the same time? Well he does ...

We were headed to Branson, Mo., again when Cody received a call from The Jimmy Kimmel show.  They had an opening and they were interested in interviewing Cody and Mr. Haynes Live via satellite.

Now this was exciting news but if it was too exciting for him to handle, he should have pulled off the road and then talked. But I guess any guy who thinks he can drive with his feet, thinks he can talk on the cell phone and drive too.  Needless to say he missed another turn.

Now I want to describe these roads to you. They are good roads. I am not trying to disparage the Missouri roads in any way but they are rather steep and twisted and just two lanes. And when you have a crazy hippie driving ... stuff does tend to happen.

Well after a while Cody calmed down enough to realize he missed his turn.  But he is driving a big bus on a small road so it was a while before we came to a place to turn around.

Brian before Cody Broke the Bus

Anyway, after a while, he pulls into an open place (maybe it is some sort of dirt parking lot) and backs out going the other way. He backs out right over a big ditch and there is a horrible noise as we drive away.

Now by this time we are used to horrible noises. When Cody drives, things like TV’s, old dirty washing machines, and anything that is not tied down tend to fly about the bus.  There are usually several scraping noises when he turns a corner too.  (See Wheel picture from day one.) So while this horrible noise was a little louder than usual, we did not immediately grasp its’ significance.

Soon we received a call from the girls who were in the RV behind us. Something was hanging down from the bottom of the bus and it did not look good...  Cody broke the bus.

The Getaway Car

Did I mention that at the start of the trip, Mr. Haynes insisted on having a getaway car (because, as Michele so eloquently put it in the ebay auction, “stuff “ happens?)  I think B.K. originally intended for me to drive it but I really wanted to be on the bus. (That was before I thought things through.) Keith Coffman agreed to come and drive the “getaway car” in case too much “stuff” happened.

So, while we were broken down on the side of the road, we were not totally stranded.

This would be the moment to really test Mr. Haynes’ commitment to this trip. Would he leave Cody and his bus at the side of the road and head for the nearest airport? He had already endured one night on the bus... I thought I had better volunteer to stay with the bus while they drove to town to find a mechanic (just in case...) I knew Mr. Haynes would not leave me stranded at the side of the road.

Actually Mr. Haynes ended up staying with the bus too. He made some business calls while I sat at the side of the road with my handy novel and enjoyed a good read.

In a surprisingly short period of time, Keith and Cody returned with a mechanic!

more to come...

The Jalapeños Cantina

Did I mention how friendly everyone in Missouri is? The folks at the Jalapeños Cantina are a perfect example of that. I can’t tell you exactly where this place is but it is somewhere in Missouri not too far outside of Branson.

Anyway, Mr. Haynes, Keith, Brian and I decided to leave the bus in search of lunch and this is the place we found.

The waitress and owner were so friendly. We had a wonderful lunch and a really nice conversation with them.  Keith and I were just about to play a game of pool when we got the call from Brent that the bus was fixed and we could start again.

Branson, MO

By the time we got to Branson (which is an extremely hilly town), the bus was making some interesting noises in addition to the noises we were getting used to.  It was also shuddering every time it had to go up or down a hill. Maybe it needed some more fixing?

Anyway, Mr. Haynes was anxious to find a four star hotel as he did not intend to spend the night on the bus.  He offered a hotel room to Cody but he declined.  He would need to spend some time fixing the bus.

Little did he know what would happen later that night....