Post-finals week is always an interesting time on campus. Some choose to hang around campus and enjoy their last times together with graduating seniors, or friends from out of state. Some speed home to reunite with friends, family, or significant others. Others however, choose to load their schedule with as many events and travel excursions as they can to squeeze the last bits of excitement out of being free of finals. This does not, however, always go as planned.

I returned to campus Saturday the 14th after having woken up at 4:00am that morning to fly home, take a driving class, and immediately drive back. My room in shambles, I collapsed with the hopes of a late morning wake up and a full day of packing up my room, and spending some time with friends before I departed on Monday for our Odyssey trip. My plans were shattered as I woke up at 7:45am to a call from Leslie, asking if I would be ready to leave for the trip soon, or if I was on my way to meet them. I broke into a panic. My room was not organized at all. My car was a mess. I would not be prepared to leave for at least a few hours. 

Through the miracle of my girlfriends help, and after sweating profusely for about 3 hours, I was moved out, had a bus ticket to Elk City Oklahoma, and was eating Burger King on the way to the bus station in Little Rock. 

I've always been told that Greyhound Buses are a little questionable, but my worries were calmed as I boarded a beautiful coach bus, complete with outlets for phones and computers, and free wifi (which was actually faster than the Hendrix wifi...) to boot. I had my own two seats, and spent the majority of the ride chatting with some friends I made who were en route to Amarillo, Albuquerque, and Tucson, watching 180 South on Netflix, and dozing as a watched the endless plains of Oklahoma pass by outside my window.

After 9 hours, 2 sticks of beef jerky, 1 bus transfer, and 1 questionable knife salesman in Oklahoma City, I finally arrived in Elk City, OK and was picked up by Jeff. When we finished the half hour drive to Black Kettle Grasslands, I could finally rest easy knowing that I was with the group. Although it was a strange way to start the trip, it was an important part of the fantastic memories I will have from this trip.

-Connor Corley-