Wifi at the Batesville Hardees – who knew?

We took a lunch break from the fabric safari and asked Garmin to find us a barbecue joint.

It directed us to Cowboys, a roadside place a couple of miles out of town that turned out to be an excellent choice.

On the way to the restaurant, Maria spotted a Hastings, which I supposed would have free Wifi, just like the one in Jonesboro.

I dropped Maria off at the fabric store with the understanding that I’ll pick her up at 3 p.m. unless she calls me before that time. I drove to Hastings, went into the modest cafe area and asked the guy behind the counter if they had Wifi. They don’t.

“Do you know anyplace around here that does?”

“Yeah. Hardees.”

“The one right down here?” I asked, pointing toward the only Hardees I’ve noticed here.

“Yeah,” he said.

So I drove to Hardees, bought a small drink so as not to appear to be a complete freeloader, fired up the Mini 9 and discovered a five-bar unsecured network signal. After a few minutes of wrestling with my anti-virus software, I was online.

Woo-freaking-hoo.

Looking around, I see no signs advertising Wifi, not a single clue. I checked the Hardees national website to see if this is a standard feature at Hardees and found no reference to Wifi, so this may be just an anomaly.

Whatever. Now I know where to get free Wifi in Batesville, Ark.