Since when is Arkansas a shortcut to Los Angeles?
When Someone wants to see the world's largest Tesla coil.

Picture it - two royals loose in the wilds of America. They could have flown, by plane or suits. They may have even thought they'd get away without security following, as they could provide security for each other. They might have decided to recreate a childhood vacation from the view point of adults with more adult interests. Misha might've decided Brat needed a break and tossed her into the car backseat with a couple of pillows, a ice chest of supplies, and driven off into the night.

He hadn't been cruel about it. She /did/ have her laptop and satellite phone with access to the Urbanspoon app. She could find a burger anywhere they went.

Plus there was a '65 Mercury Comet Caliente car frame in Alabama that Misha wanted to see personally. If he liked it, he was going to have it shipped back to New York to keep company with the Corvette shell. Finally, he was letting Anya's teasing get to him. No more could she mock him about saving his salary from Xavier's to get the things he wanted. He was going to dip (a little) into those reserves she kept telling him he had and do something he loved - restore cars and drive them at breakneck speeds.

Except now she was in the spirit of the thing and wanted to stop in Arkansas. "Don't you have one of those things in your basement?" he asked.