Trip to Little Rock, AR

Mary and I went on a short vacation to Little Rock, Arkansas. Even though they set a new record high of 106 on Saturday we still had a good time. We arrived at a Comfort Inn Saturday afternoon within walking distance of the Clinton Library. Saturday evening a van from the hotel took us downtown for dinner. We ate some excellent pizza at Gusano’s Pizzeria. We walked a short distance down President Clinton Blvd. Mary was entertained by a Michael Jackson mime.

Sunday morning we ate in the hotel at their complementary breakfast then went to Mass at a nearby church. Before we left home I questioned Mary about me taking trousers to wear to church and we decided since we were on vacation we would wear shorts. As the priest was giving the announcements at the close of the Mass he gave a talk about dress code and to not wear shorts to church. Since I couldn’t hide under the pew I listened then left quietly after Mass.

After Mass we drove around some and would have liked to walk along the river walk but it was just too hot to enjoy that. About 12:30 we headed for the Clinton Library and ate an expensive brunch while waiting for the Library to open. We did enjoy going through the Library and spent about 3 hours doing so. One forgets how many things happen during eight years of a presidency. We both had the narrative handsets so we could listen to President Clinton explain each exhibit. It was laid out by the year and was easy to follow. We took a trolley downtown to a Clinton gift shop and then back to our car.

Since we ate a large lunch we were not real hungry for dinner. We had the hotel van driver take us back downtown and walked around some. They were having an Alice Cooper concert by the river and there we some weird people showing up for it. We went into a restaurant close by where the band was playing. We didn’t realize how loud they were until we left the restaurant.

Monday morning we ate at the hotel then headed for Eureka Springs taking two lane roads most of the way. It is much more interesting than the interstate. We arrived in Eureka Springs about 1:30 and went downtown to walk the hills going into many shops. We went into the lower ones first then drove up the hill to where most of the better shops are. Most of the shops were air conditioned so it wasn’t too bad. We bought a few things and went to find our motel about 4 PM. We stayed in the Best Western of Eureka Springs and later went to eat at the Forest Hill restaurant. We were not impressed with it.

Tuesday morning, August 14, was our 42nd anniversary and we started for home. We took the back roads through Arkansas and came into Missouri where we took a 90 highway that I would like to ride on the motorcycle sometime. It was probably 50 miles of curvy roads through the back country. It amazes me how many people live along this road in very poor homes. It seemed like there was a home every mile and sometimes several in a mile. Some places it was hard to imagine anyone living there. We came out south of Joplin and finally found a Shoney’s where we ate breakfast about 9:30. We went up highway 71 north of Carthage then took 2 lane roads through Pittsburg, KS and on to Topeka arriving about 2 PM.

We had a nice leisurely trip and really enjoyed it, in spite of the heat.