6/22/17
We are now in Hot Springs AR, checked into the hotel and everyone is gone doing this and that - so I'm in the hotel room, alone. I love my mother and my nieces, but I also love my alone time. So this moment of solitude is much appreciated :) The introverts reading will understand.
Today over all was a great day. We got up, loaded the truck and headed out. We ate breakfast at this odd place called The Root Cafe. It was what I would call a hipster restaurant and not really my style, but that is point of vacation. Try new things. The eggs were ok, the toast horrible and the bacon was ham. The coffee was drinkable, but they only had the raw sugar. What is wrong with this side of the Mississippi? They don't seem to believe in regular white sugar.
After escaping the breakfast joint we went down to the Central High School location. This is where the first public schools were integrated and it was extremely interesting. The visitor place had videos of the 9 black students who went to school there as they are today, recounting stories and giving their perspective now. It was amazing to hear them - you have to admire their bravery and determination.
They also had a video explaining how the activism of the 9 blacked students was being carried on students today who are actively protesting social injustice. It was a well done exhibit and the park ranger was extremely nice and helpful. It was obvious he enjoyed his job. We also got to see the school itself, from the outside, and the gas station where the reporters were set up. Amanda seemed to be moved by it - Kaylee - well she is hard to read.
We left the school and headed to the AR state capital and took a few pictures from the outside. The capital also has statues of the 9 students who integrated which was pretty cool.
We then went to the Clinton Presidential Library. Clinton is by far my favorite president, at least of my lifetime, but his library didn't really impress. JFK still has the best library by far. Clinton's was too much reading and modern looking. It was hard to take pictures of the few artifacts because of the way they had the lighting set up and it didn't really grab you and tell a story.
There were a few interesting things:
- When he left office we did not have a deficit, but a surplus!
- We had a balanced budget & we still helped the less fortunate in our society.
- He passed FMLA.
- He was extremely well liked internationally.
- He was impeached, but then he was acquitted by the Senate.
Also, they library seems to want to make money off of stupid things. $24 for a picture behind the Oval Office desk and their souvenir plates are outrageous ($150). I think they could have done a much better job.
We then and ate lunch at a Noodle house. It was pretty good, not something I would do often, but it was something different. After eating we walked up to this red interesting building and took some pictures. We asked a gentleman what it was and he told us it was their courthouse... very cool looking.
We then drove down to the Big Dam Bridge :) It is the largest pedestrian bridge in the US. It goes over the AR river. The view off of it was pretty and the rapids sounded so relaxing, but the dam/bridge itself was kinda ugly. After seeing Hoover Dam I think my expectations may be a little high.
We then loaded up and headed to Hot Springs. After we got 5 minutes along the way I spotted the blessed sign - Dunkin Doughnuts! So we hopped off and grabbed some Dunkin and a Tropical Smoothie for Kaylee. I was so happy to see some DD: ) We then proceeded to drive to Hot Springs. The rain was full of rain and construction - my favorite things, but it pretty uneventful.
We are now sitting in the hotel and resting. Dinner is sandwiches and I think everyone is happy just to rest. The hotel here is pretty central, so the girls walked down to get some ice-cream from a near by shop and Mama went to the goodwill next door.
Life is good and we are enjoying ourselves. Tomorrow is the Hot Springs and the Diamond mine, then over to Marshall/Longview to visit family. Have a good night blogland :)
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