Update - Not all yet!

Monday Blog 111907

It seems like forever since I’ve plunked myself down to write the trip home wrap-up to the page! Up super early on this somewhat chilly Monday morning, so I’ll give it a shot while the house is quiet! Hhhmmm! Wonder what that means?!?!

We left the campground just east of Hot Springs fairly early in the AM and decided to head back downtown to grab a few caches before we left. We also ended up downtown in the middle of the Historical District to do some exploring and stuff. Went into the Fordyce House, the National Park Visitor’s Center and watched a short video about the development of the hot springs and then the commercial development of it. Quite interesting. Even more interesting was the tour of the Bath facilities of the Fordyce House! The men’s and women’s bathing areas have been restored to their “heyday” equipment. There were areas where you could soak in the hot mineral water, steam cabinets, and massage tables with critically placed holes so NOTHING would get pinched or mashed while you were getting your steamy massage! ER, that’s steamy from the hot mineral water!!! NOT the OTHER steamy! At least that’s what I think based on the time of use of the springs!! Sharon wanted to know it the women’s side had corresponding holes placed for the comfort of the ladies!! I won’t go there!!! And to think, our massage tables now only have a place to put your FACE so your neck can be straight and not turned when you get your therapeutic massage!!! [:D] But, I will have to add that the heritage tables were made of porcelain and were not padded!!! I suppose that could make a BIG difference!! OK, enough already with the mental images!!!

While we were parked in a secure (read that “available”) parking space, we decided to have lunch at the National Café across the street from the Visitors Center. What a surprise! We both made the comment that what we ate there was probably the best meal we’ve had since we left home almost two months before. We have had some great meals because we ate out a lot in Texas, but nothing matched the flavors and presentation of our lunch at the National. It is highly recommended if you’re in Hot Springs! It doesn’t look like anything different from thousands of main street cafés just about anywhere, but WOW, there IS a difference!!

Sharon walked for her longest walk to date while we were exploring Hot Springs and did extremely well! She did get a little tired, but walking on crutches for three or four blocks would have made ME tired! Frequent rest stops made the walk possible and worthwhile! In fact, that contributed to our decision to have lunch at the National Café.

After we had lunch, we drove around Hot Springs and grabbed a couple of caches before heading out to Benton, AR. We really stretched ourselves and travelled all of 55 miles before we stopped for the night! Our somewhat late departure from Hot Springs put us into Benton just after dark. That helped our decision to spend the night there! That and the fact that Sharon was pretty well pooped after her “marathon” walk in HS! Didn’t take us too long to have our dinner of cereal and bananas and crash for the evening, AFTER watching Dancing with the Stars, of course!

Tuesday, Nov 13, 07

We woke up in Benton, AR fairly early and hit the road after we had a nice breakfast prepared by our private chef in the View! We decided to have breakfast “out,” and waited for a while to eat. Had to make a WallyWorld stop for groceries and a few items we decided we needed in the View, and stopped at the Dixie Café for whatever meal you have for breakfast at 11:00AM! Our table put us in the midst of law enforcement officers, some from Little Rock PD and some from the Arkansas Highway Patrol, some in uniform and some in plain clothes wearing badges and carrying sidearms! All total, there were 9 of them. We were well protected! Apparently, the AHP officers were part of a drug enforcement task force. We must not have posed a threat to their “business” because they freely discussed details of some of their adventures while they were there, comparing notes to help each other in their endeavors. Interesting! That’s about all I should say about what we overheard! When we left, I stopped by all three tables and shook each officer’s hand and gave them a big “Thanks!” for doing what they do so well! They looked a little surprised that someone would take time to do that! OK, so I got a warm fuzzy for doing it, too!! Oh Yes!, Chicken Fried Steak for breakfast is WONDERFUL!

After breakfast, we took one of the few “Interstate Highway” rides. For the first day on the trip, we had a target goal in mind before we left, and used I-40 to help us get there a little quicker. We jumped off I-40 at Forrest City and grabbed a couple of caches in town and proceeded south to West Helena, AR before crossing the Mighty Missipp and heading north to Tunica, MS. Wonder why we went THAT way?!? We did go to one of the casinos and headed for the buffet for dinner. (Way over priced and under good!) and then went over to the floor for a brief hand at the one-armed bandits (no longer an appropriate name – you simply press buttons now!). On the few occasions when we find ourselves in a casino, we set a small amount to “throw-away” and quit when that is gone. Sharon sometimes has a lucky way with the machines and this time, she did not disappoint! In fact, contrary to our normal pattern, we BOTH came out with over double our starting cash! It’s not likely to change any of our retirement plans but it was fun and we much more than paid for the buffet! Hmm, Free meal! That good!! Actually our luck held up longer than that. We pulled into the casino campground VERY late and I ignored the sign that gave instructions to go back to the casino hotel lobby and register before camping. I just found a site to use and plugged in electricity and water and went to bed, figuring to pay-up in the AM when the office opened. After Bulli was fed and completely walked, I strolled up to the office to keep us honest. When I walked in, I knew this was NOT going to be fun! The lady, er, woman who was on the desk was on the phone with someone who apparently wanted to make reservations. She was in the middle of reading them the riot act for some reason and had the patience of an over excited Tasmanian devil! I KNEW this was NOT going to go well, since I had so obviously and willfully NOT followed their explicit instructions! I was right! I stated my business which was paying for the night had just spent in their park. WOW! The bomb at Hiroshima was of less intensity! I got REAMED for so blatantly violating their system! OK, I’ll take my lashes with the wet noodle, lady, now get on with it! When she finally stopped long enough to get her breath, she tried to enter our data into the computer! After fiddling with it for a few minutes, she looked up at me and said, “I’m NOT going through all that just to collect one night’s pay! Get out of here and you NEVER stayed here!!” Thank you, mam, and have a great day!” WOW! Normally, I would have reacted MUCH different than I did, but somehow, the newer model “Joe” kept his cool and held a mild manner! Some of you who have known me for a long time may be totally astounded at that, but it’s totally true! Hey, and I wasn’t even on anything!!! I probably should have given a report to the casino management, but given all the “FACTS” of the case, there is likely NOTHING they could or would have done to improve the situation. All I’ll add to that is that there is a LOT of anger from somewhere in that woman and she should in no way be interacting with the public much less customers you’re trying to attract!

That is MUCH more information than I intended to give on that stop! The campground facilities, on the other hand, are the very nicest that I’ve ever seen. After working at the park in Nashville for five years, I very much appreciated their cleanliness, the basic design, and even the way the hook-ups are installed. It was well-thought-out in design and execution. The amazing part is that the way it’s designed, it puts a lot of rigs in a fairly small area and no one site feels crowded! It’s like it’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!

More to follow on the remaining days of the trip!

Cheers!