TUESDAY…….
OMG…..what a very humid morning….AND day!!! We slept a little longer than planned…..but, what the Hell???? We are retired and have no schedule to follow or obey for the most part.
After breakfast and some good French Roast coffee, we put a few things together to take with us and left for Eureka Springs, Arkansas. By checking the road maps, it was not quite possible to figure the mileage exactly…….so, after going over huge, straight-up hills and then plunging down into some deep valleys, we were in Arkansas…..in about 15 minutes at MOST!!! Then it was only 10 more miles and we were driving up and through the VERY, VERY narrow streets of Eureka Springs. Total mileage from TheHowserHouse???? 20 miles!!!!!
We followed the “Historical Tour” route up and around the hillsides/mountainsides and then slowly wound our way down, almost losing our way on some of the streets that were virtually unmarked. Passing by tons and tons of Bed and Breakfasts and a few large, old stately hotels, a few art galleries that weren’t open, we arrived at the main city center. HAHA….sure as hell wasn’t a “center”, as we continued to loop back and forth down the side of the “mountain” along the most unbelievable narrow streets I’ve seen since being in some of the European countries. We located a pay parking lot, as the free one was WAY away from everything and it didn’t look like the trolleys were running too frequently. It was only $5 for the day…….so,……not a big deal!
WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE????? WHERE ARE THE TOURISTS OR TRAVELERS??? There were hardly any people on the streets…..and the worst part was that many of the shops, galleries, and stores were “Closed on Tuesdays”!!! It was certainly disappointing as even the Art Gallery Shops…..a specific area……were closed for today.
Sooooo, we spent several hours just dropping in some of the ones that we found OPEN….and enjoyed some of the contemporary galleries: modern paintings, very modern sculptures, some wonderful stainless steel and glass vases, a place with some very cool stainless steel contemporary clocks……which we came very close to purchasing one for our stick and brick…..and then we also went into some of the clothing and shoe/sandal shops. We made some HUGE purchases…..hahaha: two pair of cute little socks for gifts, two bottles of sauces, and some herbal meds for allergies(for the 1st Lady and her allergies to animal hair).
By that time we were beginning to feel some hunger pains (our tummies are still a bit stretched out from over-eating last week)….and so, we decided to eat on the second floor outdoor balcony of the Basin Park Hotel. It was the charm and ambience of eating outside and overlooking the old town of Eureka Springs that certainly pulled us in and up to this café. We hesitated after climbing up the stairs of this OLD hotel, but a couple exiting said that the “food was good”. Looking at the menu, we decided to eat just a sandwich……and “best burgers in town”. OK………as I told the 1st Lady, that quote obviously was made by the café owners!! When they arrived, they were definitely frozen burgers, large and fairly thick, but not even warm!!!!!!!!! They had either not been completely thawed when put on the grill, or they had been sitting on the counter to be brought to our tables for toooooooooo long a time!! ANYWAY……you know this aging, sagging hulk of me…….I told the sever that mine was not even warm, never mind being served hot……and the same for the 1st Lady’s. Sooooo, she took them back….and about five minutes later, returned with the same burgers ……we knew because our bites that we had taken were still there……..and….yes, they were hot. But…….ugh!!!! Just not a good juicy burger. They had been frozen toooo long and not thawed properly and were just …..yuk: mushy meat!!! Oh well………consider each day a complete and total loss if you don’t learn something new each day. And, we certainly did today. The charm and ambience was totally lost with the poor quality of the meal……albeit just hamburgers!!!
Anyway…….my advice to you: just bypass the Basin Park Hotel and café that is located upstairs!!! OHHHH…..forgot…..they DID serve hot Starbucks coffee which was very dark and very good!!! THAT did help me ……heehee!!!!
A few more shops and stores…..and we went to the parking lot…..and headed the 20 miles back to TheHowserHouse. We made one stop about five miles out of Eureka Springs at a supermarket to pick up some marshmellows. Sure not going to roast them tonight…….it is raining now(7pm)….and someone just knocked on our door and warned us that there is a severe thunderstorm warning for our area for the next hour with heavy rains. OK…….tomorrow night?????
HAHAHA….I have been hauling about a dozen cut logs/wood around in the back of my truck since we were in NE Missouri at the COE park in late May…..the place I molested that deer with the front end of my truck. We WILL burn those things tomorrow night, come hell or high water!!!
We are keeping our eyes on the tellie……..all TWO channels which we barely pick up down here in this valley. Sooooo much snow and gray matter that I can barely see the warning maps with the counties of expected weather problems in red…….ahhhh, how we do become used to all of the technologies which we have in our homes these days. Just think…….I was in the 6th grade before my father even purchased a HUGE box of a tv with a small screen with a horrible picture coming from 30 miles away!! (I KNOW that we were the very last people in Eldon to have a tv in our homes….hahaha!!!!) Dad said he wouldn’t buy a tv until he could get more than one channel, so he did buy one when there were two channels available…….so to say……it was just luck when we could get both channels to be seen at the same time. AHHHH, the wonders of our present times!!!
And sooooo, enough ramblin’ from this old man for tonight. I will run up to the conference center in the morning and get on their wifi in the lobby and get this posted. Thursday we leave and go to Lake of the Ozarks where we will have wifi and cell phone service!!! CIVILIZATION again!!!!! But……even without the tech wonders……
LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!…..And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
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