Springs Have Sprung

Hot Springs Trip, October 2007

...And, we're back! The trip was a success, with a few small pitfalls, we had a great time.

We packed it all up and headed out Friday, listened to Dan Brown's "Digital Fortress" on audio CD on the way... and arrived at our destination sometime around 4 PM... Checked in and got comfy. Took in the scenery, and took a few photos of the lake upon our arrival. As you view the web gallery, you will see the views of the lake which is the view that we had when we walked out onto the deck surrounding our little bungalow. Great in the morning, and great at night when the lights of the bridge appeared. After breathing in our surroundings, it was time to think of dinner.

We chose to go to a favorite little "down home" Italian restaurant off Central near downtown called "Facci's Italian Restaurant". This place is "home"... the people are super-nice, and the food is fantastico! We made the mistake of having an appetizer so we had to take our large-portioned entrees home in a box. Once we got back to our 'home away from home', he and I fired up the Jacuzzi Tub (which I enjoyed several times over the weekend) and got another monstrous sea of bubbles started... we tried to make it a romantic bubble bath for two, but just like last time, he nearly suffocated in the overly-zealous bubble storm. (No photo of that one, sorry!)

A short while later, we had an unexpected visitor... a little black cat, with just a couple of white spots on her coat... She was so cool and sweet that we decided if she was a stray, we were going to keep her, take her back home and tentatively had named her "Sydney".

Sydney wasted no time performing her allergen-magic on Mr. J... His head swelled up and he sneezed himself half to death, all the while playing with Sydney, cuddling up to her and having fun. We rushed out to the store, and bought a couple cans of cat food and a little litterbox. We had settled on a new member of the family... She slept with us in our bed that night, cuddling up and weaving her magic web of deceit. The next morning, she pretended to still want to hang around for a while, then she finally went mad begging to go outside... I let her out to roam a bit, and we thought maybe we'd leave it up to her if she came back, she would be ours.

So she took off, and left us for some time... Richie had to have emergency Benedryl, and spent the better part of our Saturday in bed, incapacitated from the effects of little Hurricane Sydney. We opted to go for "take out" from our favorite Hot Springs BBQ place, "Chuck's Southern Bar-B-Q". Chuck's never disappoints. In fact, he would be a great candidate for Memphis In May's Barbecue cook-off, but he says he just can't take the time because it's a busy time of year for him. If you ever hit up Hot Springs, and like barbecue, check out Chuck. Took the food back, and fed Mr. J and he was back into his allergic-coma.

Just as he woke up a little later in the evening, I was able to get him out and about. We decided to hit up the Wax Museum... You can see a decent tour of those photos in my gallery (below). We walked around a bit, and hit up another shop called "Romancing the Stone". Bought a couple of things there, grabbed a couple of snacks for later and headed back to the house.

Sunday morning, we woke up and planned on the Garvin Woodland Gardens visit. Just as we were getting ready, someone popped by our bungalow to ask to borrow a garbage bag. We didn't have any extras but before Richie could close the door, in popped Sydney. "Oh you decided to come back to us?" I quipped. Sydney just gave me a seductive cat-like glance, and went into the kitchen begging for food. I began to wonder if I was being used. I gave her some food, and she devoured nearly the entire dish. Then it wasn't long before she went back to the door and curtly requested that I open it... So I obliged and then Sydney was off once again.

This time, I basically decided that she must belong to someone and she was just making rounds, toying with the visitors' affections... I wondered who else had fallen victim to this grand lady in black? Were we the only ones? Maybe it was better that we left it to nature anyways, as Richie seemed quite intolerant of her chemistry, which is odd because Mr. Rodneycat doesn't bother him, and Rodney has very long hair (Himalayus Fluffballicus). So "Sydney" went on her merry way, not to be seen again.

Thanks to the little raven-haired beauty, and the allergic reactions that ensued, Richie never quite felt up to fishing, which was one of his main objectives when planning the trip. However, Garvin Woodland Gardens turned out to be his favorite thing we did... The scenery there was really gorgeous, and I saw they were preparing for the Christmas season lights, which looked like they were going to be fantastic... almost would go again during Nov-Dec just to see that.

"Foot In" in honor of Barnze!

Then afterwards, we headed to Ruby Tuesday's for a bite to eat. I had the Salad Bar and their Pot Pie, and Richie had a burger and a large brew (see photo, which Mr. J wanted to take specifically in honor of Four Dinners. He drank alot of German beer in your honor over the weekend Dinners!! Cheers!!). I had my usual, delicious and refreshing Unsweet tea (stop your grimacing! It's good.)

After eating and drinking, he was ready to get back to the casa and chill once again... I dropped him off and went cruising around in search of a great sunset shot, but didn't quite get the shot I was looking for... Went to WallyWorld... seriously, can you take a trip and not end up at a Walgreen's or a Wal*Mart? It's like crack or something. I don't even go to Walmart much at home... so I don't know what that was all about.

Took one last bath in the Jacuzzi tub before hitting the hay, after all, check out was scheduled for 10:00 a.m., which I find to be a bit unfair, but nevertheless... I prevailed. Put in "A Christmas Story" which I've seen 9,657 times but never get tired of it. Went to sleep and dreamt of home. I was torn between being homesick and being sad to leave our little lake house that we've begun to think of as a tradition.

Photo Gallery (by Picasa)
(See above post for updated photo gallery!)

Got an early start, packed up and prepared for our homebound journey on Monday morning. Returned our videos, gassed up the car, and had a McDonald's heart-attack biscuit for breakfast... Was a bit misty and cloudy but nothing to write home about. That all changed when we got a bit down the highway, it began to rain profusely... and kept on pouring for the remainder of my drive. I don't fancy driving in rain, especially with tons of 18-wheelers on the road, but I did my best to relax and 'rock steady' down the road... We got home around 1:00 in the afternoon and began the great unwind (which is still happening as we speak). I require alot of recoop time :)

All in all, it was a nice trip and we'll of course go again, and again... I think I might like to go someplace else for a change maybe for our very next venture, but we'll decide that as we go.

Hope you enjoyed the run-down and hope you enjoy my Picasa Web Album (story in pictures). You can visit it again later too, as I will be adding a few more photos as I have time. Happy Tuesday, Wednesday and beyond!! -AJ-