Hello everyone! I haven't abandoned you! I've just been away from an internet connection. Let me explain:
Paul had a technology conference in Hot Springs yesterday & today. Since he was going to drive down by himself I decided to bring the girls & tag along. I'd never been to Hot Springs & a semi-free trip seemed like just the opportunity I'd been waiting for. Work paid for the hotel, & Paul got a $30 a day food allowance, plus he'll get paid for mileage.
I got the car all packed up on Tuesday & I picked up Paul from work in Springdale & we were on the road by 2 pm. We got to our room at the Arlington Hotel in downtown Hot Springs by about 6:30. That includes the time it took us to find a parking place, Paul to check in, & for us to haul our stuff to our room. The hotel is the largest, with the most history, in downtown Hot Springs.
It is a very big structure that has been added upon in the 100+ years it's been around. The front lobby has very large arch ways & grand paintings. There are many tables & benches to sit at & just enjoy people watching. There are two beautiful marble staircases; one leading upstairs, & on the other side of the lobby a set leading downstairs to the "mall" area. Right in the middle of the lobby is a 1928 car owned by Al Capone. (In case you 
didn't know, Hot Springs was quite a gambling town & lots of gangsters hung out there in the "Glory Days" of the town.) The car was really neat. Capone apparently had it painted so it was the same colors as the Chicago police cars were. Smart guy! Anyway, the elevators have the old fashioned things that look like clocks above them that tell you what floor the elevator is at. The hallways were lined with ceiling fans & old light fictures. The room was quaint. You could definately tell that this place is an OLD building, but I think that gives it all the more character. Our view wasn't one to write home about, but I'm going to anyway. We had a grand view of the top of the lower floors...you know the roof top with all of the airconditioning & other electrical stuff. We could also see the pool which was located on the 7th floor. We were on the 5th. Our bathroom was pretty small. It consisted of a toilet, a stand up shower tucked into a small closet sized area, & a sink with very little counter space.
After we got our stuff in our room, we walked around in the park across the street from the hotel which has one of the springs in it. They have built up these pool type things where you can sit & attempt to touch the water. I tried sticking my foot in it...it is SUPER hot!
I think they said that it comes out at about 167 degrees! From there we decided to drive the route that Paul would have to go in the morning to find his conference. That way he would know where he was going & how much time it would take him. We found an IHOP & decided on breakfast for dinner. The girls usually eat pancakes really well.
Wednesday morning Paul headed off & the girls & I got it together & headed downstairs. I took our umbrella stroller so Lillie rode in it & Keeley & I walked. We wandered around in & out of the shops across from Bath House Row. I also went on a self guided tour of a bath house. Very interesting. On our way back to the hotel we decided that it was ice cream time.
Keeley got "pink" (strawberry) & Lillie & I shared something with chocolate, nuts, & caramel...it was yummy.
Once back at the hotel, the girls had a graham cracker snack & then we hit the pool. The pool area was nice. It consisted of a large deck with lounge chairs everywhere. As you walk out to the pool to your left is a snack shack type place with a few tables & more chairs. To your right are lots of chairs & the stairs leading up to the hot tub & the deep pool. Straight ahead is the shallow pool. Keeley was so funny telling this girl in the pool all about her arm floaties & how she could get in the pool because she had her arm floaties. Silly girl. She never got off the steps...at least not without me. She did really well playing on the steps & she had a good time. Lillie let me get in with her but she did not like getting water in her face. She only stayed in for a little while. I played some more with Keeley, trying - to no avail - to get her to use her floaties. Then we went up to the hot tub (the water in the hot tub was supplied by the 47 hot springs in the area - temperature controlled, of course). That was nice. The girls played in a water fountain while I sat in there. Keeley did manage to take my picture while I was in the hot tub.
She's pretty good with a digital camera! After about 10 minutes or so I hopped in the big pool to cool off & by then it was meltdown city. Nap time was upon us. So, I lugged the girls back to the room where we changed, ate a sandwich, & took naps. Actually, Keeley watched TV while I took a shower. When I got out of the shower Lillie was asleep on the floor outside the bathroom door.
It was cute so I took a picture. After my shower Keeley & I took a nap too.
When Paul got back (he & his boss went mountain bike riding after the conference & had a blast) he showered & then we headed to dinner at a German restaurant. Paul's boss, Eric, went with us. We walked to the restaurant. It was probably about a mile there, maybe a little less. The humidity level was very low so it was a very pleasant walk. The girls were really good too. Dinner was yummy! I would tell you what I had, but I can't spell it. Suffice it to say, it was very good!
After a stop in the room to put the stroller up we headed downstairs again. We went & sat out on the front veranda of the hotel & then decided to go over to the park again. The girls had fun & Paul tried to put his foot in the water.
I tried again too. I think the trick to being able to hold it in for very long is multiple, short, rapid dunks. This ultimately numbs your senses & you can then hold your foot in the hot spring for a prolonged time of 2 seconds rather than the original 1 second. They're not kidding when they say HOT springs. Anyway, we wandered around for a little while & then went to bed. We were all pretty tired. I walked quite a bit on Wednesday!
Today Paul went back to his conference & I took the girls back to the pool. Keeley played on the steps again, but I couldn't get Lillie in past the first step. I got her to sit on that first step like twice & then she headed for the towel. I played catch with Keeley with a little football I brought for them to play with. I was in the pool & Keeley was on the steps in the water. She thought that was fun. After we played for a while we went back up to the hot tub. The water fountain up there has little paper cups so you can get a drink while there. I gave the girls each a cup & they drank their water & refilled their cups while I sat in the hot tub. Lillie was funny though. She would take one sip of her water & then dump the rest in the hot tub while grinning at me. Then she'd ask for more water. Keeley was playing "Grandma" so she had fun giving Lillie refills. Once I was done in the hot tub I got in the big pool to cool off. Lillie decided that it would be fun to throw her shoes into the pool. I managed to catch one, but the other hit the water before I could get it. Little booger was even running away from me trying to get to a spot by the pool where I couldn't keep her from throwing them in! I must admit, it was really hard to swim fast enough to keep up with her. I would have just gotten out, but as soon as I would have started climbing the ladder the shoes would have gone in anyway. At least this way I saved one of them. Needless to say, after that I swatted her hiney & sat her in a lounge chair while I dried off. Then we went back to the room for lunch & to pack our stuff.
Paul got there to pick us up at about 20 after 12. We got checked out & the car loaded & then we headed out of town. However, there was one final thing I wanted to do before leaving. There was a store on our way out that sold empty gallon jugs. I jumped out & bought 2. Down the street just a little more was a "Filling Station" where people can fill up their water containers with water from the springs for free. So that is what I did.
I brought back 2 gallons of natural (HOT) spring water.
Our trip home was fine. The girls fell asleep pretty quickly & slept for about an hour & a half before we had to stop for gas. They both woke up & wanted to "get out & walk a little bit", in Keeley's own words. So we decided that it was time for ice cream. We walked next door to Hardee's & got a few ice cream shakes. They even had whipped cream on top. Keeley thought it was great!
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, with the exception of Keeley's false alarm poop stops. (Sorry if that seems uncouth, but we stopped twice for her to go & she never did!) We took Paul back to the office in Springdale so he could get the scooter. From there he went straight to work at the Gap & I brought the girls home.
It was a fun trip & I'm glad that I decided to tag along.
I posted a slideshow of pictures from our trip below. Enjoy!
Paul had a technology conference in Hot Springs yesterday & today. Since he was going to drive down by himself I decided to bring the girls & tag along. I'd never been to Hot Springs & a semi-free trip seemed like just the opportunity I'd been waiting for. Work paid for the hotel, & Paul got a $30 a day food allowance, plus he'll get paid for mileage.
I got the car all packed up on Tuesday & I picked up Paul from work in Springdale & we were on the road by 2 pm. We got to our room at the Arlington Hotel in downtown Hot Springs by about 6:30. That includes the time it took us to find a parking place, Paul to check in, & for us to haul our stuff to our room. The hotel is the largest, with the most history, in downtown Hot Springs.
It is a very big structure that has been added upon in the 100+ years it's been around. The front lobby has very large arch ways & grand paintings. There are many tables & benches to sit at & just enjoy people watching. There are two beautiful marble staircases; one leading upstairs, & on the other side of the lobby a set leading downstairs to the "mall" area. Right in the middle of the lobby is a 1928 car owned by Al Capone. (In case you 
didn't know, Hot Springs was quite a gambling town & lots of gangsters hung out there in the "Glory Days" of the town.) The car was really neat. Capone apparently had it painted so it was the same colors as the Chicago police cars were. Smart guy! Anyway, the elevators have the old fashioned things that look like clocks above them that tell you what floor the elevator is at. The hallways were lined with ceiling fans & old light fictures. The room was quaint. You could definately tell that this place is an OLD building, but I think that gives it all the more character. Our view wasn't one to write home about, but I'm going to anyway. We had a grand view of the top of the lower floors...you know the roof top with all of the airconditioning & other electrical stuff. We could also see the pool which was located on the 7th floor. We were on the 5th. Our bathroom was pretty small. It consisted of a toilet, a stand up shower tucked into a small closet sized area, & a sink with very little counter space.
After we got our stuff in our room, we walked around in the park across the street from the hotel which has one of the springs in it. They have built up these pool type things where you can sit & attempt to touch the water. I tried sticking my foot in it...it is SUPER hot!
I think they said that it comes out at about 167 degrees! From there we decided to drive the route that Paul would have to go in the morning to find his conference. That way he would know where he was going & how much time it would take him. We found an IHOP & decided on breakfast for dinner. The girls usually eat pancakes really well.Wednesday morning Paul headed off & the girls & I got it together & headed downstairs. I took our umbrella stroller so Lillie rode in it & Keeley & I walked. We wandered around in & out of the shops across from Bath House Row. I also went on a self guided tour of a bath house. Very interesting. On our way back to the hotel we decided that it was ice cream time.
Keeley got "pink" (strawberry) & Lillie & I shared something with chocolate, nuts, & caramel...it was yummy.Once back at the hotel, the girls had a graham cracker snack & then we hit the pool. The pool area was nice. It consisted of a large deck with lounge chairs everywhere. As you walk out to the pool to your left is a snack shack type place with a few tables & more chairs. To your right are lots of chairs & the stairs leading up to the hot tub & the deep pool. Straight ahead is the shallow pool. Keeley was so funny telling this girl in the pool all about her arm floaties & how she could get in the pool because she had her arm floaties. Silly girl. She never got off the steps...at least not without me. She did really well playing on the steps & she had a good time. Lillie let me get in with her but she did not like getting water in her face. She only stayed in for a little while. I played some more with Keeley, trying - to no avail - to get her to use her floaties. Then we went up to the hot tub (the water in the hot tub was supplied by the 47 hot springs in the area - temperature controlled, of course). That was nice. The girls played in a water fountain while I sat in there. Keeley did manage to take my picture while I was in the hot tub.
She's pretty good with a digital camera! After about 10 minutes or so I hopped in the big pool to cool off & by then it was meltdown city. Nap time was upon us. So, I lugged the girls back to the room where we changed, ate a sandwich, & took naps. Actually, Keeley watched TV while I took a shower. When I got out of the shower Lillie was asleep on the floor outside the bathroom door.
It was cute so I took a picture. After my shower Keeley & I took a nap too.When Paul got back (he & his boss went mountain bike riding after the conference & had a blast) he showered & then we headed to dinner at a German restaurant. Paul's boss, Eric, went with us. We walked to the restaurant. It was probably about a mile there, maybe a little less. The humidity level was very low so it was a very pleasant walk. The girls were really good too. Dinner was yummy! I would tell you what I had, but I can't spell it. Suffice it to say, it was very good!
After a stop in the room to put the stroller up we headed downstairs again. We went & sat out on the front veranda of the hotel & then decided to go over to the park again. The girls had fun & Paul tried to put his foot in the water.
I tried again too. I think the trick to being able to hold it in for very long is multiple, short, rapid dunks. This ultimately numbs your senses & you can then hold your foot in the hot spring for a prolonged time of 2 seconds rather than the original 1 second. They're not kidding when they say HOT springs. Anyway, we wandered around for a little while & then went to bed. We were all pretty tired. I walked quite a bit on Wednesday!Today Paul went back to his conference & I took the girls back to the pool. Keeley played on the steps again, but I couldn't get Lillie in past the first step. I got her to sit on that first step like twice & then she headed for the towel. I played catch with Keeley with a little football I brought for them to play with. I was in the pool & Keeley was on the steps in the water. She thought that was fun. After we played for a while we went back up to the hot tub. The water fountain up there has little paper cups so you can get a drink while there. I gave the girls each a cup & they drank their water & refilled their cups while I sat in the hot tub. Lillie was funny though. She would take one sip of her water & then dump the rest in the hot tub while grinning at me. Then she'd ask for more water. Keeley was playing "Grandma" so she had fun giving Lillie refills. Once I was done in the hot tub I got in the big pool to cool off. Lillie decided that it would be fun to throw her shoes into the pool. I managed to catch one, but the other hit the water before I could get it. Little booger was even running away from me trying to get to a spot by the pool where I couldn't keep her from throwing them in! I must admit, it was really hard to swim fast enough to keep up with her. I would have just gotten out, but as soon as I would have started climbing the ladder the shoes would have gone in anyway. At least this way I saved one of them. Needless to say, after that I swatted her hiney & sat her in a lounge chair while I dried off. Then we went back to the room for lunch & to pack our stuff.
Paul got there to pick us up at about 20 after 12. We got checked out & the car loaded & then we headed out of town. However, there was one final thing I wanted to do before leaving. There was a store on our way out that sold empty gallon jugs. I jumped out & bought 2. Down the street just a little more was a "Filling Station" where people can fill up their water containers with water from the springs for free. So that is what I did.
I brought back 2 gallons of natural (HOT) spring water.Our trip home was fine. The girls fell asleep pretty quickly & slept for about an hour & a half before we had to stop for gas. They both woke up & wanted to "get out & walk a little bit", in Keeley's own words. So we decided that it was time for ice cream. We walked next door to Hardee's & got a few ice cream shakes. They even had whipped cream on top. Keeley thought it was great!
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, with the exception of Keeley's false alarm poop stops. (Sorry if that seems uncouth, but we stopped twice for her to go & she never did!) We took Paul back to the office in Springdale so he could get the scooter. From there he went straight to work at the Gap & I brought the girls home.It was a fun trip & I'm glad that I decided to tag along.
I posted a slideshow of pictures from our trip below. Enjoy!
1 comment:
What a fun mini vacation! Looks like you guys had a blast!
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