10th Anniversary Get-Away

Being married has been a lot of fun, work, ups, and downs for both of us.  Marriage is a great place to grow and learn to love yourself and others better.  No wonder it's ordained of God. 

Neal and I happily celebrated 10 years of marriage this past week.  We eagerly dropped our kids off for a line up of wonderful friends and family to watch over them and that they did.  Then we jumped in the car and made our get away.

Our destination was Hot Springs, AR with a little stop first.  We made it to Hope, AR for dinner and made a quick visit to President Clinton's birthplace.  He lived his boyhood in Hot Springs. 

Then on to Mursfreeboro, AR, population 1,638.  We got lucky at the Shamrock Motel.  Did I just say that?! 

This place made us laugh for all it's idiosyncrasies: the flashing, rainbow, neon sign, the large, metal dragon sculpture above the entryway fountain, which was decorated with faded ficus trees partially submerged,

the piped in music to be heard while sitting anywhere outside, the water slide with its descent so gentle even a child had to pull himself along (yes, I did it),

our sink fixture with two C knobs, one much larger than the other, a very large waste paper basket in the bathroom, a dead cricket, the timed and continuous air freshener spray (we turned off for want of fresh air), the continental breakfast of store-bought bags of mini donuts and so forth.  Hey, you get what you pay for and we were putting our money into the next two nights lodging.

Although very endearing, we had to move on the next morning to Crater of Diamonds State Park.  See, we took one of those touristy sign photos just for you.

A few years back Neal and I were watching some travel show and it featured this place and I thought, "People do that?" and Neal said, "I want to do that."  And here, on our anniversary, we did that.  It was good, not-so-clean fun.  We rented the inexpensive equipment and walked out on the dirt until our diamond senses tingled and there we filled our bucket, thrice. 

We had a great time learning how to mine diamonds but only collected a few nice pieces of jasper, quartz, and what not.  It was more fun just to listen to the families and friends talk to each other about how silly it all was.  We spent quite a bit of time out there but thanks to clouds, sunscreen, and a covered  area we beat the heat.

Then we were off to Hot Springs, to stay at the 1884 Wildwood B & B, a real treasure. 

This is what awaited us!  The King David Room even had the original claw foot tub, first in the county, at the time the house was built, that even Neal could stretch out in.

The innkeepers, David and Rebecca, were just wonderful!  They were open, down-to-earth, knowledgeable, and obviously loved what they were doing.  They gave us all the information we needed to get started in town.  Once settled we headed off to the Fordyce Bath House in historic downtown to get the history of the place and see what facilities drew people from all over the country.  It felt very clinical and the services offered back then seem barbaric today: mercury rubs and injections to treat syphilis and hydro-electric baths to maintain good circulation of blood supply to weak or paralyzed sections of the body--all by doctors prescription, mind you.

Above is the enclosed hot spring that is under the bathhouse providing all that steamy mineral laden goodness to the masses.  It is enclosed because fools, despite the bubbling and steaming, feel they must touch the water to see how hot it is.  It reduce the cases of blistering and burn caused by the 140 degree F water, most are covered up.

Along the street are several fountains with still very hot water to sample and touch.  They, however, have had some time to cool but still make you think "ouch" when giving your hand a quick dip.  Neal actually timed dipping his hand for this picture so he would not get too uncomfortable.  It is that hot.

After seeing some of the fountains open to the public we ventured into the Museum of Contemporary Art for an artist's reception and were able to view all of the museums works without charge.  We were, in particular, impressed with the all leather sculptures of  Liu Miao Chan.  He had very humble beginnings and did not even have money for pencil and paper.  He eventually gained an education and his work is well sought after.  Some pieces are nearly to scale.  The expressions he creates are so life like.  We were so impressed and loved seeing what was a new medium for us.

After dinner at a Mexican/Cuban restaurant that did a very nice job of presentation and flavors we headed back to the inn, grabbed some homemade brownies and cookies for the taking, and enjoyed the rest of our evening upstairs.

In the morning we enjoyed breakfast with two other couples and chatted for some time.  Breakfast included a chocolate muffin sundae-no joke!

Then Rebecca, our host, took us all on a guided tour of the house.  She has been fortunate enough to have several resources to pull from regarding the history on the house, including the diary of the woman of the house, letters from the woman's daughter and son, newspapers, and first hand stories from grandchildren.  She did a fantastic job and it was fascinating.  Not only the information on the house itself but the family and the culture of the area at it's hay day.  She even shared stories of the housekeeping servants.  She told us what the current day owner's "some day" plans were for the house.  She showed us the servants quarters and unfinished sections of the house.  It was all so delicious and really made the stay special and the history real.

Dining Room w/ stained glass

Hand carving done by the lady of the house on built-in buffet in dining room.  E for Elsworth.

The house servants used this system (like two cans on a string) to communicate.  First they'd cup their hands and blow to create a whistle to get the other's attention.  Then they could speak and listen through it.

Stain glass designed by the lady of the house, Sarah, in honor of her husband.  The glass is buckling under it's own weight and will cost $8-10 thousand to save.

Also designed by Sarah E., this window indicates what is important to her.  This one is less warped because it gets less direct sunlight.

Just look at the wood work on the staircase and ceiling (done by the best at the time - Pullman Co.).  This staircase is in the Queen Anne style, contrasting the rest of the house which is Victorian.  Each room showcased a different wood, much of which was cut on their land and treated in the basement until ready for use.  The house cost $40K back in 1884 which was like millions today.

Original etched glass doors in the front entry way.

Men's Parlor which tiles Sarah E. hand painted with sweet pea and birds

Servants quarters, currently used for storage, were large for that time.  Treat the help right and you keep them.  These will some day be guest rooms as well. When looking out the windows from here you really get a feel for the heighth of the house, better even than from looking up from the grounds.

After the amazing tour, we took off for a short 1.75 mile hike above the hot springs to a nice look out point, Goat Rock.  We have yet to see the goat in the rock but perhaps there was some other reason for the name. We did see two lizards and a tortoise on our hike!  And a deer on our drive back to town.  Happily all living!

We love kissy pictures!

The drought in the area is so bad that it is already starting to look like autumn the locals say.

Our hike was not strenuous, still be felt the need to get a first hand experience of the historic Buckstaff Bath House to rest our muscles.  We did it more for the historic value rather than the spa experience and that was good because they were pushing people through and the service was not overly indulgent.  We did get a whirlpool bath in the hot mineral waters, a steam bath in one of these old contraptions, a needle shower (which just shoot water at you sideways along your entire body but not with needle like pressure), hot packs, refreshing icy cups of mineral water, and a 30 minute Swedish massage.  It was a fun experience but next time we will spend the extra money and go next door for the "spa" treatment.

 After Italian food at a casual restaurant, we headed back to the B & B to spoil ourselves with brownies and cookies once more and watch a movie in our room.

In the morning we dined with four other couples and enjoyed another decadent 3 course breakfast.

 After quite a long while of enjoyable chatting we loaded our car and left for home.  We took a short stop at one of the jug filling stations to fill our water bottles with the local "elixir" and made it home to pick up our babies who were exhausted by days of fun with friends and family.  They fell asleep on the way home and gave Neal and I yet another evening to relax.  Too bad they won't let us sleep in tomorrow.  That was a real pleasure we'll miss.

Can't wait to see how we celebrate our 20th Anniversary!