A quick getaway

For three years Andy & I have tried to get away for a vacation, break, whatever. At first the problem was minor health issues, who wants to take a plane ride with sinus infections? Then it was a sick cat. We finally had Butler put to sleep in September. She had renal failure but she lived a long luxurious 19 years. The last time we tried to leave town, my truck had front end problems so we couldn't leave. So here it is, the day after Christmas & we finally escaped.

We left home with a carry-on and wal-mart bag of clothes and shoes, not planning a long trip. I'm not sure why the wal-mart bag - probably says something about us not being big travelers. We headed to town to have lunch with Gil - he had to stay and care for the dogs and house. We then headed East for Hot Springs, AR. Andy had planned to get there in time to take me to see the Christmas lights at Garvan Woodland Gardens. From what we can tell, it's probably the only major light display for miles. By the time we got close to Hot Springs it was dark & misty.I don't think Arkansas has street lights on their highways either, as it was unusually dark. Andy hadn't checked a map and I had my iPhone but am not your best map reader - even using Google maps! Heading into the hills, it became foggy and misty. Andy was admitting he couldn't see in the rain/fog like he used to - about the time we came to a hair-pin curve. Of course, my phone rings at that point and I have a conversation with my brother-in-law but have no clue what we talked about. It was scary and funny now that I'm home. Andy finally stopped and asked for directions and we safely arrived at the Arlington Hotel about 8:30 p.m.. The gardens close at 9:00 and the concierge advised us we didn't have time to view our reason for the trip. So what to do? We ate. We ate German Food in downtown Hot Springs. We were definitely on an adventure.

The next day, there was a major storm heading our way from the West - home. We decided that we would take a casual drive around and then head on back - maybe finding something to do on the way home. With the weather change, it was overcast, almost dark most of the trip West bound. We did explore Hot Springs and will probably attempt another trip at a different time of year. The Gardens were on a windy dirt road so we were happy we didn't go last night & of course, they were closed most of the day due to the Holiday Schedule, so we couldn't visit even in daytime. We also explored Arkadelphia, their County Court House and 2 college campuses. It's a nice town. The torrents of rain started as we left Arkadelphia, this time I was driving. We passed thru Hope and saw the big signs that proclaim Pres. Clinton's Home and by the time we made Texarkansas the rains were finally letting up. We actually saw sun when we got to Paris where we had dinner, then headed home to unpack & relax(!).

OK, so our trip wasn't the most adventurous but it was our first time to get out in so long, it seemed like a major adventure. Just getting to our destination and getting home was half the fun! Maybe next time, and there will be a next time, I'll have something a little more exciting.