Hot Springs! Wednesday September 19th -Sunday the 23rd

One might think it might be difficult to enjoy sitting by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

I was driving in the fast lane on I30 approaching Arkadelphia, Ark when the car suddenly lost power, as in I'm traveling over 80 one minute and 0 the next. Fortunately there was a break in the nonstop parade of trucks enabling me to drift to the side of the road, past the bridge, and onto the shoulder.

Terry's mobile phone worked, we had our triple A card and they were friendly, sympathetic and expedient. What more could we ask for?

My ipad was full charged. Googling 'should I stay in my disabled parked car', we quickly exited for the relative safety of the shoulder. Sunny but not hot, we were enjoying the coolness of Arkansas when we saw the tow truck. Jerry noted that if we had not been on the side of the road waving expectantly he would have continued. Evidently AAA had given him slightly erroneous information. How much good luck could one couple have?

Luckily we were within 100 miles of Hot Springs and the towing would be courtesy of triple A! AND there was a Chevy dealership there. Although some bash dealerships, we generally prefer them when it comes to working on our ancient 2001 Chevy Astro van.

AND my brother and his wife were already in town. Calling John and Lila on our miracle phone they agreed to pick us up at the dealership pending the car's evaluation. The friendly service manager called to tell us the fuel pump had died. I felt something like a teenager when he explained that changing the fuel filter every 30,000 miles was a good idea, although I was able to criticize it (the fuel pump) for not giving us more warning before it abruptly quit on me. I will try not to take it personally.

John and Lila graciously carried us to the Hot Springs Village timeshare pictured here - unit 72 I think) so we could unload, and had already made reservations for a timeshare sponsored cruise on Lake Balboa, followed by a sumptuous repast at the Last Chance restaurant next door.

Given that they have their own pontoon boat on Big Stone Lake and their own lovely restaurants by Minnesota Lakes, they may not have been as impressed with the scenery. By the end of the cruise I was in awe of the number of houses I could not afford like the four story vacation home pictured here.

The next day we visited the Property Owners Association to figure out which vacant piece of land belonged to Terry and I.

They amiably tracked it down - 63 Empanada (or is it 62?) and even gave us a map and directions. Tromping around on the undeveloped land I contemplated for the umpteenth time how nice it would be to live here if only I didn't have to pay for a house, cycling rapidly with the thought that I couldn't possibly tolerate this much peace and serenity. It is definitely easier just to visit it once in a while. Proud (or foolish)owners pictured in front of the land.

John drove us to Hot Springs where we visited Bath House Row in historic Hot Springs, ate lunch at Fisherman's Wharf on Lake Hamilton while our Canadian friends waited patiently for bread crumbs (which weren't going to be coming from me), visited the tower at Hot Springs National Forest - spectacular views - and picked up our Astro which was now improved by over a thousand dollars worth of labor and parts.

The next day I was chasing yet another sunrise around Desoto Lake without catching it, but using up a lot of digital memory while I did it. I came back to my two favorite guys smoking and drinking in the Arkansas sun.

Lila and I had read about Garvan Woodland Botanical Gardens outside Hot Springs. One neat part of traveling with another couple is that we visit places we otherwise would not. At any rate, we were delighted to find that they were already decorating for the holidays. Beautiful flowers, fantastic views of Lake Hamilton and a delicious lunch at the Chipmunk Cafe completed our visit.

Too late for the new Clint Eastwood movie, we decided to see if any tickets remained for the Five Star Theater's production of Driving Ms. Daisy. As luck would have it table 24 was open. We opted for the dinner/show and went home to clean up a bit. Well some of us cleaned up. Some of us just played on our computers (me).

The show was delightful with a 3 person, local cast. Ms. Daisy may even be a neighbor to our vacant land - she was from Hot Springs Village. The preceeding dinner was a buffet with way too much delicious food. www.thefivestartheater.com

Although I contemplated a variety of stops on the way home, Terry was not to be diverted.

Saturday John and Lila flew home from Little Rock. We tagged along to visit President Clinton's Library and Museum. As usual I had too little time to digest too much information. I did love the video he made retiring from office. Enjoyed our last meal together at the President's cafe in the basement. I was impressed by how cheerfulness exhibited by ALL the volunteers and employees. That must be THE most important element of the job/volunteer profile.

After J&L left, we found a movie theater close by showing the new Clint Eastwood flick, Trouble with the Curve. We really lucked out because it was a brand new theater, only open for 1 day, and they were giving away popcorn and coke. Besides it had that brand new smell that can never be recaptured.

Driving back to Hot Springs we noted again how beautiful Arkansas is, and how Cool, compared to Texas. Too full to think about food we stopped anyway at Obrien's, outside of HSV. They specialize in pizza, wings and karaoke on the patio. Despite temptations I managed to leave before I humiliated myself.

We were now at the end of part 3 or 4, depending on how you count, of our vacation. We do know how to enjoy ourselves (and our friends and family). There are MANY pictures on my facebook page - facebook.com/prosga.

The Astro carried us back to Dallas on Sunday (without incident thank god) to meet Mary and Craig for Theater Three's play, Freud's Last Session, I may have been the only person who really enjoyed it, but I may have been the only person who was reading Freud in sixth grade. At the time I thought I was going to a psychologist. Well, it's never too late.

Mary was under the delusion she owed us some money for the rental car at Boston, well more money than I thought she owed us, so in addition to the repayment, Craig bought us dinner at MOMO's next door. The food was wonderful, company even better.

One last day of rest before I go back to work. Unless of course I've been fired due to excess enjoyment. At any rate, much to Terry's chagrin, we are working at the State Fair this year. We'll see how that goes. We will have to sign up today, if we are going to do it. Whatever, I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy it, no matter what.