BYE BYE HOT SPRINGS, HELLO LITTLE ROCK

Thursday, June 30 – After a pleasant 60 mile drive, we pulled into Maumelle State Park. I think we picked a winner for the forth of July weekend! We have a huge site with 50 amp electric and water.

Looking on both sides of us.

There is a dump station in the park if needed. We are in site FO1 which is a paved site 65 feet long and 25 feet wide, partial shade. WIFI, Verizon phone and Direct TV work great. There are no close neighbors. The only draw back is there is a boat house behind us with huge house boats and yachts inside (although that may prove exciting and interesting). The Arkansas River flows along this Corps of Engineering Park, just before reaching Little Rock. All this for $91/week. Arkansas state parks honor the Golden Age Pass with a 50% discount.....YES! We even got free firewood. They're doing some tree trimming in the park and have stacked firewood near the road with a sign offering it for “free.”  We will post more pictures of this lovely place in the next blog.

Now this is how to welcome visitors! To think that we didn't do the upper northwest because we thought gas prices were going up.

FLASHBACK TO HOT SPRNGS -- We ventured back downtown to the famous Mountain Spring Valley Water Company, where we met a wonderful young man, Bob Ridley, who told us all about the water company and this historic building.

This structure, nearly a century old, is home to the company's headquarters, visitor's center, and museum. They offer samples (not free) of their famous spring water and merchandise with the company logo.

When entering the lobby, Speed Steed meets you. The "statue" celebrates the beauty of Mountain Valley glass while also recognizing the company's unique place in horse racing history. It is made of all recycled materials.

Constructed in 1910, this white brick classic revival building was originally built as the home of DeSoto Mineral Springs. The second floor is now an art gallery.

Bob even took us to the third floor which is corporate headquarters and not normally open to the public. The offices are housed in what was once the Japanese Ballroom in the historic building. A very ornate ceiling and lighting fixtures cap off this beautiful room.

Ceiling.

Lighting.

It was a fun and informative visit that Bob made more enjoyable by his friendly personality. Located right among the shops on Bathhouses Row makes it an easy stop for visitors.

We stopped in a little shop, Savory Pantry, down the street.

Marsha loves these shops that have different dips, salsa, and spreads. Paul enjoys the tasting stations. We did make a couple purchases. A tasty Bloody Mary Mix and a delightful Blue Cheese Herb Mustard mix for making a cheese ball.

As we strolled though the shops, we came across Snazzies Funky Boutique. Here is were we saw the meanest guard dog ever!

Who would do that to a dog or for that matter any animal?

We have lots more to share about our day in Hot Springs. We will get to that in another blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon. Have a great day!