The weather was extremely hot and humid as I rolled into
town and there was no hope for relief.
That meant that my normal mode of exploring the city and its activities
on foot was out of the question. These
excursions are what tend to suck up the majority of my travel budget; since I
knew I would spend a large amount of time at my hotel, I decided to splurge for
a room at the Arlington Hotel and Spa.
The Arlington was conveniently located at the edge of the historic
district and was a beautiful building from a time gone by. I especially enjoyed the relaxing mineral
bath available in my suite; not only were the warm waters from the mountain
springs refreshing, the 6-foot tub was a welcome addition.
Despite the heat, I couldn’t just sit in my room on Thursday
afternoon, so I opted to take a leisurely (and sweaty) stroll along the
historic avenue. Known for its numerous
antique shops, I found them to contain more trash than treasure. What I did enjoy the most, however, were the
numerous art shops featuring the works of local artists. One piece in particular caught my eye – an
exquisite blue tile butterfly with copper wire detail. I nearly walked out of the shop with the
piece because the price was right and I like to pick up some sort of decoration
to remember my trip. That’s a neat type
of “scrapbooking” that was suggested by a friend while visiting Hawaii last
spring. I talked myself out of the
butterfly since many of my pieces are piled in corners because I don’t have a
place to display my treasures in my parents’ house. (As luck would have it, I discovered that my
folks had spent the weekend FINALLY clearing my Dad’s stuff out of my bedroom
and freed up the walls. Now I have a
place to put all of my decorations – which sadly does not include the blue
butterfly! Oh well….no time for regrets…..)
On Friday morning, I decided to visit the Museum of
Contemporary Art since I had been so impressed by the art shops the previous
afternoon. I should have known I was in
trouble when I walked in and the curator explained that “contemporary” referred
to living artists rather than any type of artistic movement. Despite my instincts, I decided that the $5
admission fee combined with the excessive heat were reason enough to at least
give it a try. What I discovered there
was sorely disappointing. With the
exception of two pieces – a sculpture and a photograph – everything was either kitschy
or a bad recreation of a famous work. As
a performing artist, it was frustrating to realize that Hot Springs is a tourist
destination and that the MOCA would be a representation of the Arkansas art
scene for people from around the nation.
After viewing the “art” in the MOCA, I decided to take a
short hike through the National Park area back to the hotel so I could observe
some of God’s natural art. The hike was
challenging without being overly strenuous.
I think I would have really enjoyed walking the paths through the wooded
areas if the heat had not been so oppressive.
If I ever venture back to Hot Springs, I will definitely make it a point
to make time to explore these in greater detail in the morning.
No vacation would be complete for me without exploring some of
the food the city offers. On my
window-shopping trip on Thursday afternoon, I noticed several interesting
restaurants along the street and decided to check one out on Thursday
evening: Belle Arti. I was disappointed. The staff was more interested in their group
conversation than serving the handful of patrons present and the food was
mediocre. While this was a let-down, I
did find some really good food in the city from some unexpected places. Those who know me best know that I have an
insatiable sweet tooth, so it comes as no surprise that I would find The Fudge
Factory! Upon walking in, I knew that
this store could be trouble for me personally – over 30 different varieties of
fudge in addition to other treats. I
showed some restraint and decided to have a piece of marble fudge; it combined
vanilla, chocolate and peanut butter fudge into a single, Heavenly
experience. The serving was ample and
reasonably priced. I was tempted to
return before leaving to sample another fudge and bring home some of the
sugar-free treats for Dad, but decided against it in the end.
The Pancake Shop sits across the street from the Arlington
and serves nothing but breakfast every morning until 11:30am. As I prepared to leave the hotel, I asked
several members of the staff for recommendations and everyone told me I needed
to visit this place. There was nothing
extravagant about the décor and the menu was simple; the food, however, was
quite good and explained why The Pancake Shop had been named best breakfast in
Hot Springs for several years. I ordered
the small ham and eggs. I was treated to
an ENORMOUS slice of bone-in ham that covered my plate. Eggs were carefully balanced on the side of
the plate and served as a respectful accompaniment to the featured ham. Served with toast, I was surprised to find
that the real star of the meal was the apple-grape jelly and apple butter that
was brought out. AMAZING!!!
While my trip to Hot Springs was not one of my favorites, it
was a great time of rest for me. I had
the good fortune to sit quietly in my room and read a biography of Gustav
Mahler while I watched people from my 7th floor window. When it all comes down to it, I suppose that
is the true merit of a successful vacation:
getting away from it all to do the things that bring you personal pleasure,
relaxation, and enjoyment.
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