Arkansas was a blast! Fellow damen, Emily, was on this trip, and we were fortunate enough to get to spend the whole day together, digging for diamonds at Crater Diamond State Park, the world's only public diamond mine. You find it. You keep it. Unfortunately, we didn't find any diamonds, just lot's of jasper and quartz. But we made many fond memories and shared lots of laughs on our few days spent together. Emily is definitely a kindred spirit type friend, and has taught me a lot about many things. Such a smart, spiritual lady, she is!
The most exciting thing that occurred on this trip was getting to spend a couple of hours with my dear friend, Tim. He's one of my "soul" friends who I met on my study abroad program in 2001. We've kept in close contact ever since, and since he is currently living in his home town of Newport, AR awaiting his kidney transplant (keep your fingers crossed) and in-between semesters at law school, he made the trip to Little Rock on the last night of my stay to spend some time with me. He's one of the few friends I've made in my life who I refuse to lose, and we had a great time catching up on everything. It was so much better than our last visit, which was exactly one year ago when I was in Little Rock and visited him at his hospital room where he was undergoing dialysis. His medical future is looking up, after a messy break-up with the Mayo Clinic, he's now being taken care of by the capable people at Cornell. Wish him luck next month!
Here I am "mining" diamonds. In actuality, I'm having to sit down because I almost passed out. The night before we ate at a barbecue restaurant and the only vegetarian option on the menu was iceberg lettuce with dressing. Notice I didn't call it a salad? Because it wasn't. It was flavored roughage. And no time for breakfast, just a lot of coffee. Perfect combination, right? Anyway, no complaints. I lost three pounds in Arkansas, just had to take a lot of light-headed breaks due to the low blood sugar. And just so no one (Daddy) worries, I am now back to my normal, healthy, balanced diet and getting plenty of iron and protein!
Katie was another staffer on this trip (we refer to ourselves as the Geigerettes) and she and I hadn't traveled together since November so we had a lot to catch up on. She is just one of those hilarious people who you are not at all self conscious around, and we always play dress up when we're together. This is at the Ozark Mountain Folk Center, a super fun living history farms-type place in Mountain View, Arkansas, with little cabins set up with artisans working on their craft. Soap, candles, jewelry, herbs, clothing, baskets, blankets, pottery, leather, and the park also has a great dining room that serves tofu and veggie burgers! The only time all week I was full! Ha! (No, honestly, I'm so used to traveling and starving that I've gotten pretty good at it. That's why I get so excited when I find a place that actually has vegetarian options on the menu that are entrees and not just sides of steamed vegetables. I was especially surprised to find such menu items in the middle of the Ozarks. Props to Mountain View, Arkansas!)
No trip to central Arkansas would be complete without a stroll through Garvan Woodland Gardens near Hot Springs. I visited last year and fell in love. The whole place is like the setting to some period romantic movie, and this view of the Full Moon Bridge illustrates why. Doesn't it just remind you of "Last of the Mohicans." (mmmmmm, Daniel Day Lewis.....)
I took two journalists to Timber Lodge Ranch in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains on the first few days of our trip. They have zebras just out grazing around. It was a great place to relax (and hunt, if you're into that type of thing,) and there was lots to see and do. It rained like crazy our last night there, and we woke up the next morning to join the rest of the group in Hot Springs. As we were making our exit, the road out was blocked and lying under 4 feet of water. So what did we decide to do? I took my rental minivan off-roading through the back roads to get to the only other exit to the ranch. I channeled my experience at Biltmore's Land Rover Driving School, and we just plowed our way through stream after stream after stream 'til we reached the highway. The journalists were rather impressed by my driving prowess and did not fail to bring it up and brag on me to the rest of the group at least ten times throughout the rest of the trip.All in all, I think it was the people that made this such a memorable, fun trip. Making new memories, laughing over old memories, I am truly blessed for the friendships I have made through traveling, and the friendships I get to maintain because I travel. It's definitely addictive!
