As we did research for Hot Springs we found a popular breakfast spot called The Pancake Shop. We had to try it out, of course, and, thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded. I thought it was just okay, but it’s apparently really popular.
After that we did the West Mountain Scenic Drive which wasn’t anything special and started a hike, but didn’t make it too far due to weather and lack of interest.
We debated on whether or not to go the next stop, but curiosity got the best of us so we went to Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo. You can hold baby gators and feed donkeys, goats, and emus. They have other animals there as well. As with anything animal attraction I’m always a little hesitant. I don’t want the animals to be neglected or abused or held in captivity for human entertainment. I talked to a couple people that worked there and they talked about how many of the gators were rescues and they get veterinary care and three meals a day.
Entergy park is a 30 acre park on Lake Hamilton with lots of walking trails, playgrounds, places to fish, and more. Super nice park and we spent a lot of time walking around on the trails.
We worked up an appetite and ate at Purple Cow which was a fun and nostalgic diner famous for their purple shakes. (Just vanilla shake colored purple) It was really good!
We really didn’t need 3 full days in Hot Springs-2 days is plenty. They do have an amusement park which I thought about going to, but they only have 4 thrill rides and I already know Ohio has the best amusement parks in the country. (Biased, I know)
We ate at my favorite restaurant of the trip, Rolando's. We had the sweetest waitress. Since we had leftover food, we packed it up and gave it to a homeless man on the street. She even gave us a little extra to give away since she enjoys serving the homeless.
PSA: when you travel and you have leftover food, ask for to go boxes and give it to any homeless people you see. We don’t typically have that opportunity back home, but traveling in other cities or countries its a great opportunity to help out and not let the food go to waste !
Day 4:
We drove to Little Rock and our first stop was
Little Rock Central High School national historic site. They have a visitors center and museum. It commemorates the 1957 desegregation when the “Little Rock Nine” integrated the all-white school. The school is still an active high school and was named one of the prettiest high schools in America. The museum was very well done and would highly recommend it if in Little Rock!
We ate at Problem Child for lunch which reminded me of Jets Pizza. Then went hiking at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. We did the coachwhip trail and arboretum trails. We really enjoyed the park and afterwards we stopped at Swig (!) which you might remember from my Idaho trip.
Big Dam Bridge was our last stop of the day. It’s actually the longest bridge in North America built specifically for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s 90 feet above the river and we could see the locks down below which was kind of cool.
We had a tiny home Airbnb which was pretty unique so we had a nice evening hanging out there.
Day 5:
Our last day in Arkansas!
We started our day at Old Mill. Old Mill is a famous 1933 faux-bois replica of an 1800’s water mill. It’s known for its appearance in Gone With the Wind. It was so pretty and really nice to walk around!
We ate lunch at Black Bear Diner which was funny since I just ate there a couple weeks ago in Idaho!
Favorite parts of the trip: the bathhouse museum, Little Rock central high museum, and old mill!
Headed out early to the airport.
2 states to go… stayed tuned !
No comments:
Post a Comment