Hot Springs, Arkansas

We decided to hit the road and escape Texas for Spring Break this year. Ryan's sister Megan just moved to Dallas over Christmas Break, so first we headed up there. We got a hotel, since they are in a small duplex until they close on their new house in June. We drove up on Friday and stayed until Sunday. Ryan's parents were finally able to get the COVID vaccine, so they were able to fly into Dallas. We haven't seen them since Thanksgiving of 2019, so it was a great treat. 

DALLAS

Friday evening we met up with Megan and Nana & Papa at Hard Eight BBQ. Literally the best bbq we've had in Texas! Too bad they aren't in San Antonio. Afterwards, Ryan dropped Ethan, Kate and I off at the hotel, and he and Collin and Brennan headed to the rental to play games and chat. 

Saturday morning we headed into downtown Dallas to Klyde Warren Park. It is a park built on top of the freeway! Because of COVID, the playground was closed, but the kids still had fun with a little soccer in the field and basketball and scootering under the pavilion. We even rode a little free trolley around the area. For lunch, we headed to a pizza place and the Cake Bar, where you buy individual slices of gourmet cake. Yum!

After swimming and hot tubbing at the hotel, we had cake in the lobby and then all headed to Megan's to play cards while the kids played Among Us on their tablets.

On Sunday, we cleaned up our room and watched our broadcasted multi-stake conference for south Texas. At noon, we checked out and picked up Nana & Papa at Megan's to start our trek to Hot Springs. 

I have to admit I was more than a little excited to cross the border out of Texas. It is such a huge state, we haven't left since we moved here almost 2 years ago. We've gone on plenty of stay-cations, but it was nice to be in Arkansas for the week. 

HOT SPRINGS

We arrived at our cute rental about 5pm. After unloading the car, we walked into town and ate dinner at Superior Bathhouse. It was a HUGE disappointment. Our food took about 1-1/2 hrs, Ryan & Papa's food arrived at the table 20 minutes after the rest of ours, they were out of a lot of things on their small menu, the service was AWFUL, it was super expensive, and their root beer (made from the local hot springs) was gross. Zero stars. 

Monday we headed to Hot Springs National Park. The park is literally right in the middle of town. We could have walked from our rental house to the trailheads. Because of the steepness of the road to the top though, we chose to drive to the mountain tower. We found a nice nature trail that encircled the top and enjoyed a few miles of walking. 

After lunch and some resting, we headed to Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf. It was a super fun course, and despite my early lead, Ryan and Nana went head to head at the end, with Ryan winning out. The course even had one hole under a fake waterfall! I made tacos for dinner, and we had grocery store ice cream to end out our day. 

On Tuesday we headed to Lake Catherine State Park. This was my favorite - albeit exhausting - day. We hiked the Falls Branch Trail to a nice waterfall, about 2 miles. 

After a quick picnic lunch in the park, we headed to Garvan Woodland Gardens. The kids had a fun bingo card with stickers to give them things to look for, and we saw a lots of natural architecture (cathedral, treehouse) as well as blooming tulips and budding trees. It screamed "Spring is around the corner," and it made we want to stay a week to see the daffodils bloom. We were super tired from all our walking at this point, but we still thought it was awesome. The peacocks were fun too. 

On Wednesday it was overcast when we got up, and it drizzled rain as we headed to Ron Coleman's gem digging. Nana & I opted to stay in the car, while the rest of the crew trekked through the red mud to dig for jewels. It rained pretty heavily the first little while, but they stuck with it for three hours and found a lot of cool gems. 

After lunch and more resting, we walked into town for dinner again. I'd made early reservations, but there was no need - Angel's Pizza was empty. I'd read that the kids could make their own pizzas, so I asked for dough, and the owner/host/waiter/cook (yes, all one guy) said "they could do that." In the end, the kids spent all this time making the perfect crust, and then he brought out their pizzas already made without ever taking their creations. Another disappointment! Honestly, if he would have just faked that they were eating the crust they'd pressed, it would have been a better experience. Sigh. Restaurants in Hot Springs left much to be desired. Anyway, it was way expensive and not very tasty, so 1 star because I feel sorry for the one-man show. 

Last but not least, we let the kids each pick a souvenir to remember this trip. As usual, they each wanted a "stuffie." They were all out of their budget, so Nana took pity on them and bought them. 

Thursday was DRIVING, DRIVING, DRIVING. We got on the road at 7am and headed back to Dallas to drop off Nana & Papa with Megan. We had Wendy's for lunch before saying goodbye. It was about 5 hours. From there, we headed home through downtown Dallas, Waco, Austin and San Antonio. Soooo much traffic! I don't think we've ever lived somewhere with some many big cities all nested together, and it was nearly constant construction as well. Whew! Finally, we got home at 6:30pm. Long, stressful day. 

I don't think we'll ever head back to Arkansas. I liked Lake Catherine and Garvan Gardens, but they weren't something that I couldn't find elsewhere. I liked our house - built in 1900 to be used as a rental cottage and remodeled in 2019 for the same purpose. The kids loved their bunk room. It was perfect for our needs, and the location was unbeatable. 

I think the National Park Service felt bad for Arkansas, so they named Hot Springs a national park. It really wasn't anything special, no offense. I am so glad we got away and got to see Ryan's parents though!