Adventures in Travel - part 2

Days 4-6

(part 1)

Since it was quite late when we got to the MIL's house, I didn't see her until Monday morning.  She goes to bed early and therefore gets up crazy early.  She just had her 80th birthday in mid-June - the Spouse sent her picture in to the local news tv station so she saw herself on tv!  That made her really happy. 

So the MIL insists that a married couple should always share a bed, so she gives up her room for us when I visit. 😵  She's got a spare room with 2 perfectly fine twin beds, but we get stuck on her saggy, creaky mattress that's probably as old as me!  But the Spouse went and got a nice air mattress and set that up in the spare room for us - it was glorious!  

We did some touristy stuff.  We always drive up to the top of West Mountain and hang out at the one or both of the overlooks and just look down at Hot Springs.  We stopped to get some water at the Happy Hollow spring, which is different because the other fountains around Hot Springs are, you know, HOT!  This one is not.  Speaking of - I did NOT visit the bathhouse.  I've gone there in July before and it's just not enjoyable when it's hot out.  Then we went to have some BBQ for lunch and then just vegged in the a/c the rest of the day and planned the rest of our trip!  Luckily, we didn't have anything planned already, since the delay in me getting to Arkansas would have messed up plans. 

The Supreme Spud at Stubby's BBQ.

OMG.

an enormous baked potato, pulled pork AND brisket, baked beans & coleslaw. 

Tuesday, we got up and went to this little Mom & Pop restaurant for breakfast - those are the best kind!  Phil's is located right across the street from Oaklawn Racetrack and is in an old house.  I don't know what I was expecting, but the decor was a whole bunch of vintage kitschy collections ~everywhere~ one wall had a bunch of porcelain spice sets, another had a bunch of "wall pocket" vases in the shape of various people & animals.  Another wall was a variety of kitchen implements; mandarin blades, potato mashers, ice cream scoops, etc, etc.  There was a LOT to look at! 

Biscuits with chocolate gravy, cheesy grits & sausage patties. 

My first time having chocolate gravy. 

 It was like a room-temp runny pudding, but less sweet than Jello pudding.  Very interesting.  

The Bobby Hopper Tunnel on I49

We left MIL's around noon and headed toward Fayetteville.  The Spouse & I have been married 20 years now and I've never met his best friend & family in person!   Before we got to their house, we drove around the University of Arkansas campus, since the Spouse is alumni. 

It was pretty cool, since I never did the college thing.

After visiting & dinner with the BFF & his fam, we finished up our day in Eureka Springs. 

Home for the next 2 nights. 

Our welcoming committee

Wednesday was our 20th anniversary!  We got up and did some touristy stuff and figured out the trolley system.  When we were riding thru the "entertainment district" in downtown Eureka Springs, I saw one of these places where you can have old-timey photos taken. We had one taken on our honeymoon, where the Spouse was a cowboy and I was a saloon girl.  We needed a new one!

We is fancy now!  

I just need to point out - the Spouse can rock a top hat!  He looked awesome.

The Bigfoot store

Yes, Chuck the skeleton went along with us. 

After a late lunch at a place called Sparky's (awesome bacon cheeseburgers there!) we went back to the cottage to cool off for a while, before heading back downtown for the "Eureka Rocket Ghost Tour".  Basically, this old guy & his dog drove us & another couple around in a golf cart (it identifies as a rocket) for 2 hours, telling us stories about the town and area.  It was fun, tho.  He was a great storyteller. 

The Crescent Hotel - reportedly one of the most haunted hotels in the US.

We just popped into the lobby for a bit, but we didn't do any of the haunted tours there. 

That's on the list for next time!

What we did see was absolutely beautiful, tho.

Thursday morning, we had breakfast at a place called the Squatch.

Good stuff there, too!

No pics, but I had the "Hog Wild" - a toasted croissant with ham, bacon, cheddar, bacon aioli and bacon jam.  The Spouse had a sausage & cheese kolache and a side of biscuits & gravy. 

Our next stop was the Christ of the Ozarks statue.  

His "wingspan" is 65' and he's 67' tall on top of Magnetic Mountain.

Fun fact, per the Rocket driver - he was meant to be 68 feet tall, but that would have required placing an aircraft warning light on top of his head.  So they made him slightly shorter to avoid that.  

😂

It worked out that we only drove 4 - 4 1/2 hours a day.  

Once we left Eureka Springs, next stop was St Louis!