Visiting presidential centers was never part of our plan, but having visited the Clinton one while in Little Rock, we figured it would be interesting to compare by vising the one for the younger Bush (43rd president). There is of course a section dedicated to 9/11/2001, including a few badly bent beams that were taken… Continue reading Dallas, TX – George W. Bush Presidential Center
Dallas, TX
Today we arrived at our campground in Sunnyvale, TX, in the suburbs Northeast of Dallas. This is the first time on this trip that we encounter significant vehicular traffic. After setting up at our site, we drove to the downtown area, and were just stunned by the amount of highway overpass construction underway. No doubt… Continue reading Dallas, TX
Hot Springs National Park
Today we went to the Quapaw bath house, after successfully booking yesterday one of the few available slots available today. It was a “silk bath” which is a gentle exfoliating bath. The bath itself lasts only 20 minutes, so we were both somewhat disappointed by the experience. Overall, our takeaway from Hot Springs is… Continue reading Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park.
We moved on to Hot Springs, AR early in the morning to beat the forecasted snowfall later in the day. In the afternoon, and before the actual start of the snowfall, we decided to go and scope out what the area looks like. Eight “bath houses” were built in the late 1910s-early 1920s. Today,… Continue reading Hot Springs National Park.
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
We had never heard of this one before, but this is actual one of the important sites in the human rights movement. The school was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional three years earlier. This was put in motion after 9… Continue reading Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
Clinton Presidential Library
Little Rock, AR – Turns out the campground we booked is a downtown riverfront campground, on the Arkansas river. Right next to the campground is an old train bridge, which has been converted into a pedestrian bridge, and right across the river, is the Clinton Presidential Library. We hadn’t really planned on visiting it, but… Continue reading Clinton Presidential Library
Graceland
This was an all-things-Elvis day. We hesitated to pay a premium entrance fee so that we could see Elvis’ mansion, but it was really interesting and worth it. Two key thoughts from the mansion visit are: This was definitely decorated in the late fifties/early sixties, including green shag carpet. More importantly, despite having expanded the… Continue reading Graceland
Beale Street in Memphis, TN
Arrived today in Memphis. Once set up, we drove to see the downtown Memphis area and did the same in the evening. For the evening, we parked and walked Beale Street which is a colorful stretch of pedestrian-only roadway with various neon signs fr various jazz and music bars, as well as restaurants. All of… Continue reading Beale Street in Memphis, TN
Belle Meade Plantation tour
Nashville, TN I guess “plantation” doesn’t mean that they plant stuff, as in agriculture. Turns out the main business of this plantation, which we toured today, was raising thoroughbred horses. We learned that one named Iroquois, and descendants of his are among 11 of only 13 triple crown winners. We toured the mansion in which… Continue reading Belle Meade Plantation tour
What’s Covid?
Nashville, TN We arrived in Nashville this afternoon. We decided to take an evening drive into Downtown Nashville. As we are driving around, and taking night scenery pictures, we got to the busy section where the action is. There were people trying to find places to park all over the place. By the time we… Continue reading What’s Covid?