Sunday we packed up after a great week in Hot Springs, AR at the Catherine’s Landing RV Resort on Lake Catherine. It still felt like a campground in many respects, but there were some new twists–at least for us novices.
One one side of the complex is an open-air pavilion that covers probably two acres. In addition to a bathhouse that takes up a small bit of one corner, it has a host of picnic tables, and some large fire pits. Since we had rain pretty steady for several days, it turned out to be the perfect place for the kids to ride scooters and meet other kids. The resort included a frisbee golf course, which the kids also loved!
One evening my youngest and I shared a campfire with the Walker family from southern Arkansas. Mike is the principal at Star City High School, and gathered with wife Jennifer and kids Emily and Caleb for a spring break gathering with family. My youngest developed his first crush, on Miss Emily.
Can you guess what the assembled are up to here on a field in Murfreesboro: The Hunt ? We journeyed on a day trip to Crater of Diamonds State Park to stake our for
tune. Midway through it rained, hard, so happily we’d not done the week’s laundry yet. When the boys got bored panning for diamond chips, they moshed in the 37 acres of muck.
We wandered through the Fordyce Bath House Visitors Center in Hot Springs National Park and “quaffed the elixir.” Touring the basement for some reason reminded me of scenes from the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining.
On Saturday, the first sunny day, we loaded up the fishing gear and lunch on a pontoon boat out of Lake Catherine State Park. Jen wa
s our captain, without complaint in the morning cold, until we realized she was frozen to the boat’s wheel. Can you spot the turtle on the log behind Jen?
We are now in Dallas. At 10:30 this morning, we are touring a place that I’ve known about since I was almost ten years old, but never seen in person: the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
Hey Jen, Jack, Brendan, Collin, and Devin, (Hope I spelled them correctly)
I see you are in Texas and have plans to see Austin. If you are in the mood for chicken fried steak check out the Broken Spoke on South Lamar. If you are in the mood for Tex-Mex, Chuy’s on Barton Springs is the place to go. Look like the Salt Lick, which is great for BBQ, moved to Austin. I’m sure it doesn’t have the same ambiance as the one in Driftwood. Also, any of the Kirby Lane Cafe’s are great for breakfast.
If it is warm enough for water activities, check out Barton Springs or Deep Eddy. On the way to San Antonio check out Schlitterbahn in New Braunfils.
If you are into caves, Wonder World in San Marcos has one. It was created by an earthquake and not water. I think it is called a dry-form cave. (Great educational opportunity.)
It snowed on Sunday. Hopefully, that is the end of it. We’ve had low 60s the past two days. Maybe spring is really here.
Take care. Have fun.
Roseanne
Roseanne – thanks for the great tips! You spelled all the names right, and Barton Springs Pool /Zilker Gardens is on our list. The weather in San Antonio/Austin looks to be in the low 80s beginning Saturday, and we are excited to venture into such warm climes! Wonder World looks like a great day trip too! Keep those tips coming!
Hey Devin! I have enjoyed reading about your journey so far! Hope you are enjoying the next leg of your travels and are getting some sunshine so you can enjoy the outdoors. Be sure and tell Patty & Batty hello for me! (& your dad !) Oh, and don’t forget to eat a s’more for me!
Miss Emily 🙂
(from Devin:) Emily I miss you. I went in a cave. I didn’t see any bats. And we didn’t find a diamond but I think we did. And we were on a paddle boat and my mom was driving and I miss you Emily and I like the dog park but I like the park more. The big park has two little double slides and I also like the playground it has so much stuff to do and it has a swirly slide. From Devin
Hey Jack! I am enjoying your blog of your travels with your family. I was really excited that you included us in it! We enjoyed meeting you and Devin and sharing s’mores with you. Enjoy your adventures ahead and we wish you safe travels! We will keep up with you on your journey and if you pass through Arkansas again, look us up!
Jennifer Walker
Jennifer – it was great to meet you, and now we have friends in Arkansas! You have to be careful about asking us to look you up next time–we will! So glad you are going to come along on our journey, and thank you for your warm wishes.