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Published: February 22nd 2016
Park Hotel Sign
The smokey look is from the springs. It was cooler out, about 50 degrees, this causes the air near the springs to be a bit foggy. Once we are back on the road again I was hungry. When we last left you I had skipped breakfast and been drinking a lot. David wanted to try the Blue & White Restaurant but it had some mixed reviews. I said well let's try it anyway. We went in seated right away. Very cute - side of the road kind of cafe. They have an extensive menu of southern favorites. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked very very good. I decided on a pulled pork sandwich they serve the coleslaw on the side For my side I got fried green tomatoes. David chose this layered breakfast dish. My sandwich was delicious and yes the coleslaw went on. The coleslaw was crunchy and tangy. Now the tomatoes perfect and these are not easy to get perfect. Dave loved his too - looked like a hot mess but he sure wolfed it down. We decided to also share a piece of chocolate cream pie - yummy! Highly recommended.
http://blueandwhiterestaurant.com We took backroads again rather than the freeways through Memphis & Little Rock. Got into Hot Springs around 7pm and checked into the Park
Hotel. I was excited about staying here. It is on the National Historic Registry. They have worked very hard to keep it as it was in 1929. If you want luxury and modern amenities nope not here. If you want to stay in a piece of history surrounded by antiques. We went up to our room with the real metal key. We had booked the smallest room and it was just fine for one night. I would have been comfy for two or three. Got all dressed up for an anniversary dinner. Even though I have a foot & back issue right now but I wanted to walk to dinner. Tired of being in the car. Walked down to Angels - another long time Hot Springs place - we had to walk the full length of bath house row to get there. Walked on the shoppe side to look in windows - lots of interesting things.
They have a full bar so rather than picking a wine I had a cape code my favorite. The had a good choice of vodkas. Dave doesn't drink much anymore so had a soda. I ordered their olive salad. It was
Promenade
This was our pathway back to the hotel. Very few others in the park at this time. Doesn't seem unsafe but then I really never feel unsafe with Dave around. Park closes from 10pm to 6am. delicious - if you like olives this is very good. He didn't want a starter. For entree I order sausage rigatoni and Dave had ravioli with a meat bolognese. The sauce was very very good. My Italian sausage was very well seasoned and had no fat or gristle. We skipped dessert this time. Very good food and excellence service.
http://www.parkhotelhotsprings.com/angels.html Took the promenade back to the hotel. The is the walkway up and behind the bath houses. Romantic and creepy at the same time. Snapped plenty of pictures then went back down to the bottom to check out the waterfall spring.
Back at the hotel our room was warm for us. They have installed window units but have them sealed off for the winter. Called down to the desk and she came right up with a screwdriver and a box fan. Since it was going to be down in low 40's decided that an open window for a bit and the fan should work. It did. Had a great sleep and didn't want to get up moving. But a fantastic shower in the mineral water - my hair and skin felt so good after.
http://www.parkhotelhotsprings.com We took a quick drive up look out mountain and back down. Breakfast at the cute and cozy.
The do not have a website but are listed on the Hot Springs visitors page.
We then did a walk through of the parks visitor center / bath house museum. Now a bath house museum may seem strange but it is incredible interesting and quirky. Also free entertainment.
Hot Springs National Park is very unique among the national parks. The park kind of wraps around the city of Hot Springs. See the map link. There are 6 small mountains with 26 miles of trails for hiking. You can also bottle your own water at the public tap. The bath houses & promenade are part of the national park. Below are the different bath houses & what they are used for today:
Lamar - park store and offices for some park employees.
Fordyce - park visitor center & bath house museum.
Buckstaff - modern bath house and some spa services.
http://www.buckstaffbaths.com Maurice - is currently up for lease.
Ozark - used for special events and can be rented out for private events.
Hale -
currently closed but a couple is working on securing a lease to open a bed & breakfast.
Quapaw - full service spa.
Superior - brewery, grill, gelato counter.
http://www.superiorbathhouse.com Now on for the reason for the stop in Hot Springs - The Gun Cave. Indoor gun range. This is the one Jan Morgan owns. She is an advocate for many firearm/ gun related issues.
http://janmorganmedia.com She is a keynote speaker for many events, writer of many articles & has a weekly show on the local Fox channel.
Her range is now a private club. You have to complete a simple questionnaire which she will review on spot. If she feels your a good fit then you pay your $25 membership fee. She will apply this to any range cost. We got all this done. She has a simulator program that Dave was very interested in. She demoed it for us and we just had to try it out. This thing is awesome. It's laser / projection base. She has this in a large room at the range. The guns are weighted & recoil just like a normal gun. You have a variety to choose from.
She encourages you to interact with the scenarios just as you would if you were part of it. This is not laser tag or some sort of entertainment. This is very good training for real life situations. We had paid for 45 minutes. But as an anniversary gift she allowed us to go until we wore ourselves out - about an hour & half. We then sat and had a nice chat with Jan. I found her to be a very kind & very intelligent. I feel very blessed to meet such and amazing soul.
As it was after 3 pm we unfortunately had to hit the road - it was 5 hours or so. Stop at Dairy Queen in Texarkana for dinner. Easy trip down 30 then over 20. Home around 9pm.
Summary of Hot Springs, AR
Great overnight stay. Great place for couples and a romantic get away. David has it on the go back list and stay a few days! No issues with any part of this trip!
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