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Published: October 5th 2008
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We finally got to Little Rock and had only lost half a day in Nashville. I am not a big city person, but found Little Rock was easy to get around and next morning on 9/23, we gathered ourselves to visit the William Jefferson Clinton Library and Museum. This was a required visit as one of Bets favorite prezs is little Willie Clinton. The building was ultra-modern and Bets remarked that it reminded her of a stainless steel sided double-wide. However I found the facility to be remarkable. The theme was a Bridge to the 21st Century and in this case the east wing had minimal support and extended over the Arkansas River.
The interior was amazing as the east wing contained documents and photographs of the Clinton Presidency with a series of alcoves used to review Clinton themes. Volumes of documents were also stored in the museum and a separate multi-story library building on the west end of the complex. We had lunch in the museum café and visited the gift store (shocking I know). We finished up about 4 PM and continued our recovery from Nashville and prepared for the next days journey to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (not
my favorite State or city).
We left Little Rock behind and were headed down I-35 with Bets in her usual catatonic state. I read one of the exit signs and Betty suddenly became a whirlwind of emotions and possibilities. You may wonder what exit we took, but for those steeped in Bets lore you already know - Hope. Yes Hope, Arkansas - birthplace of and campaign slogan of little Willie Clinton.
In Hope there are 2 significant Points Of Interest (POI) - Bill Clinton museum at the Hope Railroad Station and Bill’s birthplace. We got to visit them both and were the only visitors on an quiet Wednesday morning which gave Bets time to ask and get complete answers to a bevy of questions. Bill’s birthplace reminded me of my own as it was a small 2 story wood framed house close to the railroad tracks. My father worked on the railroad during my early years and I remember him leaving early in the morning to catch the train he worked out the back-door of our house.
The route we took out of Hope was quite different than one we entered (though the older more rural part)
Second Floor Alcoves
The second floor was made up of themed alcoves and a center group of display boards by year Hope. As we got closer to the Interstate entrance, the city of Hope showed a new, bright and more typical Interstate entrance with motels, restaurants, shopping and highway construction.
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