Back to the grind

Jeff & I took a four day weekend while his folks looked after the kids. I am back at work today, wishing I was in Arkansas. We spent Friday night in Tulsa (had never been before). Saturday we ate a wonderful breakfast at Wild Fork in the Utica Shopping area and then spent some money on new clothes for me.

We then drove to Eureka Springs, AR and stayed at a very old Historic hotel, The Crescent. Our first room was contaminated with animal hair everywhere (pillows, bedspread, you name it). They switched us to a much better room, although it was only a queen sized bed (and we are used to having our space). I was afraid of falling off because it seemed 10 feet off the ground in the grand victorian style. We ate at this quaint Italian restaurant, named Emilios that was tucked away in a neighborhood. The coolest part was the waiting room upstairs (the attic converted to a bar and waiting area) had board games. Jeff & I had a very competitive evening of Connect 4 and then Battleship. I may have edged ahead by one game on Connect 4, but he definitley sank my battleship.

Sunday we drove to Branson, MO. Very interesting place. They had a festival of some sort going on downtown with booths of "crap" everywhere. We did not opt for any shows. We ultimately rode go-carts and played put-put. The first go-cart we did was this all wood course that spirlaed up 3 levels. Very bumpy, but fun. The carts were slow. I won this one. However, Jeff killed me when we did the standard run-of-the-mill go-karts. Mine could not have gone any slower. Putt Putt was fun. It was neck-in-neck most of the game. It was like we were in junior high all over again. Maybe at a Church Lock-out. :-)

Monday we drove to Hot Springs, AR. Along the way we hiked in the Lost Valley to a cave with a waterfall in it. We did not make it all the way back in the cave. The water levels were very low and our flashlights were terrible (my fault..Jeff wanted to super cool LED one). We also drove up Mt. Nebo after a long detour for highway construction. Very nice up there and fun road for Jeff to drive (many of the roads in Arkansas were much more fun for the driver than the passenger). Finally, we made it in to Hot Springs and stayed at the large Historic hotel, The Arlington. We ate at Bella Arte--pretty good, not as good as Emilios in Eureka--but nice ambiance.

Tuesday we traveled home via Queen Willamena State Park. It was good to get home and we missed the boys (but enjoyed sleeping past 5:30am).

Wednesday, I am back at work and playing catch-up. Sadly, nobody worked on my to-do list while I was gone. Guess I better get back to it. LaTasha