Little Rock, AR

Hot Springs is not too far West of Little Rock. From there, Highway 7 - supposedly one of the most scenic roads in America - travels North to Missouri through the Ouachita and then the Ozark mountains. West of 7, near the border in the Ozarks is Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a place I think *@*.* might like. Across the border is Branson.

I would like someday to visit the Ozarks to float on a river (the Buffalo? the Jacks Fork?) and see foggy mountains and stay in a mountain cabin, but I'm not sure how high it should be on my list.

I don't see much of interest between Memphis and Little Rock. There might be interesting (to me) places in Eastern Arkansas if one were coming to Little Rock from the NE or SE corners of the state. Such as Crowley's Ridge.

if one were coming to Little Rock from the SE (after having, say, traveled the Blues Highway South to Greenville or Vicksburg), there's another interesting-sounding State Park at Lake Chicot, filled with bald cypresses

you could visit bill clinton's birthplace...

you mean the

the Clinton Center is in/near the nice-sounding, loft-y River Market District, home to Riverfront Park. other LR attractions - the pretty great-looking State Capitol, modeled on the national one, and Old State House museum, the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, of civil rights fame, and an antebellum and Victorian historic district. Across the river in North Little Rock is the Old Mill, seen in the opening scenes of Gone With the Wind. I approve of this ritual at Little Rock's (and Memphis') Peabody Hotel. The river area is served by a new streetcar line. A few miles Southeast of town is Scott, home to Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, the Plantation Agriculture Museum and Scott Plantation Settlement.

Hot Springs is home to, in addition to the national park, many galleries, a large lakeshore botanical garden, a mountaintop observation tower, an historic district, Clinton-related sites, 'duck' tours, dam-built Lake Catherine State Park (with rentable CCC-built stone and wood cabins), and Oaklawn Park, one of the top thoroughbred racing tracks in the country, with racing from late January to early April, and special events the rest of the year.

On the road between Little Rock and Helena, AR, home to the Delta Cultural Center is Louisiana Purchase State Park, the site from which surveys of Louisiana Territory initiated, but probably more interestingly located in a delta swamp, with exhibits devoted to both.

Southeast of Pine Bluff, AR is Cane Creek State Park, covering both Delta and Coastal Plain landscapes, and home to a lily-pad lake popular for canoeing.

In the North-Central part of the State, near Mountain View, are a major cavern system and the (closed in Winter) Ozark Folk Center.

Here's a few snapshots of Little Rock when Barry Bonds and Barbra Streisand aren't in town:

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/9030/caplit1125.jpg

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/4568/stift1125.jpg

http://img25.exs.cx/img25/5585/vino1125.jpg

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/4401/nightcap1125.jpg

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/7938/daycap1125.jpg
(Gotta love the tire-tracks)

And even though it's two hours away, a special shout-out to West Memphis which has the Mid-Continental, the scariest and ugliest building that everyone adores:

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/8100/midcon1125.jpg

any of you little rockers make it out to the trusty reunion show at vino's back around the holidays? i was over at occasional ilm poster grifter tripp's house last night and he played a video of the show featuring matt besser (upright citizens brigade) doing comedy mc to bobby's (trusty & drag00n front dude) straight man. absolutely hysterical. sub question: how come besser isn't more famous?

my god @ the mid-continent building. i had to go pick up a camera from a guy there one time.

People actually live and work inside of that thing?

Also kudos to gabbneb once again for telling visitors to Little Rock that they should also check in on Branson.

i don't know about live, but yeah, it's full of offices. i think i literally laughed out loud the first time i saw it.

http://www.glre.net/graphics/mc2005.jpg

Even creepier in b/w.

building is just telling it like it isnt

this happened recently in Little Rock - day care center mistakes windshield wiper fluid for kool-aid.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/13/national/a055548D99.DTL

Scott, Ark., but close enough.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_e2ljdIfxnyM/Sbqn5WhDP8I/AAAAAAAAPZM/soztVWPTVdc/s1600-h/ardaycare.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5665/ardaycare.jpg

I'm just trying to imagine an adult actually mistaking a bottle of windshield wiper fluid for a bottle of kool-aid.

i will be here soon. well i be in petit jean for a week, but i think i will be in LR for the weekend after my conference.

what are the non-gabnebb things to see and do?

bring beeps a telescope

Are you going to be at the Rockefeller Institute, c? It's beautiful up there.

Gosh, I don't know what kind of non-gabbneb activities to suggest, outside of the standards. depends upon your non-gabbneb interests.

yes, the rockefeller!

maybe a divey bar or two? somewhere to swim in the day?

Thing about dive bars, as I'm thinking, is boy, do I really want to send someone from out of town to that place?

Most of the bars downtown are fancy, in the River Market or inside a hotel. But, there's the Sports Page. There's Midtown (which requires a one-time membership fee), there's a few places on Main Street in North Little Rock that the trolley will drop you off in front of.

Further west, there's the Town Pump (name appropriate), Pizza D'Action (where the second car in six months recently crashed through its windows), the Oyster Bar (the jukebox has the World Trade Center on it) or the White Water Tavern (I'm thinking that's your best bet. Just don't get too close to Sweet Sweet Connie while you're there.)

And to swim? There's the Jim Dailey Aquatic Center near War Memorial that I've never been to. Most of the pools I went swimming in, I snuck into at various hotels and apartment complexes.

andrew m can help me out here.

thanks! it's going to be me (english) and a long haired asian guy with a ridiculous california accent, so we might stand out a bit in these dive bars. i'll let you know if we get killed.

is there any lake swimming or tubing or anything? i have done literally no research so far, and i'm kind of imagining somewhere like austin climate/countryside-wise, but i've probably got the wrong idea

You're not going to get killed at any of those bars mentioned above. Well, maybe outside of Midtown, but they kill everybody there anyway.

Closest lakes around Little Rock are, at the closest, about an hour away. Lake Maumelle is nearby, but they won't let you swim in it since it's the source of our drinking water.

I don't know what kind of transportation you'll have, but there are plenty of watery places between here and Petit Jean.

i think wer're going to have a car, but if it's an hour to swimming then i guess we'll stay in the city

thanks for the tips!

white water tavern's probably the best dive bar bet. run by nice folks and usually some decent music going on. and you won't stand out. crowd's diverse and generally pretty cool.

for tubin', the caddo river just southwest of LR is a great spot. there's a pic of me enjoying it from last year on wdyll thread (september maybe?). float, drink beers, etc. the tube rental place is just off I-30 at caddo valley, ark. easy to find.

^^ actually leaves the house every once in awhile.

my flight gets in at 10am and the bus to the conference from the airport doesn't leave until 4.30. what are the food options like at the airport? worth going into town? if so, is there a coffee place not starbucks to hang out in after lunch?

That's a long time to wait at the Bill & Hillary Clinton National Airport.

There's a new Whole Hog Café in there. Not sure what your preferences in meat foods are, but that local chain is one of the best BBQ establishments in the city. (I go back and forth between them and Sims.)

The Flight Deck is nearby. I'll vouch for it since a few of my friends help manage the place. If anything, it's a nice non-airport place to sit and watch planes ascend/descend. The caveat is that when I say it's nearby, I honestly don't know how you'd get there from the airport even though they're roughly in the same place. (Flight Deck not an official B&HCNA restaurant.)

The airport is actually fairly close to downtown. Is it worth it coming over here for a couple of hours? I dunno. It's supposed to be 96ºF/35º C here today. You're probably bound to get plenty of exercise on that mountaintop this weekend. I'd say kick it in the a/c for a few hours.

Here's where The Flight Deck is, marked as (A) on the map.

http://i.imgur.com/6hek1sW.png

text me at 501-two-nine-one-2.4-five---six if you have any other questions while you're here.

sure, i love to west texas talk!

gabbneb's said more than I could, and I fuckin' live here!

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 26 November 2004 04:42 (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sorry

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 26 November 2004 04:48 (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

gabbneb's travel posts are always worth reading

my favourite is where he does an nytimes style stopover in london, tries to sample local staple 'fish and chips' and is disappointed

Is this the thread where he mentions Branson as a possible attraction to visit while in Little Rock?

*checks unread messages*

Why yes it is.

"During your stay in New Haven, don't forget to check out The Liberty Bell."

i have been in the airport for some time.

Forgot to tell you there's only one terminal.

there is only one terminal. i have been to it all.

If you go to the far end of the airport, toward the baggage claim area, you'll see a pair of escalators. Those will lead you to the parking deck. You can go to the top of the parking deck and see a grand view of ...

... the rest of the airport. Look, you have my sympathies.

It's 32 right now with a head index of 38ºC .... could be much worse!

whole hog!! good stuff.

http://distilleryimage0.ak.instagram.com/89f7bdce039111e3b8e322000a1f97ed_7.jpg

firewood's getting wet

welcome to AR Caeks

tossing this out there: i'll be at white water tavern at about 5:30ish friday if y'all care to join. it's pretty chill with the afterwork folks, and we can play the jukebox.

call or text me if you need me, or would rather go somewhere else, or whatever. 5o19526o77. that goes for pp and sunny too.

cool, i will check in with a text once i have reception again to let you know. at the mercy of the conference bus to get back into town, but should make it!

it's been dreadful weather up here, rain, humidity, etc. but today is glorious! feels like england crossed with the jurassic park island.

The low tonight is supposed to be 58. 58! Lord knows how cool it'll be on Petit Jean.

atm, i'll check to see how my plans look. should sunny check in, I can remind her that nana will be at the house that particular day.

it's breezy up here too!

it's been dreadful weather up here, rain, humidity, etc
haaa

im useless company at any tavern what with my zero alcohol policy and all

this is not normal august weather. you're witnessing a wild ride around here. it's so nice we may go camping this weekend. in summer! it's unheard of.

and your company is never useless, sunny! but no pressure.

how is the flying saucer? i may be forced to go there later on but it looks like hard rock cafe for beer dorks? is there anywhere downtown that is a bit more white water tavern in character?

how long are you thinking of staying at the white water, andrew? just post-work happy hour?

what time do you get to LR? I work downtown and Saucer is within walking distance.

I'd rather out-of-towners see WWT than a chain restaurant based out of Memphis, but it's not too Hard Rocky. No gift shop, at least.

There's also Dugan's Pub if you want some of that authentic Irish experience you can't get at home.

If you really want to get your downtown on, there's the Sports Page. Smoky, a projection TV in the corner, high-backed booths and I think tomorrow might actually be chili mac day.

I picture andrew cringing at every sentence I just wrote.

i get in at 4ish but i need to check in. was planning to stick with the WWT at 5.30, but will have to bail and meet work people somewhere central at 7 or 8ish. i've been charged with figuring out where. the group is young/old/international bunch, etc. so probably not super divey. tough crowd to find somewhere for. sounds like saucer is at least not going to actively offend people. reassured that we're not going to be asked to wear saucer tshirts inside the bar.

can you make it to wwt pp?

I plan to. May even be able to get there a little sooner.

by the time you get ready to go meet your people elsewhere, ai lien and i will probably be ready to go make dinner, so it should all work out. there's worse places you could end up than flying saucer or dugan's or some other similar place downtown/rivermarket area. it's pretty decent people watching, and the beer's good.

pp, believe it or not, i've never been to the sports page. should change that some day.

Can anyone recommend a taxi phone number?

Will be there 5, 5.30 latest. I know what pp looks like. I'm bald w a red beard.

oh man. the taxis in this town can take, well, forever. the general number is 222-2222

am i too late to offer you a ride? don't mind a bit. feel free to call/text. i'll be in a position (sitting!) to keep an eye on this thread for the next 20 mins. or so. otherwise see you there.

Thanks but fine to see you there. I'm at the Peabody so they can arrange a taxi. Just wanted to make sure I had a number written down before I start drinking.

the best way to get a cab in LR is to get the drivers cellie no.

or im sure pp can drive you to the rivermarket post-WWT

Dude, I'm looking at the Peabody Marriott from my desk.

I am here. It is cheap!

root cafe is delightful!

american idol was auditioning at the clinton centre yesterday?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk7iFwE5QSM

I have still never watched that.

Bunch of dudes came into the liquor store when i was in Minneapolis and said, "Yo, Arkansas. Saw your town on HBO last night." I'm all, "What, about Clinton or something?" and they're "Nooo, all those gangs."

"All those gangs...." Bloods won, pretty much, and we're all cool with that. University of Arkansas marketing department especially.

And yeah, caek. I was late getting over there because there were tweenagers standing in the street outside the hotel, getting their picture taken in front of that bus.

Just watched it. Didn't know it was on Youtube.

I didn't mean to sound so flippant, but yeah, the white kids wearing Duke shirts aren't a problem anymore.

Still lots of Blood, lots of guns, but I'm scared more of those white men at the gun show than I am about any bangers south of 630.

But the kids are all right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4HGc1c2vek

Anyway, so, the way I see it is that HBO owes the fine citizens of AR something cool, like public transit. We've given them Gangs and Satanists, merit aside.

We have trolleys. What else do you want?!?!??!

fantastic meeting you, caek. had a great time. and glad the root treated you well. we actually stopped by there to grab a couple of vegan banh mis on our way out of town saturday. it was about 11 a.m. and the line was already like 20 deep out the door. we were hoping you wouldn't get discouraged by that. what did you eat there?

great to meet you guys too. thanks for coming out! did you see the pic on wdyll?

i was there and eating banh mi on saturday too, although i was there a little later. the line was out the door, but they keep things moving there. maybe a 20 minute wait? i liked it so much i got up early and went on sunday am for breakfast too.

they have fantastic breakfast. that's awesome. i'll go cringe at wdyll.

the polaroid thing is on my fridge now. we made some memories!