Off to Hot Springs Arkansas

The kids were up early to head to school, so Brandon, Inara and Elisa walked them their bus stop (being picked up at 650 am), and the little ones could see a magic school bus.

The day began early, but we had a lot of packing up to do, help Kristia clean the house, and pack up the car before we left about 11am.

The drive was not as beautiful as coming into Arkansas, but it was still green and hilly. We seemed to have taken a scenic route and went through a mountain area, going 30mph.

We had a quick, 15 min stop, at a little lake, for lunch where a local was fishing. The lake was surrounded by trees, it was still and humid, and very little noise. Elisa thought this was perfect conditions for an alligator, but are there alligators in Arkansas? The local, with a cigar between his mouth, confirmed that there are at least 2 alligators in this lake and told us tales of seeing it and catching huge fish.

We finally made it to the Hot Springs, 3.5 hours away from Kristias house. The KOA was cute and was the most secluded KOA we have been to, almost like in a National Park, rather than just a few feet from the highway. There was ducks, squirrels, rabbits and birds, along with a pond and trails in the woods.

We sweated while we put up the tent and went right into the refreshing pool. It was a high of 95 degrees today/almost 40 C. We recently bought Inara some floaty things and she was a little fish, being the water baby that she is. Brandon had a bit of a swimming lesson and was able to swim across the pool, with the help of a swimming band.

That night was an early night as the kids get so tired when they have water play. Josh didn't share the sleepyness and was chatting away with the local guys at the next campsite until midnight. They were local Arkansas guys who work for At&t, who get compensated when they work on a job away from home. They were technicians. Josh had a enjoyable night learning about the locals and their culture.Read more