As soon as I pulled into Hot Springs I wanted to pull back out again and push onward.
That’s because I felt stuck, having pre-paid two nights at Lookout Point Lakeside Inn on Lake Hamilton six miles south of town.
A couple reasons for this:
One, urban sprawl, to which America has mostly been transformed coast-to-coast in a seemingly endless stream of strip malls and fast-food shack chains. Here on Central Avenue in Hot Springs it runs as far as the eye can see—and then some. Your life history of fast-food is lined up on both sides of the thoroughfare all the way from the lake into town.
Two, this historic city, once vibrant and bustling due to the curative hot springs that once lured pilgrims in search of remedy for various ailments, is now in decline and decay.
I considered bailing after one night, even though I ate well—maybe one of the finest meals of this trek—at Luna Bella, in a non-nondescript building behind a strip mall.
Then something happened.
My cozy ground-floor room on a hillside overlooking the lake had a window that opened onto it, and a door for Lulu to easily venture out for conducting biz.
Instead of news, the TV lineup was Andy Griffith, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres and Hogan’s Heroes, situation comedies (made in black & white) I had not seen since I was a kid in early 1960s. And it made me feel like one again.
The best part was when you turn the lights out… darkness. And the quiet. Total silence (God’s voice), aside from lakeside waterfowl, their occasional screeches in the distance an absolute joy.
Whenever these woke me through the night, I wanted to stay awake and enjoy such solitude. But of course, in such a serene surrounding, I fall back into slumber.
When the sun began to rise, I had no doubt I would remain a second night, if only to enjoy fresh air and darkness—a rarity in hotels of late.
So instead of driving, a full day of relaxation along a visit to Anthony Chapel, an architectural masterpiece of wood-and-glass—and popular wedding venue in these parts)…
…and a quite excellent deep tissue massage at Living Wellness Day Spa, unknot a muscle or two, iron out of rest of my physical being while soothing my soul in advance of another day’s rolling to a new destination.
Monsieur Eringer -
Your poetic prose re-invigorate liveliness.
I hear music. Begin to dance.
You are most certainly yourself a lively fellow!
In anothers' hands, your adventures might lie fallow.
Your singular magical powers transform the mundane.
Bon Voyage a vous et a votre femme.
***Mme Eringer, ce n'est pas facile être sans voix.
Mais, sans doubt, vous surmontez!
J'en suis 1,000% sure !!!!
Grace a vous, votre monsieur peut continuer dans
ce metier avec quelle confiance.
Adieu et Bon Voyage
A bientôt!
DJ