Eureka!

*My apologies..I started writing this yesterday...haha..and then loud, colorful things took over last night!*

Happy Independence Day!  Did you do something fun?  We took a little day trip over to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  It started out rainy, but cleared up by lunchtime. : )  Eureka is a beautiful old town in the hills, so there are upper and lower roads, tons of old cottagey houses and porches, natural springs, cabins to rent, and a downtown shopping area-with local art, crafts, clothing, and all things Unusual.  It’s a great romantic get-away vacation spot (but fun for families too if you don’t mind motorcycle noise and the lingerie shops!).

We started by driving in from the west side to show the kids Thornecrowne Chapel, but it was closed for a wedding.  Boo (for us, Yay for them!)  We went ahead and drove down beside it so the kids could kinda see it-it’s architecturally Ahh-mazing.  

Next we went down to Lake Leatherwood Park (and dock) to go fishing.  Most of the fish had a 5” minimum or you had to release them, but that wasn’t a problem since we didn’t catch any! : )

We visited their restroom (and the kids asked me what all kinds of words written on the walls meant.  Umm..how do you explain O.M.F.G. to a child?)  (among other sounded out words..), and fished, and took pictures and watched fishing, and played on the o-l-d playground, then fished.  When I couldn’t take any more, I asked if we could move on (I’m sure it’s little known, but I’m a city girl-I like buildings with air conditioning minus bugs and flies).  The plan had been for us to split up (boys fish, girls shop), but it was so far down the bumpy, potholey lake road, I knew it’d take a good 40 minutes to get to downtown, and then 40 minutes back..and Ches was worried about Ethan getting crazy and falling in the water.

you know my love of back pictures : )

checking out the fish-we could see them about a foot under the water!

putting her own bait on!

They are up under the little dock roof.  Don't you love the black-out effect? : )

Clay couldn't leave fishing to join them.  Don't you love this bench?

So…we stayed together.  Then when Clay had resolved that he wasn’t going to get any fish, we left and headed to downtown.  We did get to fish-watch.  There were tons of tiny fish not biting but totally checking out the bait Power Balls!

We were getting hungry, so we stopped outside an old favorite:

Café Luigi!

We haven’t been there in years, but it’s good food, and the kids totally loved the fresh spring.  We ate outside and it was actually pretty nice (read: cool).  Eureka is essentially built between two mountains, so it’s low and stays pretty cool and shady except at lunchtime. 

Here is the spring water-dripping down the cliff into the little pond area.  The boys spent all their time over here!

Sweet Fun!

We played cards, and the kids were back and forth between the spring and the table!  It was great background noise, and I asked where all that water went.  The waitress said it’s pretty dry right now, so Jim (the owner) recirculates the water with a pump. (ha!)  I don’t blame him-people come just for the springs, so having one right there absolutely draws people!  In fact there were people oohing and ahhing over it when we left. : )  I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was being pumped.

Is is rumored that "Basin Water has made 90 Percent of the cures of Eureka"

And here is the Basin Spring. : )

We finished up with some walking through downtown and driving up along the narrow streets through town, I love looking at the houses and porches-they are so cute!  A bunch were for sale-but I can’t imagine navigating them in our horrible winters.

It’s so relaxed there, just people sitting at outdoor restaurants (and bars), and lots of walking.  It’s like time stood still-it’s the same as it was at least 20 years ago (when I remember going).  It’s kind of neat that it’s a funky, progressive town, but so old-fashioned.  Totally a contradiction, and that's why everyone loves it! : )

I have sooo much more to tell you, but it's long enough.  Tomorrow is fruit flies (and my science lesson), and we m-i-g-h-t cover mucus. ; )  If you are lucky, hahaha!