Central Arkansas (August 14-17)

Pinnacle Mountain view from Visitors Center

I drove into Little Rock around 2:30 on Saturday (August 14) afternoon. It was nearly impossible to believe Michelle and I had not seen each other in over three years! I toured her new digs and got "settled in" for my 3-night stay.

I insisted that I would have Chick-fil-A and Mexican food while in Arkansas, so we immediately went to Casa Manana on Cantrell for a late lunch. Mmmmmmmm!!! After some driving around, we decided to explore Pinnacle Mountain in Little Rock. We visited the Visitors Center, walked a few steps down a path, and "hiked" up to a lookout point. My quote for this day is "It's f-ing hot!" There's no better way to state it--the temperature was oven-like.

Quarry Pond at Pinnacle Mountain

Michelle at Scenic Overlook

Saturday dinner was at The Purple Cow (on Chenal) where I enjoyed a fantastic Patty Melt and yummy butterscotch milkshake with rum! As part of the "time is now" tour, Michelle and I saw our first IMAX feature film: Inception. Great movie, and great IMAX movie--my chair was shaking so much from the sound that it was almost like a massage!

On Sunday, we ventured west toward Russellville and Paris, stopping along the way for brunch at Waffle House. We drove to Mt. Magazine where we drove around to various lookouts until we made our way to the recently-opened lodge near the summit. This is a

View from Mt. Magazine Lodge

View from Mt. Magazine Lodge

Mt. Magazine Lodge

View from Mt. Magazine Lodge

Dave at Mt. Magazine Lodge w/ new hat

While in the park, I purchased two hats as souvenirs of my visit to Arkansas's highest point of elevation (2,753 feet), although I did not quite make it to the top. The one hat is very "special" as it has a zip-out neck sunshade--very safari (looks something like this)! The other hat (pictured at the left) has a very small zippered pouch on the side, probably useful for a car key, condom, or dime-bag of…whatever. If anyone has other ideas for the pouch, let me know; it's very reminiscent of "Kangaroo" shoes from middle school ;-) We also investigated guest rooms at the lodge which are very nice--I may need to come back for an extended visit in the winter (fall is too pricey I think).

After Mt. Magazine, we travelled to Russellville to meet with Jeff, Faith, and Hayden over dinner at Joe's Pizza. I was way too distracted by Hayden and our conversation to take pictures :-( The family is doing great, though, and Hayden is a great little man who can really put on a show!

After dinner, Michelle and I drove to Conway for some errands, and I got to see her most recent (former) UCA residence, so now I've seen all three of her UCA houses! It was a late night, so we headed back to Little Rock so Michelle could get a little sleep before a big day at work (Pulaski Technical College).

Hendrix College Student Life & Technology Center

On Monday, I spent the entire day and evening at Hendrix College in Conway. I was truly amazed to see the development in the The Village at Hendrix, and was in awe of the magnificent new facilities (Wellness & Athletic Center and Student Life and Technology Center). Having been part of the brainstorming and planning for the SLTC, it was very special for me to walk through the building and see everything come to fruition. Monday was the day before new-student move-in, so the campus was alive with activity and almost everyone could be found on campus doing something. Although I'm not going to commit space here to listing all of the amazing people, it was great catching up with so many wonderful friends and colleagues on campus! I did enjoy a fabulous lunch with Eva at Something Brewing, and Tonya introduced me to Old Chicago Pasta & Grill in downtown Conway for drinks and dessert. In between, I took advantage of invitations to a wine & cheese faculty event at the newly-opened Hendrix Bookstore and the annual faculty/staff catfish picnic (which was held inside the SLTC due to weather conditions). Although Monday was also the grand opening for Panera Bread, I did not partake. I am honestly surprised that 14 hours at Hendrix did not seem long enough for a visit--I think a return visit in the fall is in order.


Before hitting the road for Texas on Tuesday morning, I visited with Lydia over coffee at Starbucks and took a quick trip to Pulaski Tech where Michelle toured me around the Student Center. With my central Arkansas adventures behind, I bid farewell to Little Rock and headed southwest with Garmin as my guide and Jimmy Buffett for my entertainment.