Day 2.24: Hot Springs, AR to Oklahoma City, OK

We hadn’t planned to get up in time for breakfast but since we were up to try to leave we went down right before it closed. It was even more disappointing than the day before, though Abe did like the biscuit quite a bit. We found our car untouched in the mostly empty garage down the street, loaded up, and hit the road. We expected to be getting back on the highway but instead took the Route 7 Scenic Byway for about 60 miles through the Ouchita National Forest. We saw a sign that said “Next 3.5 miles - very crooked and steep,” and were perplexed because most of the road was about that windy (and the use of word crooked seemed odd). We saw a bunch of abandoned, shelled-out homes and buildings along the side of the road through our tour of rural Arkansas. Eventually, we got back to Interstate 40 and drove until we crossed into Oklahoma (state #43 for Arielle), where we saw signs about state law to not “impede the left lane,” and stopped just at the next exit in Roland.

We ate at the 4 Star Diner, on a road actually called “Paw Paw Rd,” where we asked about the “chocolate gravy” and were given a “sample” by the waitress of what is essentially delicious and hot chocolate pudding over two biscuits, and she didn’t even charge us! Obviously, we ate the whole thing. Abe was intrigued by the veal cutlet, which the waitress said not to get because it was frozen, but moreso by the side options, pictured below, which included peaches and jello. He opted instead for the French toast, which was delicious, and Arielle enjoyed her grilled cheese. She got hashbrowns on the side which we shared and both loved. The whole meal cost $16 including tip! This is a highly recommended stop for those crossing the border between Arkansas and Oklahoma.

We drove a few more miles to the welcome center, which featured a chandelier seemingly made out of antlers.

We had spoken to our host in Oklahoma City, who had warned of 20-degree temperatures and black ice on the roads, and within 30 minutes of leaving Roland, the temperature had indeed dropped from 61 degrees to 31 degrees. More frighteningly, as we approached Oklahoma City, the windshield started to ice over and got bad enough that we pulled off at a travel stop to try to get an ice scraper, which they didn’t have.

Stopping for a few minutes made it better, and while it did start to ice over a bit more, it didn’t get as bad as we continued the remaining twenty minutes or so into the city. Special shout-out to Dave for being on the phone with us as it happened and trying to safely and calmly coach us through it. We arrived at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum at around 4:30pm, exiting the car to frigid temperatures and pulling out coats and gloves we hadn’t used since being in Utah a month earlier. We walked through the meaningful monument that Abe had visited twice before while touring with USY on Wheels only to find that the museum, which advertised online as selling its last ticket at 5pm before closing at 6pm, was completely locked and unstaffed. A security guard showed up a few minutes later and told us that the museum had closed at 3pm because of the cold and icy weather, so we wouldn’t have been able to go in even if we had gotten there a bit earlier. We spent a few minutes touring the outside memorial before heading back to our car, and planned to come back to the museum in the future.

We drove about twenty minutes to the home of Helene, who Arielle and Abe had met at the Kavod V’Nichum Jewish Funeral and Burial Conference in Bethesda last June. She was an incredible host, letting us help prepare some sides for a delicious salmon dinner she made. The food was topped only by the presentation, which included chilled salad plates, baked apples for dessert, and a plate of assorted cookies which we assumed were store-bought because they were so beautiful and perfect but which she had made herself.

We enjoyed a lovely evening together, and Arielle was delighted by Helene’s suggestion that she take a bath, something she had been yearning to do since seeing the bathhouses the day before. It was relaxing and a wonderful way to close out a homey experience.

Approximate number of miles covered: 317

Day 2.23: Hot Springs, AR

We woke up in time to get breakfast, which turned out to be our only disappointment of the day. The juice machine wasn’t working, only whole milk was available despite other options displayed, the oatmeal and the eggs were bland, and there was no cream cheese out. We decided conclusively we didn’t need to come the next day.

We moved somewhat slowly and then took the hotel shuttle to the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center, where we spoke to a Hot Springs National Park ranger. We had been planning to hike the Sunset Trail but everyone we had spoken to at the hotel had never heard of it. The ranger was well aware but told us to do other paths instead. Since the town is located within the park, we just walked about three minutes from the visitor center and were already in the woods. The temperature was in the low 50s and very comfortable. The first .2 miles were horrible, heading straight uphill, but everything else was better. We hiked the Dead Chief Trail (1.1 miles) to the Goat Rock Trail (.7 miles), taking a slight detour to head 270 feet up to the North Mountain Overlook, where we looked out at the view and chatted for a bit with a couple visiting from Michigan, two of less than a dozen people we saw during our hike. We then took the Upper Dogwood Trail (.6 miles) to the Lower Dogwood Trail (.4 miles), eating a few snacks along the way. We had planned to leave all day for hiking but Arielle’s comfortable sneakers were just a drop too big for walking downhill to be pleasant, and so we were content, linking up with the Arlington Trail (.1 miles) that led us onto the 5th floor of the Arlington Hotel, walking right by what looked like haunted guest rooms before we took the elevator down to the lobby and exited back into the town about a block from the visitor center where we had started.

We spent the next few hours strolling through downtown Hot Springs, stopping first at Beef Jerky Outlet, where we talked to a man we assumed was a local but was actually a native Californian and longtime Nevada resident who discouraged us from moving there by giving us a reality check of what it’s like to be a liberal living in the South. We continued on to The Candy Corner, giving the cashier his first customer since 9am. Abe got 10 taffies for $1.50 (banana cream pie, cantaloupe, carrot cake, cinnamon roll, eggnog, honeydew, hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, root beer float, and tangerine – he has so far tried 3 and spit them out), Arielle got twenty fruities, and Abe also got some root beer barrels. We walked into Fat Bottomed Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe, where we browsed and gawked at the cupcakes on display. We next tried the wine ice cream (peach zinfandel – nope) at The Argentinean Coffee and Wine Bar, and we ended up getting and eating vegan empanadas with spinach, mushroom, and onion. We sampled some more ice cream at Pour Some Sugar on Me and decided that was the place we’d come to for dessert after dinner. We walked past the row of legendary bathhouses that Hot Springs is known for, deciding not to go for it though Arielle was considering it. We stopped at the park store to get souvenir postcards, learning that one side of the street is the park and one side of the street is the town. We then stopped at the town visitor center and had a nice conversation about the Mets. We also saw a sign that championed Hot Springs as Bill Clinton’s hometown.

We walked the remaining five minutes back to our hotel, where Arielle took a great nap in the very comfortable bed while Abe caught up on some TV and blogging. At around 6pm, we left to take the shuttle to the Ohio Club, Arkansas’ oldest bar with a long gangster history. There was live music, and we realized later that the performer had a tambourine on her foot, which was cool. We decided to sit at the bar so we could hear the music and still talk. Arielle was amazed to see the Impossible Burger on the menu but opted instead to put a garden patty in the Reuben sliders. A slight miscommunication meant that she ordered the Reuben rather than the sliders, but the bartender was more than happy to provide the pretzel bun she had wanted and she put twice as much filling between it. Abe was also confused, ordering brisket sliders thinking they came on top of burgers. They ended up just being brisket but were delicious. The fries on the side were decent. It was an overall great experience and the very friendly bartender even engaged in conversation about Arielle’s work for a few minutes, noting it was depressing but that he was impressed with how many gigs she had gotten in a short time. We walked a few doors down to Pour Some Sugar On Me and came up with a great scheme – get ice cream and call the shuttle so we could eat it back at the hotel! Interestingly, they sell only one size but you get up to three scoops. Abe ordered two but caved and got two cinnamon and one chocolate brownie, while Arielle got birthday cake, mint chip, and rainbow sherbet (yes, she knows that’s a weird combination). We got lids that didn’t quite fit and took the shuttle back to the hotel.

We remembered that our fridge accidentally froze our Mississippi leftovers, so we realized we could use that to our advantage and waited about an hour to eat the ice cream as we handled flight logistics with Arielle’s parents. We watched an episode of “Will and Grace” in the hotel using the handy HDMI cord we had brought, though Abe noted his computer doesn’t have an HDMI, but luckily Arielle’s does. We went to sleep, thoroughly satisfied with our day.

Approximate number of miles covered: 8

Day 2.22: Atlanta, GA to Hot Springs, AR

We had intended to get out right away after getting up, but we were quickly convinced to play 2 rounds of Sushi Go, in which Arielle was obliterated, before we hit the road, thanking Sarah, Hillel, and especially Jonah for their very warm hospitality.

We crossed into Alabama and stopped at the welcome center. Our first attraction of the day was the original location of Steel City Pops in Birmingham, Alabama, which features an appetizing assortment of fruity, creamy, and cookie pops. Arielle spent a while thinking and ultimately settled on a buttermilk pop dipped in milk chocolate with gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, a caramel drizzle, and a drop of raspberry drizzle, while Abe, who had visited with USY on Wheels back in 2016, got cookies and cream. They were quite sizable and filling. As we left, Abe said, most appropriately, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

We drove to Mississippi, stopping at the welcome center, and continuing along to Tupelo, where Elvis was born. As soon as we pulled up to Mugshots Grill and Bar, we were greeted by someone exiting a truck next to us who saw our license plate and said “You’re a long way from home! Welcome to Mississippi!” Everyone there was incredibly nice, the waiter said he would replace our food if we didn’t like it, and multiple employees in the restaurant came to check on us throughout the meal. Arielle got fried pickles (at half off!) and a veggie burger with sautéed mushrooms and cheese. Abe got 10 wings, half with BBQ sauce and half with Carolina Gold BBQ sauce (he liked the former before). Both of us got fries, and both the regular and sweet potato were delicious. They even gave us the root beer float (which was only $2.95!!) that Abe got to go for free. Arielle decided that she wanted to live there and quickly found a synagogue, which was only eight minutes away. We drove there to see what it looked like but there was no one there, just some nice trees nearby.

We got back on the road as it got dark and entered Tennessee. The welcome center looked open but there was no one there.

We went over a bridge and were in Arkansas! This was state #47 for Abe and #42 for Arielle. We didn’t even both stopping at welcome center since we knew it would be closed and just got gas. We arrived at the Hotel Hot Springs after nearly twelve hours on the road, benefiting from the extra hour we gained once we entered Alabama. The hotel had a lovely lobby and made a good first impression on us, and we unloaded before parking in the garage down the street.

We collapsed into bed after crossing through more states than ever in one day!

Approximate number of miles covered: 580