This is the year of the road trip. We planned a mini-vacation over Memorial Day weekend to Memphis, Tn. We got a wild hair and decided to leave late Thursday and spend Friday in Little Rock, AR since we'd never been there.
Crossing the state line into Arkansas. Okay - this is cheating a little. This is crossing the state line from Tennessee but when we crossed over from Texas and I was driving. John wouldn't let me try and take a photo as we passed under the sign at 75 miles an hour.
First stop on Friday was the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. This will be the third presidential library we've seen (the other two being JFK and LBJ). It's shaped like a bridge as it is a reminder of Bill Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century".
John in front of the library.
This is the Rock Island Railroad bridge that spans the Arkansas River and is right next to the library. It was built in 1899 and led to the Choctaw Station. According to the tour guide, the city was going to tear it down so Clinton made it an extension of the library and it's now only open to pedestrian traffic. It's a cool bridge.
Inside the library, one of the exhibits is the replica of the Oval Office during Clinton's administration. The same woman that decorated the office while Clinton was there did the replica using leftover bolts of cloth and unused cans of paint from when she did the original.
They also had a replica of the Cabinet Room. Guess which chair John is sitting in. This was take about 20 seconds before the room was taken over by kids on a field trip. They were everywhere!
One of the temporary exhibits at the library was called "Jazz through the eyes of Herman Leonard". It was a series of photographs of various Jazz musicians and singers that were made by Herman Leonard. That's Billie Holiday.
After the library, John and I wandered around downtown looking for something to eat. Downtown Little Rock is on the bank of the Arkansas River. Over Memorial Day weekend, they had Riverfest. It was a festival with food booths and lots of beer and apparently Darius Rucker. One of the security guards was telling us and asked if we knew who Darius Rucker was. John said, "Sure - it's Hootie." It took that guy a few minutes....what can I say? We're old.
We passed by this place once and there was a line out the door. The smell made your mouth water. We weren't really in the mood for fried chicken but we didn't see anything else that grabbed us. Plus, this place was really busy so we thought - go with the locals. I got chicken tenders and John got chicken breast. Turns out this place is a chain and this location had just opened. They hadn't worked out the kinks yet. John's chicken was dry. Mine was a little better but not much. It was no Babe's.
Next was the Old Statehouse Museum. It was completed in 1842. When Arkansas became a state in 1936, the government moved in even though the construction hadn't been completed. This building was used as the state capitol until 1911. It was on the steps of this building that Bill Clinton declared his candidacy for President.
I LOVE this staircase. This in the main hall. There are two staircases, one on either side and they lead to the second floor. On the second floor is another set of stairs that leads to the third floor but was blocked off. The second floor was where the Senate was.
The arches in the Old Statehouse Museum. It was a really cool old building. They had exhibits representing all the governors, dresses from the first ladies of Arkansas and several exhibits of what homes would have looked like (sitting rooms mostly). Also, it was free.
Next we went over to the Arkansas State Capitol. Initially we were going to walk over from the Clinton library. I don't know what the heck we were thinking. It was clear on the other side of town!
I thought this was really cool. There's a statue to the side that is of an eagle (I think). But the way it's set up, it creates this shadow. This particular memorial is for those from Arkansas that had been awarded the Medal of Honor.
Little Rock Central High School. This is the school that the Little Rock Nine were barred from attending until President Eisenhower stepped in. In an effort to desegregate the schools in Little Rock, nine black students were chosen to attend this all white school. These nine students had to be escorted by the National Guard. Needless to say these kids were treated badly and yet they kept coming back. Amazing courage. I don't think I could have done it. Apparently, there's a statue of these kids at the State Capitol. I didn't see it.
This is, as the next photo says, the 'Big Dam Bridge'. I read about this bridge before going out there and felt like I needed to see it. It's a pedestrian bridge that spans the Arkansas River.
I was a bit underwhelmed.
We only had one day in Little Rock and it wasn't even a whole day. By 3 pm we headed out for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Memphis. I'm glad we stopped. The library made it well worth the trip. If we'd had more time, we could have walked around a bit more.
Next time...
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