Two weekends ago, I met my parents in Missouri and Arkansas. I flew into Little Rock on Thursday, October 17, and after a little shopping and exploring on Friday morning, we drove up to Big Cedar Lodge outside of Branson, Missouri, in the afternoon. The drive was long, but I passed the time "fingering" a new scarf (a technique Mom taught me along the way).
It was overcast and cool when we arrived at Big Cedar. We checked into our room and walked back down to the registration area to look around and work on a jigsaw puzzle set up in the lobby. While we were there, it began raining, but fortunately the rain ended that night. We ate at Devils Pool Restaurant before turning in for the night.
Saturday was our main day to explore Big Cedar. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast buffet at Devils Pool Restaurant that morning and spent most of the late morning and early afternoon walking around the grounds. Dad wanted to take the Nature Trail, so Mom and I tagged along for part of it (neither one of us had on the best shoes for hiking). Since we took the shorter trail, Mom and I made it back earlier and picked up a few treats at Truman Coffee and Cafe.
During the afternoon, we all spent some time relaxing in the lobby. I loved sitting on the couch in front of the fire as I played on my iPad and read my book. It was so comfortable that I felt like nodding off a few times. That night we ate at The Worman House where Mom really enjoyed the Rod Stewart-esque singer.
On Sunday, we left Big Cedar in the morning and drove into Arkansas to visit the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The museum was so impressive, and I loved that admission was free. My favorite part was seeing Asher Durand's Kindred Spirits. I studied the painting in one of my classes at UT, so it was exciting to finally see it in person. The museum also had many other paintings from the Hudson River School, including several from Thomas Cole. After we finished looking around the museum, we ate lunch at the cafe and explored the grounds. We also drove into downtown Bentonville to tour the Walmart Visitor Center.
Our last stop of the night was Fayetteville, home of the University of Arkansas. We checked into our hotel and then drove around campus. Later we went downtown to eat dinner at a place called Tiny Tim's Pizza. Our pizza was really great — it had the thin crust that Mom and I like so much. The salads were more interesting because they almost had more cheese than salad (we decided it must be a house specialty).
I flew back home on Monday morning. My flight was early in the morning, so Mom drove me to the airport before she and Dad left to drive home. On the way there, we saw a beautiful sunrise (above). It was the perfect way to wrap up our trip.
Mom and Dad, thanks for letting me tag along! It was great to spend the weekend with you.
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