SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS

We had a great visit with our old and dear friends in Springdale, and...did I mention "old"?  Ron and Nancy have been our overseas traveling buddies for a loooong time.  They were certainly on our list of "must visit".

They took us on a sightseeing excursion around their neck of the woods, NW Arkansas.  We tried counting the number of golf courses in Bella Vista while Nancy pointing out the houses that were "For Sale" and telling us how great it is to live in NW Arkansas.

We passed through the little town of Centerton.  The town Park was filled with people celebrating the town's first Centennial. There were many activity booths set up displaying certain businesses and town history, crafts and wares for sale, vegetables to market, as well as Search and Rescue, Fire Department and Life Flight Medical Service displaying their equipment. I especially enjoyed seeing the Bomb Disposal Robot moving around.  As we left, a man was reading a long winded letter from the Governor of Arkansas, who apologized for not being here in person.

We bought a few things and drove to Bentonville, where we found a huge Farmer's Market in the center of town.  Across the street was an old time Five and Dime named Walton's 5-10.  Turns out this was Sam Walton's first store in NW Arkansas before starting Walmart. Inside, the shelves were stocked with much of the same kinds and brands of stuff common during that era. It was great seeing the Red Flyer wagon and  shelf candy of the 50's.  My favorite, the Sugar Daddy, brought back old memories. I couldn't resist buying a 4-pack of my all time favorite pop, the awesome, Grapette!

We took a drive over to Crystal Bridges Museum of Modern Art, a state of the art destination with class exhibits.  More than 100 artists have exhibits here.  The metal tree art in the front courtyard is an awesome piece of work. We drove all around looking for a parking space, as were many other people.  The parking lots were full today and we didn't (as a group) feel like walking a long distance.  We opted to skip today and make this another visit at another time.

We had a great dinner at Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant.  Our Niece, Tracey, works there, earning money to help pay her way through school. The food was great!  The service was great!  The waitress was great!  4 thumbs up!

Our Niece, Tina, made it back to Springdale before we left town.  She was doing a clinical Rotation in a children's hospital in Little Rock.  We are very proud of her for getting her a Nurses Certificate.  We met Tina and Rodney at Braum's for ice cream.   We had a great visit!

I got my Sienna serviced at Toyota before we left town; oil change, inspection and tire rotation. She's happy now.  If your car is happy, everyone's happy!