Vacation Report (finally!)

OK, here's a (not so) quick post on our recent family vacation to the Natural State, Arkansas (some of you didn't know that one!), or "Arkanstraw", as out kids kept calling it. This was our first family vacation where our lodging plans didn't involve staying with family or friends. Nothing against our family and friends, but its nice to do your own thing once in a while.

We dubbed this trip the Nations' Family Treasure Hunt Adventure, complete with treasure maps, clues regarding each day's activities, and the chance to earn secret "Travel Treasures" with good behavior. It all began with a trip to the Crater of Diamonds State Park outside of Murphreesboro (don't quote me on the spelling). Sorry for the fuzzy pic, I think my camerawoman was convulsing with anticipation; she couldn't wait to find a retirement-sized diamond inside the park.

I'm quite certain this was the hottest day of our trip. Imagine our family running around in a giant dust bowl, digging holes in the dirt while the sun beats down on our heads. Jenny and I traded off chasing Cole all over the place (the boy doesn't have the patience for diamond digging). It really was a fun diversion and a great break from the car ride. But, aside from some calcite and other unidentified rocks, we came away emptyhanded. I guess I'll have to keep my job after all.

That afternoon we got settled into our home away from home (Cole kept calling it home, anyway) in Fairfield Bay. Fairfield Bay is part resort, part town, part retirement community. There were quite a few things to do, such as putt put, feeding scary big fish at the dock, bowling, running around the playgrounds, and, of course, swimming. You can check out the gallery for pics of all these activities. So let's move on.

Day two was a relaxing day at the resort, checking out many of the activities mentioned above. We put together a perfect routine of a day at the resort, followed by a day exploring the sights and sounds of Arkansas. Almost every day involved swimming, which our pool puppies approved of.

Day three was a trip to the Little Rock Zoo. The Zoo trip was fun (except for the mugging we took at the snackbar! "No food or drink allowed, but bring your wallet because, if you get hungry or thirsty in the park, you'll help fund our next exotic animal exhibit. But, sorry, it won't be named after you." No, I'm not bitter at all!). The LRZ, turned out to be a bit, small, but I think it was just right for our tiny travelers.

Day four, as you probably guessed, was spent at the resort. More swimming, some putt putt, swimming, and swimming.

The next day, "five" if you're keeping track, was an undergound adventure at the Blanchard Springs Caverns (you can see the wonderful shot taken by my expert camerawoman). Now, if you've seen one cave you've seen them all, but this was a fun stop for us (except for the part where Cole got carsick 2 minutes prior to arriving at the caverns--no pics of that. He did get a cool, new, glow-in-the-dark lizard shirt out of the deal, though. Of course, Cloe wanted a shirt, but wasn't willing to perform the required feat to get one.). It was nice to be in the cool caverns for a while. We took the shortest tour--just at one hour. Our guide was very informative. And we got to see some bats! They weren't in the caverns, but we did see them.

"Sixth day, sixth day, God made something something and something that day." I never can remember that silly song. This was all an attempt to say, "We spent another day at the resort" without saying "We spent another day at the resort." Moving along...

For our final day in Arkansas, we went back to Little Rock for worship, a trip to the Arkansas Museum of Discovery, and a viewing of Ratatouille. The museum was really a lot of fun. They had everything from interactive electricity exhibits, to "guess the skull" animal games, the "Bug Zoo" with giant, nasty-looking Brazilian cockroaches (just ask Jen about those), to places where you could make crafts or do kid-friendly science experiments (we didn't get to do this :()--a great place to spend several hours. We had a great time at the movie as well, although I'm disappointed in Disney-Pixar's obsession with fitting "h-e-double hockey sticks" into their latest animated movies (Cars was the other one). As if moms and dads can't be entertained without it, but that's a whole other subject. Our trip ended with a night at a hotel. And then it was back on the road.