DAY 36 Little Rock
(photos: Nora in front of Clinton's presidential limo; Nora's legs and Michael's tent. No, Michael was NOT in there at the time.)
Yesterday after I posted from Hot Springs, we drove to pick up our paintings and then redeem our free wine tasting at the Winery. I wasn’t too impressed with the wine, especially not at the high prices they listed. The port was nice, though. But not $20 nice. The man who owns the art store where we bought the paintings was interesting. He said he used to run a small grocery/gourmet food store in Little Rock. It was near the Baptist church President Clinton attended, and the president (then governor) would stop in after church for … at this point in the story he stopped and said, “You probably won’t want to hear this.” And I said, “Please don’t say doughnuts.” And he hung his head and said, “Yes. Well, not doughnuts. Pastries.” He explained that they had a very good pastry chef and Clinton would come in and buy pastries after church. We all had a good laugh.
After we left Hot Springs, we headed for this huge city park in Little Rock called Burns Park. It’s so big that it’s on both sides of Interstate 40; it has an amusement park (closed for the season); bridle trails, camping and a championship golf course. It is $16 a night for electric and water and the sites and spacious and forested. I can tell we are getting closer to home, as things are starting to smell familiar. The air smells like Camp Wyandot, and I recognize most of the trees. The oak that is dropping acorns on the camper had leaves that are just beginning to turn red around the edges. It was about 80 degrees today, though. That temperature is made even nicer by news reports we’ve heard that lots of the Midwest has had snow already.
After breakfast this morning, we drove a short distance into downtown Little Rock to the Clinton Presidential Center. It was fascinating, once we got there. For at least the third time, Microsoft Mary has plotted something in the wrong spot. The mapping software had the Clinton library on the other side of the Interstate. We were driving around wondering, first, why it wasn’t where the spot on the map was, and secondly, why there weren’t any signs for it. Then we realized we had a Little Rock attractions map the campground gave us, and we were able to get there easily. They even had dedicated RV parking.
The kids got in free, and Nora was a big hit with her “Future President” shirt on. It was one of those days where executing a graceful dance of trading off children was necessary. One of the first things you see at the center is a short movie about Clinton’s career. Of course Nora is apt to talk through most movies, and Michael is apt to cry if I sit down with him. So David was in charge of keeping Nora as quiet as possible, even when she bossed him around telling him to move his hands off his own armrest, and I was in charge of keeping Michael quiet, either by standing and rocking or by letting him suck on my pinky finger. We also made it through a short presentation in the replica cabinet room. Then we were off to look at the many, many exhibits, which were very well done. For each topic, there was a video or two, narrated usually by a cabinet member or other official. Surrounding the video screens were supporting documents, such as copies of speeches marked up by the president, news articles and photographs. It was best enjoyed if you could stand there and watch each video uninterrupted, so I basically redid the entire second floor in the afternoon when Nora fell asleep in the stroller and I was free to listen to the videos. I enjoyed reading about the Family Medical Leave Act while actually using the Family Medical Leave Act, which is what my maternity leave is. The third floor was less political and more about life in the White House. I was not terribly interested in the china patterns or the Christmas tree decorations, but I was fascinated to read and hear about how Clinton used his charismatic personality, coupled with well-orchestrated state dinners, to build relationships with foreign and domestic leaders.
By about 4 p.m., we had visited the gift shop down the street and were ready to head back to our campsite, just 6 miles away. It was humid and hot, but we sat outside and grilled out. Michael was crying and he felt hot and sweaty to me, so I took his outfit off. As I was taking a picture of Nora, I realized that I was outside our camper, sitting in a camp chair, drinking beer from a plastic cup and holding our son, who had no clothes on. At that moment, when I felt very much like a hillbilly, I was grateful to be in Arkansas, where I imagine such behavior doesn’t merit a second glance. Seriously, though, I rather like Arkansas. It’s kind of surprising it’s not a more populous state. It has all the heat of the desert states or Florida, but it has real trees that turn colors in the fall, and it has mountains, too. It also seems to have a very good retail base. Although Texarkana seemed essentially deserted, both Hot Springs and Little Rock have all the familiar chain stores and restaurants. And the people here are all very nice and gracious. The employees at the Clinton center were extremely kind. They all smiled at the kids and several times people pointed out places where I could sit down if I needed to. Plus they all have that great Bill Clinton accent.