Hot Springs

Jared and I decided that the time had finally arrived; we could leave the kids home alone for a weekend without a babysitter. EEEK! It took awhile to convince myself that it was a good idea. I mean, our kids are awesome and very responsible, BUT they are OUR kids. The ones we have raised from babies and now we were going to up and leave them alone for a few days, in hopes that they would be alive when we got back home? Hmmmmmm.... Well, I convinced myself that they would in fact be fine without us and would not die as long as they had enough pizza in the fridge. Jared and I hopped in the car early Saturday morning and headed towards Hot Springs, Arkansas. The drive was beautiful and peaceful. There is something wonderful about an early morning ride. It seems as though the world is moving a little slower and all of the worries of the world are still asleep.

We arrived a little after noon, parked the car, and strolled around the old downtown area. It really is magical. They have areas all over that you can collect spring water in jugs or whatever container suits you. People would pull up and unload dozens of containers to fill up and take home for their weekly water supply. It was amazing! I really wish we lived near a natural spring. I love being able to drink water that is more pure and truly from the source. Someday maybe we will own a small farmhouse on land with our own spring... just maybe. In the meantime we filled up our jug to bring home for the kids to have. There are also a few bathhouses to choose from as well. You can go in and bath in the natural spring water and partake of it's healing properties. We didn't get to it this time, but would definitely like to try it the next time we go there.

Next, we were off the horse races at Oakland! This honestly isn't something we would normally do, but hey "When in Rome!" We walked into the building and there was definitely a lot of energy and commotion. We pushed our way through the crowds and went outside to see what all of the fuss was about. The people go CRAZY over these races! It is like a religion for some people. We definitely had some good people watching happening that day! We had no idea how to place a bet, so I quickly googled it and we headed to the ticket window. We placed a bet on two horses to win, which afterward we found out there are plenty of other ways to bet, and headed back outside. The race soon started and we held our breath as one of our horses crossed the finish line. It won!! We won!! Our first bet ever and we won! Yay for $29.00! Well we decided to throw our winnings at another bet, but this time we lost. We stuck to the "You win some, you lose some" philosophy and decided to head back to town.

We wondered the little streets for awhile longer, just taking in the history and energy of the area.

We decided to go to the Gangster Museum, where we learned about the notorious criminals form the 1920's -1940's that lived and visited there. It's was amazing to hear some of the stories about Al Capone, Owen Madden and "Lucky" Luciano to name a few. After that we wandered through a few quaint shops, ate some great food, and of course drank more spring water. It was such a fun quick getaway for us, and the kids were in fact alive when we arrived back home. It's definitely a new chapter in our lives, and I think I like it!