Hot Springs

Last week (when I started writing this, actually April 14-16) I had a three day conference for work in Hot Springs, AR.  I was lucky enough to be able to take Will and C along with me.  Leading up to our departure I was looking forward to being out of the office but hesitant about what our trip might have in-store.  Something about driving to an unfamiliar city, staying in a historic hotel, and leaving my husband and daughter in said hotel room while I attended the conference left me a little uneasy.

My fears were lived out when we arrived Monday afternoon in the pouring rain to the hotel with off site parking.  All I could see, or barely see in the dim light, as we entered our room on the 7th floor was the peeling paint, possible mold on the window treatments, and the leaky faucet and cracked ceramic tub.  As the protective mother of a one year old this was not ideal.  "She cannot take a bath in that tub," I exclaimed to Will.

More "memories" were made, as Will says, when we went to lunch.  We had yet to unload the car so with no umbrella, blanket, jacket, etc. we hurried down the street and jaywalked to the closest decent looking restaurant.  All was well once we were seated and ordered our food.  The food at Ronaldo's was good but a little pricey.  Throughout lunch I attempted to feed Caroline some banana.  She had only eaten some puffs in the car to that point.  She refused.  At the end of our meal I offered her a couple whole black beans from my plate.  I believe one made it in her mouth, but one was plenty enough to cause an eruption of vomit like I've rarely seen from my baby girl.  It was in my hands, down her front, on the highchair, the floor, everywhere.  We did the best we could to clean up with napkins and then made our exit as quickly as possible.  Thank heavens we were the only guests in the restaurant at that moment. 

Now we had to tote our sour milk smelling baby across the busy street and up the incline of the parking garage to unload and schlep 2 suitcases, a pack n play, a cooler, food bag, camera bag, diaper bag, and stroller back down the road to the hotel.  And I promise, I packed light.

Back in the room I got C changed and she and Dad had nap time while I went to my classes.
Upon my return I found my child sitting in the floor of the bathroom in nothing but a diaper with her lovey...really, Will, you let her lovey touch the floor...and Will bent over a sink of running water.  Apparently, after a pleasant nap time Will found C covered in poop (I'm sorry, but there is no graceful way) from her armpits to her feet.  She was wearing a onesie and pants, but magically the poop had found it's way to the outside of her pants and all over her sheet.  Poor Daddy had never experienced such and was thrown in a bit of a tizzy trying to figure out how to clean her up.  He did heed my earlier explanation and only stood her in the tub to rinse the nastiness off.

So in a span of about 4 hours we had ruined 2 outfits, a jacket, and the crib sheet.  This is one of the few occasions that I will say... thank goodness for Wal-mart.  That evening we went and bought new sheets, laundry spray, a laundry basket- to at least keep her little bottom off the tub floor for a bath, and hair bows - because after a day like that we needed some pretty.  I was also hoping to find myself a jacket to make the evening lows of mid-30s survivable and the highs of 50s pleasant-ish, but that would take about 6 more stores and seas of bathing suits first.  My planner, prepared self was so frustrated that I was wasting time searching for a jacket when I had numerous ones at home.  Another "memory."  I will say - I ended up with a decently cute purple zip up to get me through the next few days.

For dinner we headed straight for comfort food and the fireplace at Cracker Barrel.
After a good night sleep - the hotel bed was surprisingly comfortable - Tuesday got off to a better start and we had no further issues with poop explosions or vomit.

The temps Tuesday were still quite crisp with a strong wind.   But between my class sessions on Tuesday we enjoyed getting out of the hotel and exploring a bath house and some shops on bath house row.  We picked up some handmade bath soap before having lunch at Cafe1217.  As I returned to afternoon sessions, Will and C napped before touring the Mountain Valley Spring water museum.  Later, when I was able to join them, we drove up the mountain path to a lookout and then went to dinner at a local catfish house.

Wednesday morning (Will's 29th birthday) we had breakfast at the pancake house across the street from the hotel.  After a brief morning session at the conference we packed up and made our way to Garvan Gardens.  This was the one thing I had on our agenda before leaving town.  Garvan Gardens is known to have thousands of tulips during late March and the month of April.  To an amateur photographer with a one year old this screamed Spring photo-op.  We were a few days, maybe a week, late for the majestic showing of all the tulips, but sizable beds still remained.  It was a cold morning again and Caroline insisted on removing her shoes and the blanket I tried to keep tucked around her to shield from the breeze while we strolled her around in her sun dress searching for the prime location.
Caroline was a good sport, aided by a Cheerio feeding mid-way.  We got some cute pictures of her with the flowers.

At the end of our visit, Caroline had an encounter with a peacock.  Several peacocks roam free on the grounds.  This one located just outside of the welcome center took a liking to C and decided to show off a bit.  We got a full display of his feathers and even some vibration.  We weren't sure if that was a warning to back off or an affectionate you're cute so Daddy stayed close.

After a quick tour of the beautiful glass chapel on site we left town to make the drive back to Longview and arrive just in time, after a lunch guffaw - map apps don't tell you that the restaurant you are about to drive miles out of the way for is closed for renovation, for Will to head to work for the night.

The trip started off rough, but we worked together and survived.  We even had a little fun.
I love my family and I am glad I got to take them with me on my boring work trip.  If the Lord still has me here in 5  years there is a conference at Disney World.  Now that would be exciting!