A Bite to Eat and a Place that Made Me Cry

I'm not going in any particular order from the trip. I'm sorry for that. I'm not really sorry about posting so many pictures. Part of the benefit to posting the pictures is that I'm capturing some moments from the trip before they slip from my mind. Another part of the benefit is I get to share some things I found to be cool. I know that some will feel that I'm posting too many pictures, but oh well.

The day we left Memphis was the day we drove into Arkansas and towards Little Rock. Tonight's post is about that early afternoon drive, before we reached the mountains. The mountains will be a separate post, but tonight I share a visit to a fast food restaruant and a visit to a museum/library that moved me.

Sonic is advertised here in Minnesota. We don't have this type of restaruant here. It might be the cold weather that deters eaters from sitting outside and having food delivered. I don't know. But since I've seen Sonic advertised, Mom and I had to stop. Just to see what it was. As it turned out, the place wasn't bad. I wouldn't call it the best food I've eaten, but it served its purpose. Here are a couple pictures of Sonic, for those who have never seen the place.



After eating, we headed back on the road towards Little Rock. We had one item on our agenda for the city and it was a good one. We planned on visiting the William J Clinton Presidential Library. Oh. I miss Bill. So much. Mom has been saying that she misses Bill for a couple of years now. I agree. Walking through the library and seeing the figures on our economy, on our foreign policy, on how world conflicts were resolved, and just hearing speeches of his made me wishful for 8 years ago. It is a very stark contrast to where our country is today.

We wandered the floors of the library and ended the visit with a video. Bill Clinton narrates the video, discussing his political campaigning and some of the things he was proud of during his administration. Just listening to him speak, hearing his voice, and being caught up in his charisma was powerful. Mom and I both sat in this dark auditorium sobbing. I do miss him.

After touring the library, we took a trolley to the gift shop where we both went a little nuts. I bought two shirts for myself and one of them has, "I Miss Bill," on the back. It was cool to walk into the gift shop and see the words my mom has been saying for a few years.

(On a funny note, my mom was told at work that if she voted for John Kerry that gas prices would soar and that we'd be in a war that we can't get out of. Well, a couple of years later, she told that person, "You know, you were right. I did vote for John Kerry and gas prices have soared and we're stuck in a war we can't get out of." The person did laugh and blushed in embarrassment.)

The library is right next to the Arkansas River, one of the six state name rivers we crossed on our trip. There was another bridge, not so big and scary. The pictures below are of that bridge and river, the library from the outside, and a few of the exhibits inside.



How cool is this!?! Awesome!