Dateline: Midwest City, OK

 

The Old Mill in Little Rock, Arkansas 

I don't know about you, but when I think of the state capital of Arkansas, the Little Rock Nine come to mind. Little Rock Central is still a functioning high school, but it's also a National Historic Site. I wanted to go to the visitor center this morning, but according to its website was closed on Mondays. Then during breakfast I couldn't help but overhear the person behind me (while watching footage of protestors demonstrating against the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade reversal on Good Morning America) start ranting about how "they" were fine with letting people illegally enter "our country" (and with said illegals then being given a "free college education"), but couldn't care less about saving the lives of "children". It was a sad reminder that the racist relative who referred to my wife as a "mail order bride" that I supposedly purchased with money from my now-deceased father so that she could give birth to my child hails from the not-so-proud state of Arkansas. 

Ignorant guests aside, the Tru by Hilton North Little Rock was the nicest hotel we've stayed in so far on this road trip. Just dig the groovy lobby, baby:

With the site of the 1957 desegregation crisis off the itinerary, I turned our morning over to Shu-E who, after doing some research online, decreed we should visit the Old Mill, an 1880's-style water mill located in a park in a North Little Rock residential neighborhood (and seen in the opening sequence of Gone With the Wind, for all of about six seconds, beginning at the 1:29 mark):

The kitschy-looking woodwork made the scene look more like the Shire than the antebellum South, but the mill itself was an pleasant sight:

 

The girls compare photos of the local ducks:

My wife then proposed going into central Little Rock to check out the H.U. Lee International Gate and Garden, a touch of Korea reflecting that the international headquarters of the American Taekwondo Association is located in the city:

From the garden and gate, we strolled to the River Market district, an area of galleries, restaurants and shops that was extremely quiet on this Monday morning:

Riverfront Park was somewhat more active, with people out enjoying the relatively cool but sunny weather. We ventured onto the pedestrian-only Junction Bridge to take in the view of the downtown area and the Arkansas River:

We also checked out some of the sculptures placed along the river for the edification of the local citizenry:

Soon, though, it was time to move on, as there were still miles to go before we could sleep. Once again, it was back on Interstate 40 as we drove through Arkansas. We did stop for lunch in Conway at a Chicken Express, a southern regional fast food chain. Look closely at one of the pictures on the wall, and you'll see the restaurant's name rendered in Japanese. Which begs the question why?:

A family-sized fried chicken lunch, with all the sweetened tea one could drink:

And that was it for highlights, as the rest of the afternoon was spent on I-40, slowly but steadily getting closer to the west coast as we left Arkansas and entered Oklahoma. It wasn't for lack of trying; rather, it was because there wasn't anything of interest along the route. Well, almost nothing. Late in the afternoon we drove by a sign for the "National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague", which to my tired eyes initially registered as the "National Shrine of the Instant Jesus of Prague". I asked my daughter to look it up on Google as we approached the exit, but the curse of Monday struck again as it was past closing time. That didn't stop Amber from delving deep into the website, which gives off some seriously cultish vibes. 

"The more you honor me, the more I will bless you." We now find ourselves resting for the night at a hotel close to Tinker Air Force Base in the Oklahoma City suburbs. For dinner we went to the Black Bear Diner, a family-friendly (read: no beer on the menu) establishment, where Huckleberry lemonade substituted for the golden ale:

Our daughter didn't mind the huckleberry milk shake:

It was another all-American meal - Amber had pot roast, Shu-E ordered grilled salmon and I dug into the Santa Maria Tri-Tip:

In a futile attempt to burn off some of the accrued calories, we took a walk around the hotel, the highlight of which was passing this family dental clinic made to look like an old railway station:

Tomorrow morning we'll be venturing into Oklahoma City before heeding Horace Greeley's advice and heading west again. Will we reach Texas, or even New Mexico, before the sun goes down? Tune in next time...