I had been ill and was not sure I would be able to make this trip but was given the okay by my Doctor that I could go the day before we were supposed to head out. Because I couldn’t do much my daughter Hana and her friend Riley helped get the motor home packed up for our trip. I was able to just sit back and watch. We had planned this as a family Thanksgiving trip with my two daughters, my son-in-law and grandchildren so I was glad I was able to go.
On the morning of November 24th we got ready to head out for Hot Springs, Arkansas. My daughter Sara’s husband had to work that day so she and the kids rode went up with us and her husband Edwin will come up tomorrow. We were hoping to leave by 10 am but we weren’t able to head out until closer to 11 am. We had so many thing get in the way of leaving. Frank had planned to bring our car as a tow vehicle but when he went to hook up the car he found that the drop down he had bought was to low so we weren’t able to tow it. But we really wanted to have the car to get around in Hot Springs so Sara and Hana agreed to follow us and drive our car up. Sara had forgotten something at her house and had to go back for it but finally we were able to head out. Daniel and Claire road in the RV with us and we broke our trip into about 2 to 2 ½ hour legs. We stopped at a Wal-Mart in Nacogdoches and had lunch. Sara and Hana did a bit of shopping before we hit the road again. We stopped a second time Texarkana to get a picture at the state line. We walked around a bit and found a Burger King nearby where we had dinner. Then we headed on to the campground. The Fall colors were beautiful until it got too dark to see. The last of the drive was very dark and curvy and a bit nerve-wracking. We didn’t get into the campground until around 8 pm. We had to wander up and around to find our campsite. I sure prefer to get in before dark. We are staying at The Hot Springs National Park KOA. We got hooked up and settled the kids in for the night. It is a little cool so glad we have the heater.
Thanksgiving Day. It is really beautiful here and the colors are amazing. It was cool (in the high 30’s outside) when we got up this morning so we turned on the fireplace and it did and amazing job of warming up the RV. The kids couldn’t wait to go exploring so took them out and let them watch some ducks waddling around. Daniel thought we should be duck hunting. It rained a bit this morning but by afternoon the weather was beautiful but cool. I really think we are going to love our RV life. Edwin got in early this afternoon and got their campsite set up. I made us all some stuffed baked potatoes for lunch. We hung out around our campsite and the kids rode their bikes. Then it was time to make Thanksgiving dinner in the motor home. Cooking went fine with the oven, the convection microwave and our air fryer. Edwin had brought up some turkey he had smoked. I made green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, rolls and cranberry for dinner. Sara had brought a pumpkin pie and made an apple pie for dessert. The only thing we had forgotten to bring was stuffing. Frank did the dishes while the rest of us where relaxing. Then Edwin, Sara and family headed to their RV for the night and we settled down in our warm RV.
The next day we got up early and headed into Hot Springs. We were sure glad we had brought our car up as the downtown was packed with people and there was no place that we could have parked the RV. We managed to get to town just in time to hop on the first Trolley tour of the morning. It took us around town and up into the mountain, the guide was great and he explained a lot of the history of the town and what we were seeing. The views and Fall colors as we headed up the mountain was incredible. At the end of the Trolley tour we each were able to fill a bottle with spring water to take home. We grabbed some lunch at a Mexican restaurant and wandered around a bit trying to find a few of the places mentioned on the tour. Then Sara, Edwin, Hana and the kids decided that they wanted to do more explored around downtown. I was worn out from all the walking we had done already so Frank and I decided to drive up to the Watchtower outside of town and we were able to go up and see the views of the area from there. Then we went back to the RV to rest. We had dinner ready when everyone got back. Then tonight we had a fire and made s’mores. Another really cold evening. I am so glad that the RV manages to stay so warm inside.
Saturday in Hot Springs and the town was even more packed than yesterday. We got up early and headed into town in hopes that we would get to enjoy the Hot Springs in one of the bathhouses. But when we got there we found people were waiting outside of the bathhouses before dawn, so there were no spots left for the day. Instead we toured the original old-fashion bath house that the National Park maintains for tours. It was interesting but really wished we could have gotten in some of the Hot Springs water and soaked. We grabbed lunch downtown and then we drove out to Garvin Woodlands Gardens. It is the botanical gardens of the University of Arkansas. Beside beautiful grounds there were saw amazing wood buildings including the beautiful chapel in the woods. We were lucky we got to go inside the chapel and enjoy the beautiful, shortly after we came out they had closed it down to the public for a wedding. We explored quite a bit until Frank and I were tired and then we headed back to the campground while Edwin, Sara, Hana and the kids did more exploring and saw even more amazing things. Tonight BBQ’d for dinner. It has gotten pretty cool this evening so cuddling up with blankets and the heater and electric fireplace going. Tomorrow is our last day as we head home. It was a really fun trip. Glad we got to take it.
Sunday we got up, packed up and headed out of the campground at about 9:30 a.m. Sara and Hana are driving our car back home and we are driving the RV. We went a bit out of our way so we could stop at the Crater of Diamonds State park. The kids were excited to get to dig for diamonds. We rented some mining equipment and watched them dig for a while. They found all sorts of pretty stones but no diamonds. Then we ate lunch there before hitting the road for home. We stopped and had dinner at another Burger King in Carthage, Texas. We split up then and Daniel rode with his dad and Claire with Hana and Sara and it was just Frank and I in the Rv. We got home about 8:30 pm and we are exhausted so unpacking and cleaning the RV will wait for tomorrow.
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