2018 Aug 6-8, Metro Streetcar Ride in Little Rock, Arkansas (3 days)

Hubby and I had an enjoyable visit to Little Rock, Arkansas
The people were friendly, and the food was good.
We stayed two nights at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock, which included breakfast.
Our room was on the ground floor, offering a good view of downtown and the Arkansas River bridges. 

The day after we checked in, we rode to the downtown area to find a place to have lunch. David's Burger was closing for the day, so we walked down the block to Big Whiskey's.

Big Whiskey's, where I enjoyed a plate of Hot wings

We walked around downtown, stopping at the Arkansas Studies Institute, where we spoke with the curator.
The building had a vault that, in its heyday, was used to store spices.
Our next stop was the Arkansas Historical Museum, where we saw a collection of Bowie knives, a children's gallery, and contemporary art.
The Pioneer Village had closed up shop for the day.

Bowie Knives

We stopped at General McArthur's Park, where we saw several war markers.
The museum was closed.
We rode behind the museum, where we saw several families of ducklings.

Duckings

We rode to the Arkansas Capitol Grounds, where we saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Purple Heart recipients' plaques, a Civil War memorial, and the Firefighters Memorial.
It was getting late as the sun slowly drifted out of sight.
I don't think I could walk another step after all the sightseeing.
We stopped at Wendy's for a quick bite and retired for the day.

Little Rock's Capitol Building 

On the first day, we drove everywhere, and parking cost $1.50 for one hour. To avoid this, we purchased a Metro Streetcar pass for $2.00 each, which allowed us to ride the Metro Streetcar all day. (We bought the tickets at the Historic Arkansas Museum.)

To catch the Streetcar, we had to walk a couple of blocks.  
The drivers were knowledgeable about the area, and the Metro Streetcar was air-conditioned and ran every 20 minutes.

Metro Streetcar

Our first stop was the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, where we saw his 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine, a life-size replica of the Oval Office, and the Cabinet Room as they appeared during Clinton's tenure. 

Oval Office

We stopped outside the Clinton School of Public Service to take a few pictures, and then we walked to the nearby Heifer International Building. 

We were greeted at the door by a curator at the Heifner building.
The curator provided us with a brief description of the Heifer Company and its origins, which began with just a cup of milk.
At the Heifer International village and farm, we visited their vegetable garden and saw the farm animals. 
At Cafe Heifer, we ordered oatmeal raisins,  macadamia cookies, and water.
We saw several turtles in the wetlands, and the gardeners were pulling up plants that had stopped bearing vegetables. 

Heifer Garden 

We took the Metro Streetcar to the 1836 Old State House Museum, which is free to visit. The museum features three levels of artifacts, including hand-stitched African quilts and American Indian relics. 

Old State House

We took the Metro Streetcar to the River Market District, got off, and walked to David's Burgers, where we enjoyed a dressed hamburger and all the fries you can eat for lunch. (They are only open for lunch).

River Market 

Just a few blocks away was the Museum of Discovery, where we explored the physics and chemistry of the natural phenomenon that was Little Rock's 1999 twister in Tornado Alley.

Little Rock, 1999, Twister in Tornado Alley.

On the Streetcar, we met an older man who was treating four of his eleven grandchildren to a ride.
It was extremely hot, so it was nice to hop on a cool Metro Streetcar instead of a hot car.
Storms were brewing throughout Arkansas in the late evening, and we even received some rain. 

Storm Clouds over the Arkansas River 

Woke to thunder and rain this morning.
I hope we miss the bad weather on the way home.

2012~ January 16-18, Tunica, Corinth, MS & Helena, Arkansas

Day 1:  Monday, January 16, 2011

For breakfast, I cooked ham and eggs. 

We went to St. Joe to buy our weekly lottery tickets. 

We are on our way to Tunica, MS., for three days of fun.

Our first stop was at McDonald's in Corinth, MS, to use the restroom. Our next stop was at the Welcome Center on S. Tate Rd, MS.

We went inside and met three nice women working there. They said I could take pictures inside the Welcome Center, which was full of Civil War Memorabilia.

They gave us some information about Mississippi. We thanked them and were on our way once again.

We stopped at Murphy Gas 5970 Goodman RD.,  Olive, MS, where we spent $49.00, a pump 9, for unplus gas at $3.319 per Gallon for 14.762 gallons. 

We rode through Olive Branch, Lake Horn, and South Hampton, stopping in Tunica, MS.

We stopped at the Welcome Center, "Gateway to the Blues" in Tunica, MS. It was over 100 years old; it was a train depot that they had moved to Tunica along with some of the old train tracks.

Train Tracks

Welcome Center "Gateway to the Blues"

This will be the Starting point of Blues Park, which is set to open this spring, featuring many blues entertainers performing there.

I took pictures of several different types of guitars hanging from the walls of the Welcome Center. Some were signed by Blues entertainers. 

Guitar list is below:

• Jimmy Rogers had a Gibson E-S-345 (1966)

• Albert Collins had a Fender Telecaster (1983) 

• Stella was a12-stringg (the 1960s)

• Key-Value Leader was (the 1960s)

• Kay Archtop was (the 1960s)

• Hand-painted guitar case was (the 1960s)

• Harmony Archtop (the 1960s) signed by John Lee Hooker

Harmony Archtop (the 1960s) signed by John Lee Hooker

• National Trojan Resonator (1932) signed by Bonnie Reitt

• Key flattop was (the 1950s)

• Harmony H-54 Rocket (1968) signed by Muddy Waters

• Kay Kraft Model N was (the 1930s)

• Kent flattop was (the 1950s)

• Orpheum Archtop was (the 1930s)

• Fender Stratocaster (1984) signed by Ike Turner

• Gibson Trine Lopez was (1965)

Gibson Trine Lopez was (1965)

We picked up some brochures on the Blues Trail at Tunica Welcome Center and thanked the lovely woman. Outside, I took pictures of the Welcome Center and the Blues Marker "Highway 61."

Our next stop was at Fitz's Casino Restaurant in Tunica, where I purchased two prime rib buffet dinners for seven dollars each.

 Fitz's Casino Restaurant & Casino  

We each had to sign up for a Key Rewards card before we could purchase a meal; our numbers were 001624571 and 001624573.

We both ordered prime ribs, but didn't care for the bloody meat.

I piled my plate with shrimp, onion rings, stir-fried green beans, a sweet roll, and a cream cheese roll from the Chinese area of the buffet. For dessert, I ate a slice of carrot cake. We both ate way too much food.

After dinner, we rode to Tunica Roadhouse Hotel to check into room 117. We unloaded luggage, rested, watched some TV, and then went next door to play the slot machines.

Tunica Roadhouse Hotel

We tried the twenty-cent machine with no luck. Then, we played the one-cent machines and won fifteen dollars on the fire truck one-cent slot machine. After cashing out, we went next door to Gold Strike.

We had to get a membership. As a new member, I was given fifteen dollars to play with.

I walked to the one-cent machine and won thirteen dollars on the Magic Slot Machine.

We walked to our room, Hubby took a shower because he said his clothes smelled like smoke.

Day 2: Tuesday, January 17, 2011

We both took a shower, dressed, loaded into the van, and started looking for somewhere to eat breakfast.

We stopped at McDonald's on 1375 Hwy 6 n, Tunica, MS. A big breakfast costs $6.59. 

We rode south down Highway 61in the wind and rain to Helena, Arkansas. We drove right out of the rain into the sunshine. It was a beautiful day, reaching up to 68 degrees.

We stopped at the Mississippi Welcome Center just before crossing the bridge into Helena, Arkansas. 

We rode down to the Mississippi River to see the Isle of Capri Casino.

We crossed the Mississippi River into Arkansas and stopped to take a picture of the Historic marker of Helena, Arkansas.

We stopped at the Delta Cultural Center Museum located on 141 Cherry St in Helena. Bill Branc, the curator, said we could take pictures inside the museum.

We were told to come back at 12:15 to listen to Son"y "Sunshine" Payne broadcast over the radio KFFA 1360 A.M.

King Biscuit Time

Sonny "Sunshine" Payne broadcast over the radio KFFA 1360 A.M.

I am at KFFA Radio Station for an interview.

We walked outside, where I took pictures of the Blues Trail Marker and the cemented handprints in the ground, which included names such as Jack Johnson, Rufus Thomas, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Pinetop Perkins, Sam Myers, Sunshine Sonny Payne, Lennie Shields, and others.  

We walked toward the Train Museum and the Levee Walk, where I took pictures, and then we went inside the Train Museum.

Train Depot Museum

In the Train Museum, the first floor featured a history of Arkansas and a movie about the great flood of Helena. Upstairs, there were artifacts about the Civil War in Helena. 

We walked back to the Delta Cultural Center to listen to Sonny Payne. 

I bought myself some Blues Eye sunglasses with guitars on either side, and they lit up.

Blue eye sunglasses 

My granddaughter, Sierra, called to say she was sick in the health room at school and couldn't reach her mother on the cell phone.

She wanted to know where we were. I said we were in Arkansas and that we could not come to get her. 

KFFA radio broadcast for the last thirty minutes, playing Blues music since the early '40s.

Mr. Payne has been with the show since the 1950s.

During Mr. Payne's show, he announced he had two visitors from Alabama. 

He asked, "Where in Alabama are you from?" and I replied, "The northwest corner of Alabama." 

We asked several other questions, then Mr. Payne went back to playing his music. 

We had our picture taken with Sonny Payne, dropped a couple of dollars in the donation box, and thanked Mr. Payne and the museum curator.

We rode down Cherry Street to the historic courthouse. I took pictures of the courthouse markers, war markers, several churches, and other historic markers.

Cherry Street, Helena, Arkansas

We drove to Maple Hill Cemetery to take pictures of the  Civil War Markers at Civil War Hill, which was located on a hill overlooking the river.

We stopped at a Jewish church that was being restored. I was invited inside and asked if I could take some pictures, and they said yes.

We rode down to the Mississippi levee walk, where I took several pictures.

It was getting way past lunchtime, so we left Helena and stopped at the Arkansas Welcome Center, where we asked if there were any good places to eat nearby. The woman recommended the Ground Zero Blues Club at 352 Delta Avenue, Clarksdale, MS 38614-4213, (662) 621-9009, but it was closed. 

We ate at Western Sizzlin'., I ordered a sirloin steak, baked potato, and a salad.

Hubby ordered a 16-ounce rib eye, a salad, a baked potato, and dessert; we spent $33.12. 

On the way back to the hotel, I took pictures of  Yazoo Pass, Hernando De Soto Bridge, WROX Radio, and Hunts Mill.

We stopped in the historic town of Tunic, where I took pictures of the arm marker and the Ames Cotton Blues marker.

I took several pictures of thousands of birds flying, landing in trees in the park andthe surrounding area. 

When we arrived at the hotel, we purchased some snacks and took them to our room.

It had been a very long day, so we both took a shower and went to bed.

We were rudely awakened by a fire alarm at 1:00 A.M. 

We left the room, but it was a false alarm. 

Everyone went back to their rooms. It was hard to go to sleep knowing that it could be another alarm. 

We had everything packed and ready to go just in case.

Day 3: Wednesday, January 18, 2011

We showered, dressed, checked out, and rode to Cracker Barrel in Horn. At the lake, I ordered one egg, bacon, and toast. 

Hubby ordered three pancakes, eggs, bacon, and biscuits; we spent  $17.50. 

We stopped at Murphy Gas in Horn Lake, where we spent $40.00 on Unplus pump 8, with a gas price of $3.249 for 12.31 gallons of gas. 

We paid $9.00 to wash the van and seventy-five cents to vacuum it.

We stopped in Corinth, MS., at the Interpretive Center, Civil War Trail, Crossroads Museum, and the C. A. R. E.  Honor Garden.

America goes to war with itself.

Cannons at the Interpretive Center

the Interpretive Center

the Interpretive Center

We bought Three Musketeers and Mt. Dew at a gas station in Corinth, MS. 

We stopped in Iuka, MS, where I took pictures of the Battle of Iuka, 11 Ohio Battery, Front St, Episcopal Church, Methodist Church, Old Tishomingo County Courthouse, Twin Magnolias, World-Famous Mineral Springs Park, Iuka, and War Markers. 

Episcopal Church in Iuka, MS

Twin Magnolias World Famous Mineral Springs Park

Old Tishomingo County Courthouse

We stopped at Foodland in Killen to buy Shrimp, Crab legs, and milk. 

When we arrived home, the slide-out on our RV would not work. We noticed the refrigerator was not cooling, and the heater was not working.

Hubby pulls out his electrical tools to repair the slide-out, the refrigerator, and the heater.

He drew up some plans to make the slide-out and refrigerator work, but now the hot water is not working. 

The next day, we had no hot water and had to take a shower at his sister's.

Hubby had to go to work the next day and when he came home he worked on the hot water heater, he said a wire was loose. 

He said he did not have time to fix the wiring, it would have to wait until his off day.

Every time we go on a trip and come back home, something is broken. Afterr a whil,e there would be nothing left to fix.

Two hundred twenty-three dollars and twenty-one cents was the total cost of our trip to Tunica, MS.

• Spent $82.50a at  Tunica Roadhouse for two nights

• Gas $40.00 Horn Lake Murphy Gas

• Gas $49.00 Olive Branch, MS., Gas

• Food $17.50 Cracker Barrel Horn Lake, MS

• Food $33.12 Western Sizzlin in Clarksdale, MS

• Food $18.50 Fitz's Casino and Restaurant Tunic, an MS

• Food $6.5McDonald'sds Tunica, MS

• Other $9.00 Car Wash 

• Museum $6.00 Corinth MS

• Museum $4.00 Hel,ena MS

• Snack $10.00 Tunica Roadhouse Hotel Vending Machines

• Snacks $6.00 Corinth, MS., Shell Gas Station

• Total  $223.20 

• Spen, ling won 1,5, broke even

• Spent 15 of hotel money, won 13, so 13 to the good.

• Playeone-centnt machines