Eureka Springs Arkansas April 2010
My name is Scrat and I am a saber-toothed squirrel with the reputation for being obsessed with acorns. But as you will see from my recent trip to Eureka Springs. I have expanded my horizons and I kinda like wine and chocolate now too. Pistachios are... but well I digress, back to our trip.
I recently accompanied the Great Eight on their journey to the Rosewood Cottages in Eureka Springs. This was not my first trip to Arkansas so I was able to serve as a tour guide. I got to ride down there perched on the dash of the car, which was pretty cool except I was facing backwards and got a little dizzy sometimes.
I went with Tyna, Kari, Sharon and Carol. They left at 7 AM, knowing the rest of the group would be leaving in the early afternoon.
Of course, that group didn't even make it past Sullivan before stopping for an all you can eat breakfast buffet at the Country Cafe. I knew right then we were in for a lot of eating all weekend. The rest of the drive was a breeze and before we knew it, we were whizzing by Table Rock lake, navigating the twisty turny Arkansas roads and arriving in Eureka Spring.
Well you can guess what they wanted to do next. They took me along and pretty soon, we were eating lunch and I had my first photo shoot. I think I was posted on Facebook, drinking white wine and eating fish tacos. The shopping started there and I think Tyna busted her budget at the China store. It was a pretty cool place.
Just as the group was walking up the streeet, Sharon saw a familiar gait that she knew belonged to a very dear friend that she had know for many years. Sure enough, it was Sheri Ewing who was in town with her long-time partner Sue. What a small world.
My girls made a quick run to the grocery store for more shopping. Kari very wisely planned to make a breakfast casserole so no one had to rush out on Saturday morning for breakfast.
Once we had the entire Great 8 together, the fun really started. Everyone settled in and right away you could tell that this group was NOT going to run out of wine. And as usual, it was not long before they started making plans for dinner at Bubba’s. I was able to go to all the meals and had my photo taken with the menu and in most cases the waitress. I had a blast at Bubba’s. Everyone raved about the BBQ. Cindy loved her sausage appetizer and Sharon was crazy about the potato salad.
Saturday was all about shopping and the whole gang wandered through the streets of the town. Money was spent and fun was had by all. The kitchen store was the highlight for everyone. For a group that likes to eat so much, no big surprise to me. Sharon bought a little mini strainer just like Kari’s and she just realized it is still in Kari’s purse. Kari found some beautiful rainbow glass. But the great bargain of the day was the library sale that Tyna led everyone to find. They all walked out with bags of books for $1 a bag.
Lunch was at the Basin Hotel balcony. The couples didn’t eat together but instead mixed it up as the balcony was a series of tables for two. Carol lunched with Tyna. They had the black and blue burger and Tex Mex eggrolls. Donna and Kari shared their salad meals. Carolyn and Cindy had pulled pork and a Reuben. Betty and Sharon ate their Monte Cristo’s together as well.
We went back to Rosewood to meet Sharon ’s friend Sheri for cocktails. She had a little time to spend and meet everyone, including me before taking Sue to dinner for her birthday. Everyone had enough leftovers, and snacks, so staying in for the evening sounded like fun. We played table topics and watched the end of the Cardinal baseball game. The Cardinals lost in the 20th inning.
Sunday, they all went to breakfast at the Smokehouse. Then they took me to Blue Springs . What a beautiful place and relaxing too. From there, they stopped at the crystal chapel where Kari got sushed, and then back to town for the one major photo op that I missed. They all dressed up in Roaring 20's clothing. Cindy and Kari dressed in the flapper attire and the rest dressed up as gangsters. They took these great photo shots and then at the end, everyone realized I had been forgotten. So I hear that I will be photo-shopped in at some point.
Sunday dinner was at Ermilio's, a few blocks away from the cottages. Everyone had wonderfully rich Italian food and good wine and it was just what the Great Eight needed to end their stay. I had butter.
We all had breakfast at a fun crazy destination, Pancakes Family Restaurant on the main highway, serving Eureka Springs since 1979. We did a little more shopping at the antique store across the road and it was time to hit the road. I perched back on the dash and rode comfortably back to Neosho.
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The following is the Great 8 story chain, started by Cindy and ended by Sharon. Can you guess who wrote all the in-between vignettes?
In order to explore her inner world, Connie decided to try life without coffee for one weekend. The only problem was she choose a time frame when she would be with a group of women who love to drink. Friday morning approached and Connie stopped using the dark liquid with the thought "It can't be that bad."
Connie drove by the little corner coffee shop that she always stops at in the morning. She did have a fledging want that quickly passed. “Hmm. That really wasn’t that difficult.” She avoided the kitchen at work, knowing that the smell of the ground coffee beans that where brewing could be too much to bear. She didn’t have to time to think about giving up coffee as the hours ticked by, as she was leaving work early, to embark on the adventure of the weekend. All pressing matters taken care of and her desk clear for the weekend. She barely noticed that she hadn’t had a cup of Joe.
Connie made it through Friday morning without her favorite friend joe. The day went on without another thought of little joe. Keeping busy helped pass the time. Before Connie knew it, she was packed and ready for the road trip to a relaxing destination. That feeling soon left her as she pulled into the driveway of the Bed and Breakfast. She didn't know the place was famous for their home roasted beans of gold.
As she readied herself on that fateful Friday morning, the desire for joe was overwhelming her. To take her mind off of her intense craving, she began daydreaming. "What can I do to satisfy this yearning," she thought. "The weekend will be beautiful, the people I will be with are awesome, if I can make it through this day, everything will turn out right." Then her dark side began to take over her thoughts. Can she control it? Will she make it through the day?
The pounding in her head had reached a cresendo. She told herself she must be strong as she fought to open the bottle of aspirin cussing and shrieking at the perverted mind that invented childproof lids. As she crossed the lobby of the B&B approaching the meeting place she and her friends had decided upon, the heady scent of fresh coffee beans roasting was too much. She became light headed and broke out into a sweat and soon was swooning onto an antique chase lounge. She awoke to a flurry of activity around her. Would she give in to her body's desire? Would she accept the coffee they were offering her?
well connie better drink the dam coffee,after all it was imported from wal-mart of st. louis to eurkea springs ark. i dont care if she has head acke, but ack, or a hot flash. i may ease up on the attitude,if the bitch drinks wine or beer!
After her head ache turned hot flash resulted in a severe butt ache, Connie decided her best friends' ire was more than she could handle. So she switched her attention from joe to wynona the wine merchant. Good choice she thought, after all wine with a good woman beats joe any day. Her only concern was ensuring there was enough wynona to share. Joe or wynona -- would we all make the same choice? I THINK SO! The weekend will be one that Connie will remember. Good or not so good it will be memorable.
Connie turned to see a sleeping Wynona. She had to ask herself just a few questions before Wynona woke up. Could she now have that cup of coffee? Did she have a future with Wynona? And would a love affair with a wine merchant lead her to replace coffee with wine...?
I recently accompanied the Great Eight on their journey to the Rosewood Cottages in Eureka Springs. This was not my first trip to Arkansas so I was able to serve as a tour guide. I got to ride down there perched on the dash of the car, which was pretty cool except I was facing backwards and got a little dizzy sometimes.
I went with Tyna, Kari, Sharon and Carol. They left at 7 AM, knowing the rest of the group would be leaving in the early afternoon.
Of course, that group didn't even make it past Sullivan before stopping for an all you can eat breakfast buffet at the Country Cafe. I knew right then we were in for a lot of eating all weekend. The rest of the drive was a breeze and before we knew it, we were whizzing by Table Rock lake, navigating the twisty turny Arkansas roads and arriving in Eureka Spring.
Well you can guess what they wanted to do next. They took me along and pretty soon, we were eating lunch and I had my first photo shoot. I think I was posted on Facebook, drinking white wine and eating fish tacos. The shopping started there and I think Tyna busted her budget at the China store. It was a pretty cool place.
Just as the group was walking up the streeet, Sharon saw a familiar gait that she knew belonged to a very dear friend that she had know for many years. Sure enough, it was Sheri Ewing who was in town with her long-time partner Sue. What a small world.
My girls made a quick run to the grocery store for more shopping. Kari very wisely planned to make a breakfast casserole so no one had to rush out on Saturday morning for breakfast.
Once we had the entire Great 8 together, the fun really started. Everyone settled in and right away you could tell that this group was NOT going to run out of wine. And as usual, it was not long before they started making plans for dinner at Bubba’s. I was able to go to all the meals and had my photo taken with the menu and in most cases the waitress. I had a blast at Bubba’s. Everyone raved about the BBQ. Cindy loved her sausage appetizer and Sharon was crazy about the potato salad.
Saturday was all about shopping and the whole gang wandered through the streets of the town. Money was spent and fun was had by all. The kitchen store was the highlight for everyone. For a group that likes to eat so much, no big surprise to me. Sharon bought a little mini strainer just like Kari’s and she just realized it is still in Kari’s purse. Kari found some beautiful rainbow glass. But the great bargain of the day was the library sale that Tyna led everyone to find. They all walked out with bags of books for $1 a bag.
Lunch was at the Basin Hotel balcony. The couples didn’t eat together but instead mixed it up as the balcony was a series of tables for two. Carol lunched with Tyna. They had the black and blue burger and Tex Mex eggrolls. Donna and Kari shared their salad meals. Carolyn and Cindy had pulled pork and a Reuben. Betty and Sharon ate their Monte Cristo’s together as well.
We went back to Rosewood to meet Sharon ’s friend Sheri for cocktails. She had a little time to spend and meet everyone, including me before taking Sue to dinner for her birthday. Everyone had enough leftovers, and snacks, so staying in for the evening sounded like fun. We played table topics and watched the end of the Cardinal baseball game. The Cardinals lost in the 20th inning.
Sunday, they all went to breakfast at the Smokehouse. Then they took me to Blue Springs . What a beautiful place and relaxing too. From there, they stopped at the crystal chapel where Kari got sushed, and then back to town for the one major photo op that I missed. They all dressed up in Roaring 20's clothing. Cindy and Kari dressed in the flapper attire and the rest dressed up as gangsters. They took these great photo shots and then at the end, everyone realized I had been forgotten. So I hear that I will be photo-shopped in at some point.
Sunday dinner was at Ermilio's, a few blocks away from the cottages. Everyone had wonderfully rich Italian food and good wine and it was just what the Great Eight needed to end their stay. I had butter.
We all had breakfast at a fun crazy destination, Pancakes Family Restaurant on the main highway, serving Eureka Springs since 1979. We did a little more shopping at the antique store across the road and it was time to hit the road. I perched back on the dash and rode comfortably back to Neosho.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is the Great 8 story chain, started by Cindy and ended by Sharon. Can you guess who wrote all the in-between vignettes?
In order to explore her inner world, Connie decided to try life without coffee for one weekend. The only problem was she choose a time frame when she would be with a group of women who love to drink. Friday morning approached and Connie stopped using the dark liquid with the thought "It can't be that bad."
Connie drove by the little corner coffee shop that she always stops at in the morning. She did have a fledging want that quickly passed. “Hmm. That really wasn’t that difficult.” She avoided the kitchen at work, knowing that the smell of the ground coffee beans that where brewing could be too much to bear. She didn’t have to time to think about giving up coffee as the hours ticked by, as she was leaving work early, to embark on the adventure of the weekend. All pressing matters taken care of and her desk clear for the weekend. She barely noticed that she hadn’t had a cup of Joe.
Connie made it through Friday morning without her favorite friend joe. The day went on without another thought of little joe. Keeping busy helped pass the time. Before Connie knew it, she was packed and ready for the road trip to a relaxing destination. That feeling soon left her as she pulled into the driveway of the Bed and Breakfast. She didn't know the place was famous for their home roasted beans of gold.
As she readied herself on that fateful Friday morning, the desire for joe was overwhelming her. To take her mind off of her intense craving, she began daydreaming. "What can I do to satisfy this yearning," she thought. "The weekend will be beautiful, the people I will be with are awesome, if I can make it through this day, everything will turn out right." Then her dark side began to take over her thoughts. Can she control it? Will she make it through the day?
The pounding in her head had reached a cresendo. She told herself she must be strong as she fought to open the bottle of aspirin cussing and shrieking at the perverted mind that invented childproof lids. As she crossed the lobby of the B&B approaching the meeting place she and her friends had decided upon, the heady scent of fresh coffee beans roasting was too much. She became light headed and broke out into a sweat and soon was swooning onto an antique chase lounge. She awoke to a flurry of activity around her. Would she give in to her body's desire? Would she accept the coffee they were offering her?
well connie better drink the dam coffee,after all it was imported from wal-mart of st. louis to eurkea springs ark. i dont care if she has head acke, but ack, or a hot flash. i may ease up on the attitude,if the bitch drinks wine or beer!
After her head ache turned hot flash resulted in a severe butt ache, Connie decided her best friends' ire was more than she could handle. So she switched her attention from joe to wynona the wine merchant. Good choice she thought, after all wine with a good woman beats joe any day. Her only concern was ensuring there was enough wynona to share. Joe or wynona -- would we all make the same choice? I THINK SO! The weekend will be one that Connie will remember. Good or not so good it will be memorable.
Connie turned to see a sleeping Wynona. She had to ask herself just a few questions before Wynona woke up. Could she now have that cup of coffee? Did she have a future with Wynona? And would a love affair with a wine merchant lead her to replace coffee with wine...?
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