"Day Trippers, yeah!" Part I.

                    Today, I am writing Chapter I, of my Mid-America Summertime Adventures. 

Last week, we had a Day Trip (from dawn to dusk), to our neighboring state of Arkansas. 

Our mode of transportation was the super reliable, but slightly stubborn EV. I call her Tess, and she can drive us anywhere, with only an occasional complaint from her humans passengers. Usually, our conversation goes like this....."I didn't want to go this way. Why is she taking us this way? How can this be the best route? This car is so stupid." Later, we almost always discover that there is a big back-up on our preferred route, due to lane closure or a detour. Tess has actually saved us frustration and time, as a result of her "self-driving" navigation.

But, back to the Day Trippers. Tess took us from Stilwell, Kansas, to Joplin, Missouri (Tess needed a re-charge) and then down to Bentonville, Arkansas. Bentonville turned out to be a charming little town, that seems to be booming economically. 

Our first stop, basically the reason for the trip, was Crystal Bridges Art Museum. Even though it was the middle of the week, it was packed and parking was difficult. Thankfully a shuttle was provided from the parking lots to the museum entrance. The architecture of the facility is quite stunning and the grounds (woods, paths, sculptures and water features) are worth seeing. The museum features American Art, mostly 20th century items.

Then, Tess drove us to downtown Bentonville. Lunch was a stop at the Flying Fish Cafe. Or maybe it was the "Frying Fish" Cafe. Fried fish fillets, fried hushpuppies, french fries. Yummy and greasy!!! Our next stop was right on the square in Bentonville. Lots of quaint shops and stores. It's also home to the WalMart Museum. We enjoyed looking at the artifacts of a young Sam Walton's empire, the old advertisements and some intriguing plans for the future. An amazing man with a dream. American entrepreneurial spirit at it's best.

We turned Tess off, and drove our "own" route home. We chose to drive over some familiar two-lane highways and visited some old childhood haunts. After all, living a long time, allows for storage of many memories, and it's fun to revisit them. However, I am eternally thankful that current memories can be made, every day.

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Dear Lord, Thank you for our many blessings. Thank you for the opportunity to create new memories.