Hot Springs, Arkansas part I

I didn't have a lot of criteria for selecting our summer vacation: I didn't want to drive more than 12 hours to get there and we needed an on-site playground and pool. So we headed down to Hot Springs, AR for a week. Dennis had never even heard of it, and maybe I was confusing it with Palm Springs, I don't know. Anyway, it turned out just great. We found a lot of neat things to do and learned some things about American culture too. Here' s a picture in our condo overlooking Lake Hamilton. The kids loved watching river boats, jet skiers, fishermen, and water skiers go by all day long, and pointed out each and every one to us.


On Sunday we checked out the Fordyce Bath House, which is fully restored to its early 1900's condition. It was really weird to imagine people just coming to this place to take a bath! But the springs here are credited with healing all sorts of problems, and you would get a massage after the bath too. You can actually still get a full bath treatment at several upscale hotels/resorts for about $60. Here Jack checks out the men's changing room, which is WAY nicer than the women's! The women didn't even get half the space of the men, and didn't get any neat statues either. Hmm.


This was strange, it looks like washing machines but they're really a steam bath enclosure that you sit in with your head poking out. The Fordyce had a lot of weird contraptions that were supposed to restore good health. After soaking and a massage, patrons would go sit on the sun deck and catch some rays. There were also nap rooms if you got too tired from your bath and sun sessions. Then, they could head to the top floor to hang out in the parlor. It would be a full day experience. Who has this kind of time?


I think the best part of the trip was just enjoying the beautiful surroundings. Here is the Grand Promenade, a nicely paved walkway that is just one block off of downtown Hot Springs. The waterfall ends up in a hot spring pool, which is 143 degrees. There are a couple fountains around the city where people come to fill up water and milk jugs for free. When we were there, one couple came with two laundry baskets full of empty milk jugs. They come about once a month to get their drinking water and very kindly gave us a filled jug so we could try it ourselves. Actually, everyone in Arkansas was nice to us.