I still had two days of days off left at work for the year, so I decided to take a small trip to Bella Vista, Arkansas where my parents lived for several years. I left Friday morning at 8:00 A.M. I made sure I had set up a late enough time with the property manager of the house I rented to allow a leisurely drive.
On the way here I stopped at a quilt shop in McAlester, OK and an Amish store in another town that was not what I would consider a true Amish store. I grew up in far north Dayton, OH and there was an Amish and Mennonite community not far from us. I have been to real Amish stores. After a stop at Chili's in Muskogee, OK, and the tourist center in AR it was straight in to meet the property manager in the parking lot of the Golden Corral in Rogers, AR for the key to the house, and then on to the POA in Bella Vista for my guest card that would allow me to fish and use the amenities.
As I was driving out to the house I was enthralled with the fall colors. It has been so long since I have seen true fall colors. The drought is obvious, and the leaves look very dry, but there is still intense reds, yellows and oranges every where you look.
The house is beautiful. I think it was decorated with me in mind. There are several green walls in the living spaces, and green and cream wall paper in the kitchen. My bath has green throw rugs. It is very soothing and there are beautiful views of the lake from all the rear windows. Here is the view from my bedroom when I arrived.
After unpacking the van, it was a trip back into town to pick up groceries. I missed a turn and ended up having quite a tour of Bentonville, but I finally made it to the Walmart. I needed to go there because I wanted to pick up my fishing license and some bait. I was fascinated that they had containers of "Baby Crawlers." Those were new to me. I am used to having to tear my night crawlers to the size I want when fishing. I tried to make sensible food choices while I shopped, fresh fruit, bagels, cereal, some light soup, eggs, Chex Mix, granola bars (for hiking), whole grain crackers, etc. I had to laugh though when I was checking out. The cashier was reading everything I bought and on somethings looking at the ingredients. She commented on how healthy everything looked. I was beginning to think I would be there all night if she did that with every purchase. I did get checked out though, and headed back to the house.
A dinner of soup, pimento cheese and crackers was followed by an early bedtime. Once in bed I called one of my friend to tell her I was safe, and then later a friend called me. It was nice to have that connection and the laughs.
The daytime temperatures had been very warm, but as it continued to get later and the temperatures dropped I became aware that the house felt cold and my feet were freezing. I had forgotten to look for the thermostat when I came in the house, but it was becoming apparent that I must find it and turn it up. After some searching I found the thermostat, turned up the heat, and went back to bed. The only problem was it wasn't getting any warmer. Several more trips to the thermostat did not seem to improve things. I put on several layers of clothes, and more blankets and finally fell asleep.
So went Day One of the 2012 Lake Trip.
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