11. Visit Arkansas

I'm not quite sure exactly how I've managed to live most of my life in Louisiana and never cross the border into Arkansas until now. But when my good friend Bert (short for 'Roberta) suggested that we needed a girls spa weekend in Hot Springs, the only question I asked was 'You driving?' before I jumped into her car. After all, it's mid-year and I still have a list to complete. I only half-way heard her mention that we'd be staying at an historic hotel where she'd stayed many times before.

Okay. Picture lots of long boring interstate pretty much all the way there from Baton Rouge to just outside of Hot Springs. Suddenly the landscape changed to rolling hills and we rounded a curve that revealed lots of water. We were at Lake Hamilton, created in 1932 by Arkansas Power and Light upon the completion of Carpenter Dam on the Ouachita River, which generates electricity to the surrounding areas.

We drove across Lake Hamilton into historic downtown Hot Springs, and Bert pointed to a row of old buildings to my right. "This is Bathhouse Row." I realized only then that I'd missed something in high school US Geography class. If these were public bathhouses, then there just might be a logical reason that 'Hot Springs' is named 'Hot Springs'. I had never devoted a nanobyte's worth of thought to Arkansas, and now I could see what I had been missing, even if I still didn't completely know what the 'baths' experience was yet.

We were booked into the Arlington Hotel, Al Capone's Hot Springs headquarters during the 20's, and a magical step back into a time where all the mouldings were gilded and all the staff exemplified Customer Service. What was it about these Arkansans? Syrupy accents and a genuine friendliness that you just can't fake. Need extra pillows? "Sure Honey, let me bring sum up to yew". A ride in the self-service elevator from the baths floor up to your floor? "Ah wuz jes goin' that way mah-self." I can see why Capone made this his headquarters, after only a few minutes here I felt very Belle Epoch, and couldn't wait to be pampered in the baths.