Monday Morning Chit Chat - Tuesday Morning Edition

Good morning everyone. Hope all of you had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

We had a very nice trip. On our drive to Arkansas on Friday, we went to a few garage sales and a couple flea markets, ate lunch at a Chinese buffet, then spent the evening in our hotel, swimming in the indoor pool, watching TV and reading.

On Saturday morning, we headed to Eureka Springs. I'm not sure if there was a special event in the area, or if the place has turned into a mini version of Sturgis, but there were motorcycles everywhere. I don't have a problem with bikes or bikers, but at times it was so loud in the downtown area of Eureka that we had to shout to talk to each other. We had fun all the same, and enjoyed a nice lunch at the Basin Park Hotel and did a little shopping. We didn't buy much -- Kat bought a toy or two, Shane bought a t-shirt or two, and I bought pan for making French and Italian bread. Again, we stopped at several flea markets and garage sales on the way there and back (we can't seem to resist them), and that's where we bought our real bargain of the trip, which was a portable DVD player for the van for $35. (Something I'm generally opposed to, but must admit was nice to have on the long drive home.) Of course, we spent the evening back at the hotel, swimming and watching TV, or in my case, reading.

On Sunday, we returned to Eureka Springs via a different route, visiting the War Eagle Mill. We considered the War Eagle Cavern, but thought it was too pricey, so instead we let Kat "pan for crystals" at the gift shop, then moved on to Onyx Cave and toured there. We also located a couple of easy-to-find Geocaches while we were out. We had planned a picnic for lunch, but we left the bread for our sandwiches and also the chips in our room, so we settled for big ice cream cones and ate a huge steak dinner out instead. And you guessed it, we swam, watched TV and read when we got back to the room.

Yesterday morning, we hiked and found three more -- more challenging -- Geocaches in Bentonville, and attempted to visit the Wal-Mart Visitor's Center Museum. I think Wal-Mart is something of a necessary evil for us and most people, but I really did want to see the original five-and-dime version of the store (I love stores like that) and that old red and white truck Sam Walton drove. Unfortunately, it was closed for the holiday, so we left Bentonville and headed north back into Missouri. We stopped and finally had our picnic lunch in a pretty park in Neosho, MO, then drove the rest of the way home, stopping just a few miles from home for one last ice cream treat before the trip was over.

I've put lots of the pictures on a separate blog page. You can click HERE or on the link in my sidebar if you'd like to see them.  (They are loading just fine for me, but if any of you have problems, please let me know.)

Now it's back to reality and trying to settle into new routines for summer vacation. That, and catching up on laundry, will probably take up most of this short week.

And you? How was your weekend and what does your week ahead hold in store?