Month: September 2009

NWA Weekend

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The whole fam damily went to our summer home in Northwest Arkansas this weekend to do a little yard work and go to Bikes, Blues and BBQ in Fayetteville. We parked on the University of Arkansas campus and headed down to Dickson Street. On the way we stopped to show Abby where Gramps’ name is carved into the Senior Walk. She pointed out all the D’s in his name.

We didn’t stay long at BB&BBQ. It’s the exact same thing every year. Same vendors, same BBQ providers, etc. If you aren’t into motorcycles, then attending once ought to hold you for awhile. Having said that, it does make for some great people watching. You see a lot of bare midriffs that, for the good of mankind, should never see the light of day. We stayed just long enough to eat some exorbitantly priced and poorly cooked food, and I didn’t shoot many pictures. I wasn’t well, suffering from some kind of parasite or virus or something.

Fab 40th Birthday Weekend

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It appears the old saw “time and tide waits for no man” is actually true. As recently as last month I thought it wouldn’t happen, but I actually turned 40 years old. I’m dealing with it, but it’s going to take some time. To commemorate the august occasion, Gina booked a couple nights at Lookout Point Lakeside Inn, a nice B&B in Hot Springs.

Accommodation review: Nestled on the shore of Lake Hamilton, Lakeside Inn provides the comforts of a luxury hotel in a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere. Each of the rooms is named after a town in Arkansas. The owners picked the names to convey relaxation and a sense of country life. (They eschewed my personal favorites: Bald Knob, Oil Trough, and Blue Ball.) My companion and I stayed in Evening Shade. The king-size bed was draped with super-soft sheets (Egyptian cotton perhaps) and the bathroom contained a glorious two-headed shower. Other amenities included a whirlpool tub, a separate toilet room and a fainting couch. Large windows provided a view of the lake. (I think all the rooms have lake views.) Couple of weird things: the television was tiny and we had to sign some kind of contract promising we wouldn’t smoke on the property under penalty of $500. Soft drinks, ice and breakfast are included in the rather pricey accommodations. We opted to sleep both Saturday and Sunday mornings in lieu of having breakfast.

Just Looking For A Hit

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I found myself with a little free time Saturday and since I haven’t gotten a lot of chances to use my ultra-wide-angle lens, I went looking for something to shoot. I eventually ended up at the old bridge over the Maumelle River on an abandoned stretch of Arkansas Highway 300 in Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This bridge is popular with local photographers and rightly so. It’s old and rusty and corroded and interesting.