Getting Arty in Arkansas

 Hi Kids,

Emily and I have been in Arkansas.  It's easy to find on the map.  Can you find it?  We started out in northwest Arkansas.  Above, you can see the train station in Van Buren.  This is where we caught the train for a nice ride.  

Volunteers run the train -- the Arkansas Missouri Railroad.  It travels about 70 miles to Springdale.  I met two new friends.  On the left is Wayne Porter in his outfit as a Railway Express Special Agent.  On the right is the Conductor -- David Kerr.  They love trains -- and so do I.     

We went through some beautiful country and over three trestles (pronounced tress-uls).  I could look way down at the rivers or creeks below.  We even had lunch on the train.  When it was time to eat, Mr. Porter hit a chime that looked like a tiny xylophone.

After we reached Springdale, we got on a bus and went to Bentonville where we went to a fantastic art museum -- Crystal Bridges.  It is full of art by American artists from colonial times to contemporary times.

It's hard to get a picture of the whole museum.  Miss Elaine took this one from the little bridge looking toward the bigger bridge.  Below is a picture of a model of the museum.  It's built like an O.

The museum owns more than a thousand works of art but they only put out part of the collection at a time.  They change the collections on display so that each time you visit, you'll see something new.

I'm sitting in the restaurant (in the little bridge) but I didn't have anything to eat.  I was still too full from lunch.  

 That night we saw more art at a really cool hotel called 21C Museum Hotel (for Twenty-first Century, I think).  It was full of art like a museum.  Almost everything was really modern.  I couldn't always tell what the artist was trying to show but I liked looking at the pieces anyway.  The hotel mascot is a penguin.  They have lots of penguins like this one.  And they move them around -- sometimes in funny ways.  Right now there are three 21C Museum Hotels in the country.  One of Miss Elaine's friends stayed in one in Louisville, Kentucky and one night she found one of the penguins in her shower!  That would be a funny surprise!  Don't you think Emily looks pretty in this picture?  She was wearing her purple and gold and green necklace.  We look a lot alike -- but sometimes she fancies herself up a bit!

I have lots more to tell you about our Arkansas adventures so be watching for more posts soon.

Love,
Tiger

Girlfriends' Getaway

 Hi Kids,
I want to tell you about a cool trip I took -- without Tiger.  It was a weekend getaway just for girls.  We stayed at the Garden Manor Inn Bed and Breakfast.  It's sort of like a hotel, except it's more like a house -- and they feed you a really tasty breakfast. 

 Miss Elaine and her friend Miss Nancy and I drove down from Edmond to Grapevine, Texas, which is close to Dallas.  Guess why the town is called Grapevine.  Yep, there used to be wild grapes growing around here -- but they're all gone now.  Our guide was Miss Leigh from the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau -- that's the organization that helps people find out what there is to do and see in Grapevine.  Miss Leigh had all sorts of surprises planned for us.  The first evening, we went to a place where we could paint pictures.  This is me working on my painting of a funny tree.

 When we got back to the B & B, it was time for bed.  Miss Elaine took my picture tucked into bed.  The bed was so high that she had to use a little stepstool to get into bed.  

 The next day we explored downtown Grapevine.  There are a lot of neat shops there.  I didn't buy anything, but I looked at everything.

 Right in the middle of downtown is the old jail.  It was built over a hundred years ago.  It was just one small cell -- and no heat or air conditioning.  They don't use it any more.  I'm glad I didn't have to stay there.
 

 In the afternoon we all got massages.  This is Miss Jill rubbing my back.  The pillow my head is on has a hole in it so I could breathe.  It was very relaxing -- I like getting a massage.

 That night we went to a funny play.  These are two of the characters -- Miss Prissbottom and Calamity Kate.  It was a mystery about the old west with cowboys and a sheriff and bad guys.

 

The next morning we all went to the Main Street Bakery for breakfast.  Miss Elaine and I had migas -- a very good dish with eggs and crumbled crisp tortillas.  The two girls on either side of the picture are Miss Nan's daughters.  They live in Dallas and joined us for breakfast.  Miss Elaine hadn't seen them since they were babies.  We had a good reunion!  I like girlfriend getaways but I was glad to see Tiger when I got home.  I think he and Mr. Jack spent the weekend watching football and basketball on TV so he had a good time, too.
Love,
Emily