Garvan Woodland Gardens on a Sunny Day

On Wednesday, I hurried over to Garvan Woodland Gardens because it was a beautiful sunshine, blue skies day and most of the time I make it over there, it looks like the skies will pour on me at any time. I had to seize my chance so I decided that Darcy would probably be fine for 3 hours or so, left a note on the door (the preferred method of communication at 5 Points), and drove over. The place was nearly empty so I could shoot anything I wanted to with no interfering people in the way...until my camera tells me that I filled up my memory and refuses to take any more photos. I believe I had been there around 15 minutes (I do have many swimming Darcy shots that had made it onto the card before I got there), so I had to dump what I could bear to dump and changed the size of the photos. It's a good thing that worked. That might have been enough to put the stress back into my stress-free week.

So what's going on at Garvan Woodland Gardens right now? They were preparing for the Christmas lights and it looked like they were building something for a flower show. Otherwise, peaceful and serene, quiet and cool. Azaleas, camellias, mums...those are the only ones I can name.

Bathing Beauty

Warning: weird dog mom post again but you knew they were coming, right? These are the Darcy pictures. I like the first one...it sorta looks like she leaves magic sparkles in her wake. The third one shows how she swims...the middle of her back never gets wet but she ducks her head under over and over. She's not really a distance swimmer. And believe me, if none of these strikes your fancy, I have more. This is the first time in her life she's been unleashed...it was the perfect place, bounded by the lake on one side and a very steep hill on the other. She kept peeking over the edge of the dock and over the edge of that grass (bounded by the rock wall and then a drop into the lake) like she wanted to jump. She's never jumped off a dock in her life. And I have a very strict no-swimming-in-water-that-looks-like-it-might-have-fish-in-it for myself so I really wasn't looking forward to jumping in to save her. I managed to convince her to go down the boat ramp instead, but it was close a couple of times.

And then, because there are clearly fish in that water, she smelled like wet dog/fish water for mostly the whole time we were there. But that's OK. It was worth it to see her Bo Derek impersonation. Someone asked if we had a good time, and I said that we both came back with a limp so we must have had a good time! It was a lot of swimming, jumping, hiking for two old dogs like us but we kept going.

Little House in the Big Woods

Anybody else recognize that? I admit, when I first walked into this cabin that was supposed to safely house me for four nights, I did have a little Laura Ingalls feeling. All that was missing was snow and howling in the distance. Well, except for the electricity, plumbing, and pumping window unit air conditioner. Maybe it was more of a Green Acres kinda feeling. Any time check-in means finding the cabin with your name taped on the door because the key is inside, I get a little worried. Wood outside, wood walls, wood floor, it was woodsy. And small, but that's a good thing. As we had a rollicking storm the second or third night I was there, I did determine that it was soundly constructed. And the spider webs added a protective shield as well. Really, that was my only complaint.

Ok, well maybe not the only complaint. I didn't love the kitchen. And I had never seen pocket windows, and they needed to be opened. Really. Eventually someone else showed up to "check me in" and showed me how to open the windows and...the other really big problem...light the stove. I viewed the stove with mistrust and did not use it. I have a strict policy of not setting myself on fire or causing detonation while on vacation. Luckily, this hidden cabin with the beautiful view is right in the heart of Hot Springs. Five minutes from Wal-Mart and any food you could choose. This is my kind of location. And with a little power washing, a new stove, and some fresh air, this could be my idea of the perfect place to live!

Seriously, it's a great place for dogs, less expensive than similar cabins that will accept pets and really, the view from the deck...it's worth it!

I'd Rather Be Fishing

Well, not really, but I would rather be sitting at the end of the dock, just like I was about this time (really, no matter what time it is, I didn't do much more than sit and stare and breathe) on Monday. It was perfect. For everyone who asked "What are you going to do on your vacation?" and looked slightly dissatisfied with my open-ended answer, this is what I did:

1. Sat on a deck overlooking the lake, listening to waves and wind and boats and trees and ducks and...no people.
2. Walked my dog. A lot. Uphill. We went down the hill to swim (she swam, I was on the other end of the leash) and then a-l-l-l-l the way back up the hill. Over and over.
3. Swatted mosquitoes.
4. Watched movies.
5. Read books.
6. A little cross stitch.
7. Visited a couple of my favorite places in Hot Springs, including Garvan Woodland Gardens...on a sunny day! I know. I was shocked too. It seems like I only pick overcast days to go.
8. Ate like it was going out of style.
9. Wrote a little bit, just to see if I still could.
10. Did not think about work. Once. At all. Never.

All in all, so many of my favorite activities were only improved by doing them on a deck overlooking the lake. Of course, it was not without a price (Ok, even more than the charge to my credit card). Tomorrow I'll show you the cabin. "Rustic" is the right word. I think I know at least one person who wouldn't have stuck it out, but Darcy and I, we're tougher than that.