Staycation Part 2

Day 2 in Eureka Springs was just as full of fun as day 1... we started with relaxing massages in the hotel's spa.  Didn't get any pictures of the massages- that would just be creepy.  After massages we headed to lunch and then to go horseback riding.  I have a slight-to-severe fear of horses from a traumatic experience when a horse took off with me on his back at age 9ish so this was obviously the Boyfriend's activity choice.  It was 60 minutes of anxiety and fear for me!  He enjoyed it (and payed for it!) so I guess it was worth it.

I would've been perfectly happy just sitting here with Buddy (tied to the tree)

cowboy 

me pretending to like horses in front of the horse lady taking our picture

Next, we stopped to see Thorncrown Chapel.  It is a gorgeous glass chapel built in the middle of the woods.  My pictures from the inside of the chapel aren't very good so I had to turn to Google Images to give you a better idea. 

I really like this sign outside the chapel

One last stop at the Drive Through Zoo.  I love a good zoo.  The Boyfriend has a huge fear of emu/ostriches (what's the difference?) and there were plenty running up to our windows.  My favorite was the giant buffalo who licked my window.  

the deer were really aggressive and ran to the car everytime we slowed down

is your mama a llama?

On our drive home we stopped for dinner at Slim's Chicken in Conway and ran into Peyton Hillis (former razorback and current NFL player) and the Boyfriend was starstruck.  He congratulated him on making the cover of Madden 2012.  His life is complete now I think.  He wouldnt let me take any pictures of him though :(  

We had a fabulous time and I would recommend a trip to Eureka Springs to anyone who has never been!  I'm off to the pool to enjoy Memorial Day Weekend!  Bye for now.   

Staycation Part 1

The original plan was for the Boyfriend and me to take a graduation trip to New Orleans.  Thanks to some unfortunately scheduled important tasks, we had to cancel the trip.  As a backup we decided to have a "staycation" and explore our very own Natural State.  We had both only been to Eureka Springs once and my trip was back when I have no memories (aka pre-7th grade... why are all of my childhood memories gone?) so we decided to head up there for a couple of days.  It was only 2 days and 1 night but it was jampacked with food, fun, wine, and solo pics.  We left early Wednesday morning to make the 3.5 hour trek north.  When we saw a sign for "Natural Bridge" in Clinton, AR we had to stop.  It was beautiful!!

Next we saw a sign for the "Cosmic Caverns" in Barryville, AR and obviously had to stop there too.  Sadly, the cavern was almost completely flooded from all the recent storms so the regularly 1-hour and .75 mile tour was a 15 minute peak of the opening of the cave but it was still pretty cool.  I want to go back when we can see more!

I accidentally changed my camera's settings to this creepy color but I thought it was kinda fitting for a cave picture

We finally made it to Eureka Springs and found a yummy local joint to have lunch and walk around downtown and all the cute shops along the way.  We ate at a great Italian restaurant near our hotel and went to see Christ of the Ozarks.  HUGE.  I was so taken aback by how GIANT it was!  The solo pics really help see the size :) Of course it had to pour down rain when we got out to take pictures.  Thankfully the rain didn't last long.

We decided to stay at the historic Crescent Hotel (which is "haunted" according to legend) and take the guided Ghost Tour in the hotel.  The Boyfriend is totally into things like that and was really excited about it.  I myself was a little concerned about getting spooked and not being able to sleep since we were taking the scary ghost tour right before we went to bed in the same hotel.  Lucky for me and disappointing for the Boyfriend- the ghost tour was SILLY.  If it wouldn't have been rude I would have been dying laughing through the whole thing (which was an HOUR AND A HALF of my life...).  The hotel itself was a tad creepy even without all the tall tales of the ghosts.  There was even a creepy stray cat roaming around the hotel- that scared me more than the ghosts.

we love solo pics

creepy cat that followed me around the hotel

the staircase one of the ghosts fell down 

See the St. Bernard image on the wall in the mirror image?  

Johnny our Ghost Guide showing us "Michael's Room" and the 10 year old tour group member who was the only one falling for any of these stories 

the cabinet that the SyFy Channel's ghosthunters found a ghost in...? 

This was a long post with photo overload so I'll save day 2 for another post.  Bye for now!

Students No More

As of yesterday at 4:45pm, I am no longer a student and never will be again.  No more homework, no more studying on nights and weekends, no more papers.  Goodbye studying, HELLO FREE TIME!  I have an entire to-do list full of ideas for my free time and I cant wait to get crackin on it... I might even get wild and pick up a hobby? Candle making... basket weaving... knitting?  Opportunities are endless for all this free time.

We had such a fun weekend of celebrating and I felt extra loved by all my wonderful family and friends.  And just to top off all the good times, a good friend got engaged on graduation day!!  So happy for the lovebirds.  Here are some pictures to recap the big day. 

Graduation Reception with the mama

All the speechies ready to change the world

the big day!

Marci is ENGAGED!! 

Taking pics with our smuggled in cameras during the ceremony... clearly NOT paying attention to the main event

madre

padre

seeeesta seeeeeesta!

BNO

Tonight was "babysitters night out" here in Orange Beach.  Linds and I enjoyed a little kid-free entertainment with some shopping, the best meal I've eaten this year (if not EVER), and a movie.  Our movie pick was a toss-up between Bridesmaids and Something Borrowed but the hopeless romantic in us both went for Something Borrowed.  It was fabulous!  By chick flick standards (which is really the only kind of movie I enjoy and am willing to pay $10 for a ticket to see) it was fabulous!  Highly recommend it even though Gennifer Goodwin was pretty tragic looking for the majority of the movie...

Babysitters-R-Us

Some cute flower earrings I found at a cool hippie store near the restaurant- they were made in Bali!

Food pictures really gross me out most of the time but I had to capture the amazingness that was blackened grouper topped with crab and lobster and hollandaise sauce with a twice baked potato and salad.  I didnt even bother to try and add up the weight watchers points for this one- it was worth every buttery point.