.. childhood home of Bill Clinton. Looks like we’re doing the Bill Clinton life tour. We already passed through Hope, his birthplace .. the next big town is Little Rock (Of course there are big signs announcing every historical place). Though we did experience the same kind of stuff with Bushland, TX and President George Bush Turnpike in Texas.
We decided to stop in Hot Springs because we were told you can go swimming in the springs, but we have yet to find them. We have a nice little room over looking Lake Hamilton.. kinda neat around here. Though alot of the hotels were filled because of Katrina and Rita evacuees. The check in girl said we were crazy for driving across country now. We spent all of yesterday in Texas with Sean’s family 
Haven’t taken any pictures lately, there really isn’t much to see in Texas.
Tomorrow we might visit Hot Springs National Park. Then we head towards Tennessee, hit up Memphis and Nashville then we head south to GA and FL. We’re more then half way home!
Until my husband got transferred to Hot Springs three years ago, I thought Arkansas was mostly about huntin’ and fishin’ and the wonderful outdoor life. But that’s only the beginning!
We were pleasantly surprised by the wealth of hidden gems here in our new home town. For example, as professional cellist who used to live only three hours away, I was shocked to learn of the first-rate Hot Springs Music Festival, an annual event that attracts 200 pre-professional classical and jazz musicians from around the world.
(Note: Although I am a paid public relations professional and travel writer, I am not paid to promote our city nor any of the properties or events I’ve listed below. These are our personal favorites!)
Ours is a unique demographic here in Hot Springs, where the median age is 42. A healthy percentage of us have incomes of $100K or more, and we support 12 championship golf courses and 27 non-profit organizations directly related to the visual and performing arts. Having hosted a Historic District Gallery Walk the first Friday of each month for nearly 16 years, Hot Springs was recently named #4 Art Town in America.
There are definitely other great things to do in addition to the Hot Springs Music Festival, held the first two weeks of June each year. Early September brings the annual Bluesfest and Hot Springs Jazzfest.
By late October, the city swells with nearly 20,000 people for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, one of four preliminary sites for the Academy Awards in the documentary category.
From January through April, hotels and restaurants are booming with racing fans at Oaklawn Jockey Club, a 102-year-old thoroughbred racetrack.
Cradled by the Ouachita Mountains, three pristine lakes lure the likes of FLW Bass Fishing Championships. Located on a 210-acre peninsula of Lake Hamilton is a breathtaking bounty of botanical beauty known as Garvan Woodland Gardens.
Our particularly outstanding accommodations include Lookout Point Lakeside Inn, one of only three Arkansas inns listed on the Select Registry. Embassy Suites Hot Springs, an all suite hotel adjacent to Summit Arena, was ranked #1 Embassy Suites worldwide for 2004.
Best of all, Hot Springs is packed with people who understand hospitality. Sure, we have attractions. But without the people who live here, we’d be a ghost town instead of a resort town.
Local people. Local events. Hot Springs’ REAL attraction.
If you’re already on your way to Memphis, hope you can come back!
Rebecca McCormick, Executive Editor
Hot Springs Life & Home magazine
I don’t usually allow comment spam, but since I actually like this town, and I’m amazed this person found my post over night I figure she deserves the tiny bit of advertising my site might give her
Thanks for the slack, Erica. Isn’t it interesting that the REAL spammers make everybody suspicious of folks like me who make it hard for folks like you to think we really may like our town enough to search blogs regularly, just to let other people know what a cool place it really is! I appreciate your leaving the comment for others to read, although I really meant it for you. You sound like a great person!