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Finally Hot Springs Arkansas

 Day 6, October 15, Hot Springs. Here we stayed at an AirBnB on Lake Hamilton. It was very nice but before we got to our new residence (If you are keeping track this is the 5th place we've stayed so far on this trip) we stopped by downtown Hot Springs for a tour. 

We started at the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center. This is the park headquarters and has been beautifully restored. We were able to tour the bathhouse and see how it looked in its prime. 

The sculpture of the Spanish Conquistador  and the Tiffany stained glass ceiling were in the men's tub and steam room. The ladies section was not quite as well appointed. 


Here is the women's dressing room . While nice and functional it was not quite up to the standards of the men's room.
Down the hall from this room was the third floor sun deck where the ladies could catch some sun without any prying eyes. I'm not sure how much sun they got because the outfits displayed there were long sleeved, ankle length dresses. 
The men sunned in the nude on their own porch. 

There was tile work and marble on almost every surface of the spa. The previous spas that were built out of wood and those quickly rotted from the moisture or burned. These buildings were built to resist those two destructive forces.
Jan had to try out the shower. This one gives you an all over cleaning.

Up above the spas was a gym for the men to do calisthenics.

After touring the spa we then took a walk to downtown Hot Springs. It was very touristy. Outside the gangster museum Patty found a friend.
After our walk we drove into the National Park to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. This is the highest spot around and gave us quite a view of the city and park.

Day 7 By unanimous vote day 7 was decided to be a day of rest. We did nothing!
Day 8 Back to the Hot Springs spa. Today we were going for a dip in the healing waters of the hot springs.
First stop of the day was the Buckstaff Baths one of two bath houses still offering hot soaks on bathhouse row here in the National Park. 
It was great! We got to soak in our own tub full of hot water directly from the spring. Next after the tub was 10 minutes having our pores opened in a steam box using the heat of the earth to create the steam.  After that a little quiet time in the cool down room. The highlight was a full massage. Ahhh! Then we dipped our hands in some wax to soften and relax our fingers. 
I know you are wondering "where are the pictures of this wonderful experience?"
Well this was all happening to us in the buff and cameras were not allowed in the back where all this was happening. But take my word it was well worth the trip. Jenny did get a picture of Patty and Jan after the bath with Jan's hands encased in wax. See how relaxed and happy they look.
After our bath we were off to breakfast at "The Pancake Shop" 
We were all hungry and had remembered this place from our earlier exploration of Hot Springs. It was amazing how hungry being pampered will make you. Best of all this eatery featured real maple syrup! They also offered homemade coffee cake. Some of us had pancakes, others had waffles we all had bacon or sausage and some eggs. The coffee and tea were hot and fresh and plentiful. I had the coffee cake and it was delish! Another great breakfast place discovered on our journey.
After breakfast we took a walk on the Grand Promenade. This was a nice way to walk off our breakfast. 
Next stop on our tour of this part of America was the Garvan Woodland Gardens. We were going there specifically to see the Anthony Chapel. 
This structure was designed by architects Maurice Jennings and David McKee. These architects were heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is quite an impressive chapel, All the windows bring the outside inside.

 
After all this exploring of Hot Springs we decided on having dinner in and early to bed because tomorrow we were heading to the home of Walmart and Eureka Springs.
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