Downhill Side of Our Trip

 Day 11, Heading to Bentonville to see the People of Walmart. 

Yea I know this is a little late. Life gets in the way.

 
October 18th we arrived in Bentonville AR. After checking into the Home 2 Suites in Bentonville we decided to visit the Walmart Museum. This is located in the original Walton 5&10 and has the story of Sam Walton's humble beginnings and the rise of Walmart to what it is now. It was interesting to see all the history of the store. We even got to see the Medal of Honor given to Sam Walton by George H.W. Bush.

The museum was set up like a time-line of the growth of Walmart through the years. This was interesting to see and remember what I was doing at diffident dates. 

Sam Walton's office was recreated in the museum as he left it the day he died. It was a time capsule from the 1990s. 

His pickup truck was also there also preserved as he left it. 

For dinner we decided to try out a restaurant recommended by a  New York Times food critic. Yeyo's Mexican Restaurant.  After dinner we wandered next door to Markham & Fitz Chocolate. 

This place smelled heavenly! They made all sorts of chocolate delights that start with grinding the raw nibs of cacao. We had hot chocolate with hand made marshmallows. The bag on the table is some very fine chocolate that Patty bought and turned into a very yummy chocolate cake this Thanksgiving. 

On the 19th we drove over to Eureka Springs. A quaint little city first incorporated in 1880. Originally it was a place of healing waters coming from local springs that supposedly cured all sorts of aliments. Today it is a town of bars, restaurants and gift shops.

We took a tour tram and learned some of the history of the town. One interesting thing is that no roads cross at a right angle. From our tour and driving around I'd have to say that is a true statement. There were many sharp turns and 5 or more roads intersecting at the same point. 

For dinner we headed back to Bentonville and "Smoking Joe's Ribhouse." It was a very good BBQ place. We had our fill and had an early evening getting ready for tomorrow at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 

The morning of October 20th we headed out for a quick breakfast at the Buttered Biscuit. After getting fueled up we headed out for a day of exploring the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. 

Crystal Bridges was begun in 2005 by Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton. She wanted to create a world class museum of American Art in Bentonville. The collection extends for over 5 centuries of art created in the Americas or by Americans. The breadth of the collection is amazing. There were examples of art created by indigenous people in the Americas before is was America to current artists such as Yayoi Kusama. 

The collection included art from all. Irregardless of the media, subject, or idea. If you ever end up in or near Bentoville you have to go to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Plan on spending a day or more there to see everything. Best of all the Museum is free to all. Quite a good deal. Here is a link to a small collection of the art work I saw at the museum.

After the museum we went back to downtown Bentonville for dinner at The Hive. An interesting upscale restaurant that was located in the 21c Museum Hotel. Our waitress told us that each of these restaurants have a theme artwork using recycled or repurposed material. The artist for this location chose bees, hence the name "Hive".  

The hotel and restaurant had these large green penguins. When we asked about them our waitress said that each hotel had a flock of colored penguins. This hotel had penguins green. It was implied that they were just for fun. No other reason.

October 21 was a travel day back to Memphis. Just travel and a good rest at The Hyatt Place Memphis. We would have an early start on the 22nd cause we had a boat to catch in Chattanooga.