The Big Adventure

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans     – John Lennon

The PLAN was to travel and photograph and write about the experience (and sell it to a magazine). We DID travel and I DID take an enormous amount of photos (why did I shoot every one of Elvis' rooms in Graceland?) but while we DID get to see some great places, the joy of the trip was in the PEOPLE we visited with. The photos I took tell the story of our days, ad I'm glad to have them but they are not artistic gems that would be coveted by national magazines.

On our way to Texas (to visit daughter #1) we stopped off in Gettysburg,
Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky, Elvis' Memphis home, Graceland (even stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel) and Hot Springs, Arkansas.

We climbed up this tower
 
To get an outrageous view of Hot Springs, where they are know for having springs that are 140 degrees. Over the years, people have flocked there for the healing power of baths in these unusual waters. The town once flourished as a healthy retreat and it remains a charming place to visit.

There was a National Park Visitor Center that showed us how sterile and clinical the whole thing looked - not spa like at all (which I had hoped for).  So, we passed on the bath experience.

Next stop was Elgin, Texas, home of my daughter and son-in-law. It really was a beautiful drive  from Arkansas to the Austin area, as we passed pine forests and some very small towns. Even stopped by for charming antiques
and got to visit a Texas dance hall
But the very best part of the trip was in the people we got to see and spending quality time with some very important people who we don't get to spend enough time with and for that I am quite thankful!

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