Unexpected Beauty

Springtime in Arkansas is quite beautiful. Driving through the Ozarks is a trip with hairpin turns on roads through tunnels of trees. The forests are full of mayapples, ferns, wildflowers, and an occasional redbud or dogwood in bloom. We visited Eureka Springs for the first time and stayed at the "most haunted hotel in America - The Crescent Hotel. we didnt see any ghosts but it was a nightmare trying to navigate the winding streets that never met at a 90 degree angle. Victorian homes abut against natural limestone walls and stone homes from the 1800s are still beautiful. This city is a series of terraces cut into the limestone. very colorful. From there we drove to one of the best museums of American Art- Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, AR. One of Walmart founder Sam Walton's daughters is the founder. The art trail has 2 Kusama works and we visited an exhibit "The Dirty South" from "our" museum, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in Richmond.

Just a few more pics from Belle Air Mansion

Nashville Belle Air Mansion

Staying in a real pre-Civil War mansion 5 miles from downtown Nashville. Unbelievable that people lived like this in the 1800s or now. Seventy seven slaves worked 1800 acres before the Civil War. There's a dungeon in the basement because court proceedings were held in the library. Andrew Jackson practiced law in the "courtroom." Prisoners were held in the dungeon. One of the mansion mistresses had a huge rose garden and sold rosewater. Now the restored building is a grand bed and breakfast. This video gives a good overview. https://youtu.be/8Szh6L59uJE

Heading to Texas

First stop is lovely Hotel Bristol in Bristol VA which straddles the border with TN. We visited the Birthplace of Country Music Museum. Well worth a visit. More concerning were the local newspaper headlines about the problems with the local landfill. The landfill opened in 1998 when the VA part of the city bought a Vulcan quarry and started filling it with trash. Jump forward to now when mysterious noxious odors take over the whole adjacent area - even downtown - especially in the winter. No one can figure out why and all kinds of people are suing each other. BUT the Hotel Bristol is fabulous and the rooftop bar was great when we visited twice.