SO, on the third part of what seems to be a very very long trip brought us to little rock. who knew it would be such a charming place? we arrived at a decent enough hour to be able to unload into a most surprisingly beautiful hotel room (seriously, my photos don't do it justice. go {HERE} to see how gorgeous it was.) and go for a swim. the weather was hot enough to swim in perfect temp water but cool enough to not get burned. after a relaxing dip, we made our way to the peabody hotel for the duck walk. if you don't know what that is, {HERE} for an explanation.
when i was the same age as elise, my mother took me to the mississippi peabody to experience the same duck walk. i remember it so fondly that i wanted my kids to be able to look back just as much at the same event.
some things went smoother than i remember as a kid. for one, there was not a crowd. as a child, i remember there were so many people wanting to see the event that i had to squeeze my way to the front and sit on the floor. this time there might have been ten people. the lack of people was staggering to me.
two, it seemed to take a minimal amount of time. when you're little, things seem to last so much longer. this time around it was over in 8 minutes.
and three, the only way to park you're car was by valet. $14 valet. for an 8 minutes duck walk. hmmmm. but apparently my flirtation negotiation skills are still working since i talked them out of having to pay the $14. yes, i'm just that good.
but in the end, my kids loved it and that's what i hoped for. even elise, the one who gave me the most grief about having to go and "see some ducks walk out of a pond" enjoyed it the most. i'm grateful to be able to give my kids some memories of sentimental value to me. maybe one day they will go on to do the same memory with their kids.
we enjoyed a nice meal, went back to the hotel and had ice cream while watching crappy television and fell asleep having left behind an amazingly relaxing, happy day. i'm hoping for many more of those days on this trip. i sincerely hope for it.
