August was amongst our busiest lately.
Mckenzie was off to Africa in August to do his time in Rwanda to study Conflict Resolution. His thesis is on the "Role of the Catholic Church and Clergy in Rwandan Genocide". A very weighty subject.
He stopped in Amsterdam for a few days before being off to Rwanda and Uganda. He is in country until December 9th when he departs his semester experience on the way to five days in Rome before returning home.
Our son Spencer was off to Subiaco Academy, his school in beautiful Subiaco Arkansas. I took him back to register and get settled, so I will describe a few places to eat and stay in beautiful Little Rock.
Subiaco Academy
405 North Subiaco Avenue
Subiaco, AR 72865
479-934-1006
www.subiacoacademy.us
Spencers school is about 2.5 hours drive from Little Rock so I got to see the countryside!
I will post pictures after next visit. It is kind of a gem in the middle of nowhere complete with
a nice facility and really huge church. I dont know where everyone comes from,but the church seems to be the hot spot for weddings. I don't know but I was more intrigued about the Subiaco Angus cattle and an apparent winery on site.
Hotel
I have had good experiences at Peabody Hotels over the years, so we books a stay in Little Rock. Overall not a bad stay for $120.00. The hotel is a 300 ish room monster attached to the Convention Center.
It has a lobby the size of a football field, but was very quiet during our stay. I saw no conventions happening but quite a few weddings. In general I found the Front Desk less than helpful. The Valet on the drive was understaffed seemingly pulling the Hotel Assistant Manager into the fray on several occcasions. Despite this the staff on the front drive was very helpful and friendly!
The room was nice, no turndown. Oh well I love the little Duck soaps. Six Peabody Ducks are very happy in the soap dish at home.
Peabody Hotel
Three Statehoue Plaza
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-906-4000
res 1800 Peabody
Another Hotel option:
Capital Hotel
111 West Markham
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-374-7474
The reason why?
I always err on the side of historical. This cute hotel dates back to the 1870's and U.S.Grant was one of it's first guests. Now totally beautiful it is right accross the street from the Peabody. The Capital Bar was a busy bar grill operation. Very busy and very friendly bar staff. Ate at the bar and watched a football game. The game was not very good but a few drinks of Leblon Cachaca put me in a great mood.
After breakfast at the Peabody which was both expensive and uninspiring, I was delighted to take my meals at Capital Hotel. While I did not have the opportunity to dine at Ashleys the fine dining room at the Capital for dinner, I did do two breakfasts. Excellent. Fine dining for breakfast, plenty of coffee and several national papers. One breakfast I had buckwheat pancakes, the other corn beef hash and eggs, all we well prepared and while breakfast ran me $20.00 $$$ for myself each day it was worth it!
I was dissapointed to not stay. Upon return home I was delighted to see a two day stay at the Capital Hotel listed on www.luxurylink.com. Available anytime until the end of the year, I bid and won this potential delight, only to have it snatched away by the Luxury Link people, who by email we unfriendly and unhelpful. I only had one Thursda-Friday in November to fly out to see Spencer at Subiaco Academy. The dates available were about ten in a 120 day period. I feel that Luxury Link is a let down. You pay up front and then they have zero flexibility, so I flushed that money, but still hope to stay and review the Capital Hotel.
Places
One might imagine that Little Rock has Clinton fans but wow. The minute you arrive at Bill and Hillary Clinton Little Rock Airport you had better drink the Cool Aid. As far as I can see Little Rock had little to offer that isn't related to the Clintons!
At any rate I screwed on my face and went off to see the Clinton Presidential Library! It was with mixed joy that upon arrival I found a festive atmosphere in celebration of Bill Clinton's birthday. Looked like the dregs were bussed to the festival. At any rate the museum was free for the day! This was the best news. A few exibits were interesting, but I was in and out in an hour! And no, I was dissapointed that the blue dress was not on display. There is no need for an address as all roads named Clinton seem to intersect at the site.
Mock up of the Oval Office in the Clinton Presidential Library
Hot Spot
The spot was in oldtown Little Rock.
They have done extensive work on this historic and compact area. There seem to be alot of options, but the highlight for me was
Flying Fish
Markham Street Old Town
Little Rock, AR
I don't know where the people came from but this operation was humming. I always enjoy places that have a line out the door, a la The Pantry in downtown Los Angeles. Simple seafood and catfish sandwiches etc. The ambiance was wharf like simple. Food was great Oysters, Beer and a Yucatan style fish...Wow. I will keep my "Fishing License" punch card for a future visit.
Flying Fish Interior
If you get bored at a restaurant you could stop into the Clinton School of Public Affairs or the Clinton gift shop. The gift shop did have potential, especially the left over campaign trinkets!
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