Birthday Update

I had an absolute blast for my 30th! As I posted earlier, my husband surprised me with a weekend getaway to Hot Springs, Arkansas. The town is absolutely beautiful and I love all of the old bath houses, the architecture, and the neat little downtown shops. On Saturday we went sightseeing & shopping. Here are some pics...

This was our hotel. Very beautiful, historical building. The Arlington Hotel...

This is a hospital/rehabilitation facility...

These are a few of the bath houses for which the town became so famous...
I just loved this building...
There were so many neat stores on the main strip, but this is the store I will never forget. This is a real poodle that walks around the store and even greets the customers at the doorway. What a sweet, sweet dog! She even has her own facebook page where her fans can post pictures and keep up with her. Too funny!
On Sunday for my actual birthday we stopped in to visit a rock garden. I know that sounds strange, but there are so many rare and unusual rocks in that area and they are beautiful. I also had to stop here because Lily's latest fascination is with rocks. I had to buy her a souvenir from this massive rock garden :) This is just one of about 30 tables that were loaded down with these enormous rocks...After the rock garden we went to an amusement/water park. There were no lines and the weather was perfect. We rode every roller coaster and water slide in the park. We had such a blast. I would recommend this place to anyone... it would be great even for families with little ones. They had great kid areas! I didn't get pictures of the amusement park because we didn't want to risk breaking the camera or losing it on all the rides.

Later that evening Joel took me to a very nice dinner...


... and I had the best chocolate cake for dessert! I cannot even describe how amazing this cake tasted! The best part was that it was complimentary for my birthday :)
On the way back home we took a slight detour to Little Rock to visit the Clinton Library. We had never been to a Presidential Library, so we thought it would be interesting and informative. It was a neat experience, but I'm not sure it was worth the $7 per person to get in.They have different rooms set up inside that are made to look just like the rooms in the White House did during his presidency from the furniture, paint, rugs, and even decorations. Here is the Oval Office... (trying to refrain from any Monica Lewinsky jokes!)


And here is the Cabinet Room with Joel seated in the President's chair...
Thanks, honey, for an absolute fabulous, fun and unforgettable birthday trip. I love you!