NY Trippin'

Hello Friends! Long time no post. This summer my friend Janet and I are taking a driving trip up to Pennsylvania and New York. We left on Tues about an hour and a half BERFORE dawn.

Our goal was to get out of Texas.

We drove for a good 12 hours on Tues. We finally landed for the night in Hot Springs, Arkansas. What an interesting place!! Full of history. If you remember, Hot Springs was the place people went to take baths in the hot water that bubbled up to the surface in Hot Springs, believing that the water had medicinal properties to cure whatever ailed you, or, if nothing ailed you, make you feel more relaxed and happy.

The entire area of Hot Springs is a national park. It is a beautiful town and in reading the history of the town, it was an extremely popular tourist destination. In the downtown area, on Central Ave. in Hot Springs, you find the bath houses. They are huge and ornate. The style of each bath house is a bit different: some with red tile roofs, turrets, canvas draped windows. All have big, welcoming front porches with comfortable chairs to sit in and people watch.

 One of the bath houses had been turned into a museum. We toured all three floors and the basement. Everything except the basement was original. These bath houses were constructed and designed to pamper their guests. They included bath rooms where guests were bathed in the spring waters. They also received many other services: sitz baths, needle showers, massages, and beauty care. There was a gym to get exercise and a parlor to visit.

Aren't these rooms amazing?? I can just picture these beautiful, prim and proper women walking around in towels, visiting with each other and being waited on for every little thing. And can't you just picture the gentlement running around in shorts using that unbelievable gym equipment?\

What was cool about this place is they had preserved almost everything. In the beauty parlor, there were curlers, brushes, mirrors, even a magazine on the chair from 1919! I loved this place!

Even the parking garage was opulent. Such gorgeous workmanship. That's a fountain running down the middle of this first photo.

I highly recommend Hot Springs, Arkansas. If you enjoy history and social studies of people, this is a great place to go.

Oh! And - Yes - you can still get all the treatments: bath, sitz, needle shower, massage, etc. We talked with a sweet couple who were there for their 10th anniversary. The husband took a bath and said it was wonderful and very relaxing. I want to take a bath too, but prefer to go back when it's not 96 degrees outside!

Next: Tennessee and Kentucky.

Love, Love!!