Less is More in 2024: the Road Trip (Part 1)

Okay!  Now we get to the real challenge.  Trying to remember all the little details of our summer of 2024 family road trip will obviously be impossible, so to help with this monumental task, I've crowdsourced content from Scott and the kids. Hahahaha.  Between their memories and mine -- aided heavily by my Instagram posts from the time, I think I can get this done!  (And as I was re-reminded today that Done is Better than Perfect, that's what I'm aiming for with these posts.  Lol.)  Here we go...

Ethan got back from his mission right before Memorial Day weekend and essentially had 2 weeks to spend with us at home before leaving to start his summer job -- so OBVIOUSLY, squeezing in our annual family road trip was a top priority for all of us.  Hahahaha.  By combining it with an unofficial mini reunion at the beach with my side of the family, we were able to squeeze in even MORE fun while making some core memories to boot.  😊  Without further ado, I present Part 1 of the road trip recaps. 

Little Rock and Hot Springs

Day 1: an Overview --> courtesy of Instagram...

Road trip time!! Yesterday was Day 1 of this summer’s “Less is More in 2024” road trip. 😂  We only have Ethan for a couple more weeks before he has to head out to Utah to start training for his summer job as an FSY counselor, so I decided to cram a family vacation into the limited amount of time we have all together. 🤪  The day’s itinerary highlights included a visit to the Little Rock Central High School Historical Site to learn about the Little Rock Nine, and a stroll down Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs to check out the hit health resort destination of the rich and famous during the Gilded Age.  Other than an unfortunate incident involving Jane and a bout of car sickness, the day as a whole was oddly problem free with everyone in mostly good spirits for the bulk of the day. I guess they really are all growing up. 🤣 #lessismorein2024theroadtrip #8seaterminivanforthewin #arkansawesome  #islittlerockalwayssuchaghosttown? #day1ateandleftveryfewcrumbs #LOL

When asked, here is the input I got on Little Rock from Scott and the kids... 

Scott (and Isaac):  Little Rock … seemingly nobody was there in the city, except randos getting into what seemed like a domestic dispute. Cops were called. I did really enjoy the exhibits on the Little Rock 9 … learned stuff I hadn’t fully known prior to that.  

Ethan:  Deserted 

Grace:  Little Rock was ghetto as freak when we had to call the cops for domestic violence while at a playground

Sophie:  when we were in little rock and dad had to call the cops bc of that couples domestic dispute at the playground 

So, yeah.  Apparently the most memorable part of our Little Rock experience was calling the cops.  Hahaha.  A couple that we saw from afar was arguing rather loudly while walking near the park we had found for the kids to get some energy out.  The man was getting increasingly aggressive sounding and the woman was pregnant, so Scott called the cops and reported the domestic dispute out of an abundance of caution.  It was quite the experience spying from across the street when the police arrived and the couple seemed to settle down.  Other than paying a visit to Little Rock Central High School and learning more about the Little Rock Nine, which I really enjoyed, I wouldn't say there was much else to report about the city as a whole.  While driving around trying to find somewhere to eat after we finished at the visitor's center, it was eeriest thing -- there were hardly any people or cars in sight.  I don't know if Little Rock is always such a ghost town, or if we caught it on a super slow day, but it was really quite strange.  

I really love how architectural these kinds of old school buildings are.  They're just so much more aesthetically pleasing than today's builds.

Oh how I loved having all 6 kids together again for a road trip!

(This is roughly where we were walking to the park when the domestic dispute came into view on the other side of the road.  Just in case anyone was wondering.)

Hot Springs couldn't have been more different from Little Rock.  Mostly because there were plenty of people walking around up and down Bathhouse Row.  Hahaha.  Even though I didn't take very many pictures (apparently), I really, really loved this area.  We only stayed for a night before moving on the next morning, but it was a really lovely time.  Especially since Scott and I were able to go out that night for dinner and a treat without the kids tagging along.  Hahaha.  The pizza place we ate at was really good and the cupcake bakery we found afterwards was delicious as well, which makes it all the sadder that I can't remember the name of either one.  Womp womp.  Hahaha.

And now for the input from Scott and the kids...

Scott (and Isaac):  Hot springs … bed and breakfast was nice. The one place that we looked at that had like a weird looking gym was interesting.  

Ethan:  Bath house doctors were sus and gave the same energy as the plague doctors. Breakfast was in a cool room.

Sophie:  the place was nice that we stayed.

(Fun fact --> Hot Springs National Park is the second smallest national park in the United States)

A mini replica of Bathhouse Row

The aforementioned gym referenced by Scott and Isaac

Fun fact -->  "The health benefits of 'taking the baths' were a primary reason for baseball coming to Hot Springs.  The players tended to drink heavily, and believed the hot bath regimen could 'boil out' the impurities in their system.  The Buckstaff, still in use as a bath-house was built in 1912 and hosted many prominent players.  The 1915 Fordyce Bathhouse is now the National Park Visitor Center.  Tours include the gym were many players trained.")

Day 2 -- Ron Coleman Mining and Thibodaux

Day 2: an Overview --> courtesy of Instagram...

Day 2 took us crystal mining on a bright and sunny morning in the Natural State!  The view from the top of the rocks was gorgeous, there were plenty of treasures to find and take home, and as an added bonus, we only had one instance of you-break-it-you-buy-it in the gift shop. Hahahaha. After a morning spent with the Ron Coleman mining company, we hit the road for Granny’s house and made it to Thibodaux by evening fall.  From here, we’ll spend a few days exploring our Cajun heritage before caravanning to the beach in Destin with some of my family for an unofficial semi family reunion.  Fun, fun, fun!!! 😜 #lessismorein2024theroadtrip #thechildrenyearnforthemines #zipliningfortheolderkidsnotpictured #louisianaproudtocallithome #unofficialsemifamilyreunion

My instagram post pretty much hit all the highlights of Day 2 on the road.  Hahaha.  There's not much more I can add to all of that, so let's hear what the rest of the family had to say...

Scott (and Isaac):  Mining … most of my time was spent ziplining with the kids that wanted it. Hot. Very hot.   

Ethan:  the zip lines were cool 

Hahahaha.  I guess there really isn't much more to say.  LOL.

It really was a HOT morning.

"Dig the Crystal Experience"

(hashtag the children yearn for the mines

😂😂😂)

The camera didn't quite capture the look of the quartz in all of these rocks.

Once our mining adventure was complete, we finished off Day 2 with a long drive to my mom's house in Thibodaux.  Stay tuned for more family fun in Part 2 of the road trip recaps where I'll be covering Days 3, 4, and 5! 

Peace out!  Hahahahaha