Road Trip: Searcy & Heber Springs, Arkansas

We went on a short road trip to Arkansas this past weekend.  Our son is interested in attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.  Last weekend was their Homecoming so it was a great opportunity for him to visit the campus and stay with a couple of graduates from his high school.  My husband and I stopped at Harding University long enough to enjoy a performance of an acapella group called the "Good News Singers".  They performed outside the auditorium.  Beautiful voices, but there was definitely the bite of cool fall temperatures in the air.  It was cold enough that I didn't want to take my hands out of my pockets to snap pictures.  This is the only shot I took that shows part of the campus while we were visiting Harding:

My husband and I left Joseph at the dorm with his friends and headed to Heber Springs to a Bed & Breakfast.

I normally love to stay at Bed & Breakfasts, but we were both disappointed in this one, so I didn't take any pictures.  (We are going to a fabulous Bed & Breakfast in Louisville, Kentucky this coming weekend and I will take tons of pictures to show you.  It is gorgeous!)

We had a nice leisurely Saturday and did a lot of things that the two of us enjoy.  We shopped Heber Spring's Main Street and looked in several antique stores, had chai lattes at a coffee shop, and enjoyed talking with a cashier at a "Life Is Good" store.  She told us of a really good Flea Market store about 7 miles up the road.  We drove there and had a great time reminiscing as we browsed the booths.  You start feeling really old when you see objects from your childhood displayed in an antique shop!  We came home with a few "antiques" we just couldn't pass up.  Aromatique is headquartered in Heber Springs, so we visited their outlet and purchased their Creme Caramel room spray.  It has a warm baked vanilla scent.  I seem to be drawn to fragrances that smell like food!

In the afternoon, we decided to hike Sugar Loaf Mountain.  Sugar Loaf Mountain is more of a large hill than a mountain, but on the very top of it was a huge rock structure.  The only way to get to the very top of the mountain would be to have climbing gear.  It took us about 20 minutes and several stops to catch our breath before we made it to the place where the rock formation started.  We then climbed as far as we safely could on the rocks.  Climbing on the rocks was the most fun I have had in a long time!  We did see some men attempting to climb to the top with ropes.  The climb was well worth it...the view was spectacular!

A view of Sugar Loaf Mountain from the bottom.

On our way to the top, you can see the rock structure through the trees.

The view from our first stop after we started climbing the rock.

The rocks above us. (They were leaning, not me!)

As a visual perspective, my husband beside the rocks.

A crack in the rocks just large enough to squeeze through, but no way to get to the top.

This is the view from the other side.  This was as far as we could go.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day to ourselves.  Joseph had a great time at Harding visiting with his friends.  We pick him up in time for church on Sunday morning and then headed back to Alabama.  Joseph has decided to go to college at Harding.

This is how he told me he had decided on Harding:  On Friday after we arrived at Harding, Joseph and I were in their Bookstore looking for a sweatshirt to purchase since it was so cool outside.  The sweatshirt he chose was a Nike sweatshirt and was more than I normally pay for sweatshirts.  He asked if I would consider paying that much for a sweatshirt.  I told him there was no way I would pay that much for a sweatshirt for a University he might not even attend.  He looked at me and said, "I thought you knew this is where I want to go to college!"  Needless to say, I bought the sweatshirt.  We are pleased with his decision to attend this Christian University and are looking forward to exploring more of this area in the next few years.

Enjoy your week!

Judy :)