This weekend, we did a little traveling. Love having somewhere to go on Labor Day! I had some work stuff to do in Memphis but we have some family members in Arkansas so we decided to make the drive over that way during the trip. Specifically, we hit up Little Rock for a day — why not cross that city off the list?

First impression? It was SO hot — 100 degrees when we arrived and I was sweating like crazy. Also…there wasn’t a whole lot going on. Not sure what I expected of Arkansas but I thought there would be more attractions in a Capitol city. Ahhh well, we made a list and decided to do everything we could while we were there.

1. The Clinton Library. 
Everything in Little Rock is about the Clintons — the airport, the streets, the museums. I had heard about the library and it was really close. Surprisingly, not really a library. It’s more of museum in tribute to the Clintons, their past and their rise. It was actually kind of cool to look through all the old artifacts, hear famous speeches and see old photos. Found this gem of a drawing from “Billy Clinton” when he was a kid.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up my photo sitting in the Clinton “oval office” space. They don’t let you take your own photos but I was going to buy it because I thought it was cool. The library has a lot of stuff about dinosaurs too, but I didn’t feel like the two topics went together very well!

2. The Little Rock Zoo.
We were underwhelmed walking in but actually super impressed when we go it. It was well laid out and I swear I saw more animals than I’ve seen at other zoos. It was NOT busy at all and we made the rounds quickly.  I was so excited to see a gorilla up close for the first time — as well as some rare snakes and all kinds of wild animal “cats” I had never heard of before. Everything was really accessible and close. I could have watched this gorilla all day!

Obviously had to get a pic on the fake one too 🙂 It was still a scorcher and we were sweating mid -day but stopped from lemonade slushies and a rest break to get us through the whole zoo!

3. Little Rock Central High School.
You know this school…it played a critical role in the Civil Rights movement with 9 black students enrolled at the all-white school, testing out the Supreme Court ruling to desegregate public schools. The photos from that day live in infamy. You may recognize this one:

There was no one around when we stopped by but it was chilling to be there where this happened. It’s hard to believe this was such a recent part of our history — so it was humbling to be there and recognize how different things are today.

4. Junction Bridge & Downtown Little Rock
The bridge is one of their main attractions, though it’s not that impressive. It was one of the first places we stopped so yes, we hiked to the top and across. There is definitely a bit of picturesqueness to it, especially at sunrise, sunset or coming from the highway. Below, you could ride on a riverboat and apparently, you can actually have parties ON the bridge — at least that’s what the signs seemed to advertise.

We also headed to the little downtown area, which was very tiny and had few restaurants. Some were closed for the ENTIRE Labor Day weekend just…because I guess. Needless to say, finding breakfast in the morning was quite a task!

There was one lone ice cream place in the midst of this heat — we went three times and it was SO busy. It was also fairly expensive so I can imagine they are raking it in. We ended up eating at a few different places, nothing being super impressive.

5. Arkansas River Trail. 
This trail was near everything else but turned out to be prettier than I expected. It’s supposedly 13 miles long so marathon trainees — have at it! I enjoyed our walk on the docks and around the area. We could have gone longer but nearly 4 miles in the heat was plenty for this pregnant lady. My legs felt like lead by the time we were finished!

6. Big Rock Fun Center. 
Yes, it was listed as one of the main attractions so we went there! I am actually shocked how much fun we had playing putt-putt! I won by three points 🙂 Then, we went inside and played ski ball, basketball and air hockey. It’s amazing how stupid games can make you feel like a kid again. I enjoyed doing something simple and silly — and realizing how much fun Rick and I have together.

I tried getting a shot of my almost-28-weeks pregnant belly during our walk but I feel like this pic is a sad representation of the bump. This was not a maternity shirt and it makes me look so crazy small!

This shot is a little better (of the bump):

We TRIED visiting the Hot Springs but there was apparently a horrible traffic accident on the highway there so after waiting for an hour in traffic that was literally NOT moving from 10 miles out, we ditched the plan. I was really sad not to go (though I don’t think I would have been allowed to get in the hot springs) because it’s the one thing people always talk about in Arkansas but…ahh well.

So that was part of our Labor Day weekend! Hope yours was good!