While the Kid's Away, the Parents...

Since the small one was 4 years old, her grandparents have taken her to Disney World sometime in December nearly every year. They've skipped a couple of years, I didn't go every time, and this year would be the first year that they would be there for a big holiday like New Year's. The day after Christmas off they went, the small one and one of her very good friends (the one she went to Minnesota with this summer) with Grandma and Mark. J and I decided it was a good time to go spend some quality time together. I insisted that it would not involve bikes. I got that part but lost out on "no hiking! sweetness only!".  Yes, we stopped on the way up and on the way home for a very short but beautiful hike at Pedestal Rocks near Pelsor, Arkansas off Hwy 16. I think I'll save those photos for a different post. But while in Eureka- it was pure non athletic bliss. Good food, good wine and spirits, good shopping and even better company.

We stayed at the Historic Crescent Hotel. This hotel is allegedly haunted. Ghost tours and TV shows love this place. I don't know how I feel about that but we took the Ghost tour once. The only thing that I found a little creepy was the area in the basement that used to be a morgue. Okay, creepy but cool, cause we're weird like that.  We actually attempted to make this trip in late December of last year but the area was hit with one of the worst ice storms in recent history the day before we were scheduled to leave and we had to cancel. We arrived at the hotel late in the afternoon and the staff I must say, was wonderful. We settled into our rooms, showered off the trail dirt and got dressed up for a night out. It was Sunday and it's winter so I have to say that there was not a lot going on as far as Nightlife. I hear the scene, if that's what you're looking for, is much better in warmer weather. Nonetheless...our room was just a few steps from the upstairs bar Dr. Baker's Extraordinary Bistro and Sky Bar which has a balcony looking out on the city. We spent exactly 0 minutes out there. We just watched others go out to smoke and come back in shivering. I'm sure it's wonderful in the spring and fall. We indulged ourselves in a few pre dinner cocktails before setting off to Rogue's Manor. I can't say enough good things about our experience at this lovely dining room. The food was excellent, the service was great and best of all, we had the dining area to ourselves that cold Sunday night and we LIKED it that way. I highly recommend a visit to this establishment if you are in Eureka, especially if you're staying downtown on Spring and can walk back to your hotel.

The next day we slept in (a real luxury as of late) and went for a late breakfast buffet in the Crystal Dining Room.  They did have eggs and omelets to order but we stuck to the fare already out: oatmeal, bacon and sausage, biscuits with white gravy. And lots of coffee.  The plan was to hit Spring Street on a walk from our hotel to shop and people watch. Years ago, J and I came to Eureka and wandered into a wonderful old antique store that specialized in Maps. We spent a lot of time in that store that day. Unfortunately we found that the shop has since closed but we continued to make our way down Spring Street, window shopping and enjoying the day together. We found some deals, had some lovely coffee at Eureka Daily Grind, and continued our walk back up the hill to the hotel. We decided to hang out for a while in our room relaxing then cleaned up to go back over to the bar where we ended up being seranaded for far too long by a woman yelling her life story across the room at people she'd just met at another table. Some really nice folks from Kansas and Michigan who spend every "after Christmas broohahah" together at the Crescent invited us in to their card game but we opted to go take pictures on the Charity Christmas tree competition lawn and watch TV. Yawn. It may not have been filled with excitement but that is a nice change of pace for us. No bikes, no races, no rush.