Randy finished his classes last Thursday, so we headed to Little Rock for Ray Parker’s Art show opening. It was held at the Historic Arkansas Museum in conjunction with the 11th annual NOG Off competition. On the trip down, Randy and I stopped at Wiederkehr Village for lunch. We didn’t order any wine, but the food was fabulous!
Wiederkehr’s Weinkeller Restaurant
After we got to Little Rock and checked into the historic Capital Hotel, we managed to tour the Old State House Museum. I was born, raised and lived most of my live in Oklahoma, which became a state in 1907. The fact that Arkansas was a state so many years before that, always comes as a surprise to me. The Old State House was obsolete before Oklahoma became a state. It was fascinating to tour and learn about the history.
Old State House Little Rock
After that side trip, we headed off to the reception for Ray Parker. The museum far exceeded my expectations. It has 6 galleries and the exhibits were wonderful. Ray’s friends, Wendell and Jackie, came from Memphis for the show and it is always great to visit with them. The surprise of the evening was the unexpected visit of Ray’s former boss Bob.
Ray and his former boss, Bob
Bob made the trip from Florida and certainly surprised Ray and Mary Jean. Also at the museum was an egg nog competition. The place was a mad house and the nog pretty good. I cannot tell a lie so suffice to say that Randy and I had several samples of the nog.
11th annual Nog Off at the Historic Arkansas Museum
After the show, we all headed back to the hotel for dinner. Anytime you have Johnny Cash’s niece, an ad man from the Mad Men era and a bit of drink, you can guarantee the stories will flow. Thanks Bob for dinner, it was such a fun time. And thank you Ray Parker for inviting us to the show! If anyone finds themselves in Little Rock before February 7th, you need to go see the show!
Historic Arkansas Musuem’s promo photo
On Saturday, we enjoyed our morning at the hotel, soaking up all the ambience!
Christmas Tree at the Capitol Hotel
The Capital Hotel is amazingly beautiful. The hotel has hosted many political and historic personages, including President Ulysses S. Grant. In fact, legend says that the Capital’s unusually large elevator was built to allow Grant to take his horse to his hotel room. I don’t know if the elevator legend is true, but the elevator was as big as my childhood bedroom!
We also drove around Little Rock and saw the State Capitol.
The Arkansas State Capitol
The famous Little Rock Central High School was huge. The shear size of the school is intimidating and makes you wonder where the Little Rock Nine found their courage.
Little Rock Central High School
Randy has taken several Arkansas History classes in the past 3 years. It is very enjoyable to visit these places with an expert!
Well, Little Rock was our last scheduled trip for 2015! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.
I still have the EPIC October road trip and Thanksgiving trip to Kansas City to document but I am way behind.
Stay tuned!
8 Comments
Wendell and I had so much fun seeing you and Randy and Ray and Mary Jean. Ray’s exhibit was wonderful and people obviously loved his work. We were impressed with the Historic Arkansas Museum and its many exhibits. It was great visiting the Native American exhibit with you and Mary Jean reminiscing about members of the Osage tribe whom you both knew. The ballerina whose surname was Tallchief was especially interesting.
You and Randy and Ray and Mary Jean were great dinner companions. And, of course, Bob Fisher, Ray’s former boss, made the evening memorable.
Thanks for the chronicle of a great weekend.
We enjoyed it too! So glad we got to visit. Come to Fayetteville soon.
Looks like a fun trip. Once again great pictures
Thanks James! It was a great trip and the Capital Hotel is outstanding.
Who would have thought you’d see all those beautiful things in Little Rock, Arkansas!! Great pictures!!
Thanks Charlotte!
One of the best trips ever and you brought it all back to life with your wonderful photos and great writing!
Thanks for the compliment but it definitely doesn’t do the trip justice! Not enough photos because the hands were holding egg nog.