Winding roads, hills, sun in your eyes, not knowing where you are, …. what more could you want? As I made a ridiculous U-Turn in the middle of some road in some neighborhood in Hot Springs, there was a car headed straight for us!! Needless to say, I punched it and scared the shit out of my wife! Hey, we were looking for our B&B and we were a little confused with the directions and address.
Boom! There it is, The Spring Street Inn! Wow, we would’ve never known or guessed it was where it was…. smack dab in the middle of some neighborhood. As we slowly drove up the driveway and cautiously parked the car, we see a man walking toward us…. he seems harmless and friendly though. Oh hey, it’s August, the owner of the inn. He welcomes us, tells us about the town (a 5 minute walk down the street) and then shows us our cabin, The Carriage House.
We were excited to see the town so we quickly walked down to Central Ave, the main drag in town. First stop, obviously, is the Ohio Club!! A historic landmark of it’s own, the Ohio Club has been a staple for more than 100 years. It’s walls have seen old baseball greats to Al Capone and the gangsters! A relic for sure and a really cool place to just step into and have a drink if you don’t want dinner. We had some dinner but did not stay for the live band…. I’m sure the show was awesome. Next Up, we’ll top off the night with Fat Bottom Girls cupcakes!!
Day 2
An early morning rise to drink coffee on the porch and just relax for a minute. After breakfast was served, (vegan menu especially for us!) we cleaned up and headed down to the Grand Promenade Scenic Walk.
This is located just on the hill behind bathhouse row and then went for a walk around the town. First stop, The Humidor, a cigar lounge, for some Christmas gifts and cigars. Then it was a quick walk through bathhouse row and the free museum in the visitors center. We decided we would get a tattoo on this day, as we always do on our trips. We made an appointment for Spa City Ink, about a five minute drive just outside of town (look for the big rooster) and we opted for something simple and quick.
Man, time is funny when you’re just hanging out, so we started to get hungry. Our choice was an early dinner at the Diablo!!(Diablos Tacos and Mezcal) We saw this place the night before and it was hopping with outdoor patio lights, drinking, and the smell of fajitas in the air. We topped off the night with a wine tasting session that lasted about an hour at the bathhouse row winery. After that, and a little buzz, we decided we better head back to the cabin.
The Diablo
Day 3
Another early morning to go downtown and take some photos. Then it was back to our room in time to catch another awesome breakfast served straight to the kitchen! By this time we had to start planning our day and what all we were going to do since there is quite a bit you could do here. I knew we wouldn’t be able to get to all of it so we had to narrow it down. Out the door again to the Grand Promenade Trail that leads to the Arlington Hotel and Resort and puts you right in the middle of a public park and the Hot Water Cascade!
The Arlington Resort is interesting…. you can just walk in and explore the hotel and there’s a book store, record shop, and small shopping gallery on the lower level. We didn’t purchase anything but the stores were neat to explore.
After you cross the street in front of the Arlington, there’s a wax museum that has free wine tasting. As you walk in, it’s on the side and it’s called Southern Club’s Last Pour. This is where we discovered the wine shine, or what we call, moon wine! A mixture of moonshine and wine. I didn’t really understand it but the wine was delicious, so we bought a couple bottles.
Well, we debated over the 501 Prime Steakhouse, Porterhouse Steakhouse, Grimaldi’s Pizza, or Deluca’s Pizza. Since Porterhouse was right there when we parked at the church (free parking) and just opening their doors, we went in! The place was empty and we had it all to ourselves. So, we ordered a couple drinks and began to nestle into the atmosphere of this cool place. I have to say, we were so impressed with the steak and food, we even tipped the waiter $45!!! A perfect ending to an awesome day. My wife and I had so much fun…. I really enjoy the intimate setting where we can just talk to each other in a quiet place and enjoy some drinks and food.
We had one final thing to do before we decided to turn in for the evening. It was the West lookout on the side of the hill. When you are in downtown, just take a right on Prospect Ave. and follow it up the hill. There will be several places to stop and look out over the city, it’s pretty amazing.
There are several things we didn’t get to do. Since we already had tattoos, we were unable to enjoy the hot springs bath. You can walk in to the Buckstaff Bathhouse, and for about $90, you can enjoy a 20 minute bath and 20 minute massage. You can also schedule a couples massage and bath at the Quapaw. We didn’t know this on the first day. Go early since there are usually a lot of walk ins. We were also going to go to the Ron Coleman Mining park where you dig for your own crystals, zipline, and more. We didn’t hike to Mountain Tower because the Inn owner told us it was about a 45 minute hike, and we just didn’t want to do that. If you have time, I’ve heard that the Maxwell Blade Show is really good.
Don’t forget to take a jug or canteen to fill up at one of several Hot Springs filling stations. You just turn the knob and hot spring water pours out at a rapid pace!
The Gallery
