ARKANSAS TRAVELS, Day 5, June 5, 2012

Dempsey and I had breakfast this morning in the Venetian Room of the Arlington Hotel. While there, I remembered that, had Charles and I stayed together, we would be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary today. In spite of that no longer being the case, we celebrated the day anyway and raised our coffee cups to that remembrance. Both of us had omelettes for breakfast--I had an excellent mushroom and bacon omelette. Following breakfast, we drove to Little Rock, circa 55 miles away, on a sunny and promising morning. There we spent the whole day at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park, the presidential library of Bill Clinton. The center was established by Clinton, the 42nd President of the US. It includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. It is the 13th presidential library to have been completed in the US, the 11th to be operated by the National Archives. It is situated on 17 acres of land located next to the Arkansas River and I-30, and was designed by the architectural firm Polshek Partnership. The main building cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century." It is 68,698 sq. ft., and the presidential library is the largest presidential library in terms of physical area. The five-story building has 20,000 ft. of exhibition space; the Great Hall, which is used for banquets and forums; Forty Two, a full-service restaurant; and classrooms. A 2000 sq. ft. executive apartment used by Clinton is located on the fifth floor. The organization of the exhibits within the main building was inspired by the famous Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin, which Clinton saw when he was a Rhodes scholar. The Cadillac One used during his presidency is housed on the first floor. On the second floor, the main gallery houses a 110-foot timeline, representing each of his years as president. There is also an 80-seat theater, the Great Hall, and the replicas of the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room. The Clinton library is surrounded by the Clinton Presidential Park, with 30 acres of land located on the riverfront next to the museum. It is an example of urban renewal, as the site was formerly a run-down warehouse district. The park was built next to the site of abandoned railroad tracks. We first toured the entire museum with a knowledgeable guide for about 1 1/2 hours, then had lunch at 42, a restaurant which is so named because Clinton was the 42nd president of the US. Dempsey had a duck breast prosciutto salad, with bing cherries, goat cheese crostini, radishes and carrots with honey balsamic vinaigrette. I had half a Presidential club sandwich with thyme-roasted chicken and rice soup. Both were fabulous. Afterwards, there was much of the building left to see, and so we armed ourselves with our audio guides and combed all the exhibits thoroughly until about 4:30 p.m. Afterwards, we took a short trolley ride down President Clinton Avenue, lined with 75 lacebark elms. About half a mile down we stepped off into the bookstore and gift shop associated with the Library, but tucked away separately (great idea). While there, I bought a beautiful Nigerian free trade necklace in black and burnt orange, featuring a pendant leaf and quite gorgeous. We returned to Hot Springs at about 6:30, then had dinner in the Venetian Room of our hotel. Dinner featured a spinach, salmon, cherry, and roasted pecan salad that was excellent. Dempsey, additionally, had a tomato basil soup. At this time, Dempsey is taking a bath while I write this. Off to the Garvan Gardens tomorrow. Great times! Greetings to all!