Sunday, July 8, 2012

Stop 8: Little Rock, Arkansas


“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”
Leonardo da Vinci




Good
I love couch surfing! This was my first experience staying at a random family’s house who I met through Couch Surfing, which is a Facebook-type site for travelers looking for a cheap and more unique way to travel. They had southern accents, owned a trailer park, had the cutest shiatsu in the whole world, taught me how to prepare watermelon without using a knife (aka smash it on the ground), and took me tubing on their speed boat. One of the most fascinating pieces of this experience was hearing their daughter’s story of battling bone cancer. I empathized with her family because my uncle spent many of his last moments in Little Rock, Arkansas also battling bone cancer. I was constantly battling my own emotions towards death during this trip but somehow left with a feeling of renewed life and hope that this family helped me discover. Life gets crazy for everyone and the road is never perfect, but surrounding yourself with people who care about you is probably the biggest piece of knowledge I gained from this trip.

Bad
I wouldn’t say this is bad, but waking up with four dogs sleeping on my bed was definitely a surprise! HUGE bugs. I’m an outdoorsy girl, but flying bugs are nasty and I don’t want anything to do with them.

Crazy
Toad Suck Festival is everything I imagined about the South and more. I ate crawfish and frog legs for the first and (definitely) the last time, but I’m glad I was encouraged to try them. Also, there was a gigantic fish tank in my host’s house; probably the biggest one I have ever seen with lots of finding nemo fish J

Lame
Arkansas is called the Natural State, and I wish I had time to explore some waterfalls near Petit Jean Mountain and go canoeing down the Buffalo River.

Quote
“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding”…really?! I respect his art, but I’m not sure da Vinci totally thought this one through. There are some (or many) parts of life that we will never understand. Isn’t that what makes life exciting? I think “The noblest pleasure is the journey towards understanding.” Because once you get there, let’s be honest, you just store it in your head or check it off your list. Every goal in life should flow from one to the next with ease and curiousity.

Explore Little Rock now

Toad Suck Festival

Caring Bridge Site (support network for friends/family of the ill)

Petit Jean Mountain 

Buffalo River

Doe's Eat Place

Peabody Hotel (World Famous Duck March!)

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