Day 11 (July 22nd):
CHILLIN' in
EUREKA SPRINGS
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DAY ELEVEN COMMENTARY

This town, I will reiterate, is lovely, and if you enjoy the coziness of places like Carmel, CA and the neighborhoods which especially cling to the hills of San Francisco, then you owe it to yourself to visit here. While
I don’t mean to exclude anyone, this is especially true if you are married and/or involved with a special someone, for the potential for romance is high whether staying right in town or at one of the little B&B’s within walking distance. How exactly one actually gets here -- no, no, I don’t mean by first walking away from one’s career, divorcing, losing one’s house, and overloading a motorcycle to ride here -- I mean how to get here via air I do not know, but I can’t hold your hands all the time now, can I? Get on Expedia and figure it out, people!

The day was almost a wash, trying to update pages, but I bolted out of my hotel with more sightseeing and eventual dining in mind. I was very psyched to hear that the “Historic Loop” walk continued well beyond the several blocks I had walked past the center of town, although I knew I likely wouldn’t be walking its entire 2.5-mile length that evening. Still, there were more uniquely-designed and historical structures to be seen nearby, and I decided I would drive its length during my departure the next morning.

I walked around back in town a little more in an attempt to decide where to take dinner. There was a place called the “Mud Street Café”, which was closed, but an historical marker on its building told of how the first Main Street traveled down through a steep embankment which often flooded and became a pool of mud. During a thorough renovation of the downtown roadway area, several streets were raised upon foundations one “story” above their previous level, which meant that storefronts and the like found themselves facing the new retaining walls just a yard or so away. These surviving passageways became the “Underground Eureka” (www.undergroundeureka.com) of legend.

Running out of dining options, then realizing that I hadn’t yet taken advantage of the hotel’s outdoor spot perched literally above the town center, I climbed the stairs to the Balcony Restaurant, whereupon I saw some of the younger folk with whom I had rubbed elbows at Jack’s Lounge the night before. I axed my waiter to direct the kitchen to fire up an “Arkansas Sloppy Sandwich”, a BBQ pork concoction that featured a tangy sauce to go along with sliced onions. Sated, and having enjoyed the view, I retired to the room to do some more late night web page updating and to prepare for an orderly departure the next morning.

Church

The New Orleans Hotel

View up Spring Street

Nice Buildings

Another Church

An Inn of Some Sort

1898