Arkansas, Arkansas, I just love 'ol Arkansas....

Thanksgiving was fun. SO fun. Like, so-many-great-memories-and-too-many-awesome-pictures-that-it's-overwhelming-to-blog-about-it fun.

For your reading enjoyment (and by that I mean for my own organization) I've broken down our adventures into chapters. I'll try to keep the text brief....no one likes a blog with too much text C reminds me.

So here we go.....

This Thanksgiving we loaded up and headed to Arkansas to visit our good friends Mel and Justin and to see what Arkansas had to offer. Both (as expected) exceed our expectations!


A detour of the family history persuasion

Determined not to drive the same way to and from Arkansas we knew one leg of the trip would take us through Oklahoma. Oklahoma? The wheels in my mind started turning...I have an ancestor buried in Oklahoma And not just any ancestor...but one of the ONLY ancestors from the Owen line who isn't buried in Texas (who we subsequently did NOT find on our family history tour last May.)

C is so good to indulge me as we wander on country roads looking for old cemeteries (and in this case a totally different cemetery, and part of the state for that matter, than where other genealogy folk online said he was buried.) And we found him! My third great grandpa, Henry Edward Owen. Loved it.

We then stopped in Oklahoma City for lunch and to see the Oklahoma City bombing memorial - which we both thought was really well done. We later took a break in Tulsa for a little stroll and I have to say it was a super cute town....much cooler than anticipated!


The boys, a pulley and a fried turkey

Thanksgiving Day was good to us. We had a great time hanging out and helping out with the food prep. Mel and I chuckled at how our friendship has evolved from two 19 year old college freshman hanging out and eating campus cafeteria food to two women making Thanksgiving dinner! Good times. And C and Justin had a blast SAFELY frying our turkey to perfection. Impressive.



Arkansas and her many wonders

You may not know this, but Arkansas has a lot going for it! Seriously. First of all, I found it to be really pretty. And second, Bentonville, Rogers and Fayetteville are full of charm. We had a great time walking around, seeing the birthplace of Wal-Mart, visiting the Daisy Air gun museum (after preparing the night before by watching The Christmas Story), checking out fun shops and eating great food.



The night Hil got bullied into riding a camel

Somehow our innocent night of walking around the lights in Fayetteville turned into Mel making it her personal mission to get me on a camel. (I know, I know....you're jealous that your Christmas festivals don't have camels.) Mel and I fought and fought about it - me reminding her (and everyone within hearing range) that I am NOT an animal person - and Mel laughing so hard she was crying. In the end I did what any good friend would do and gave into peer pressure....errr....I mean....gave her a priceless memory! :)



The Ozarks

The sun may have been setting, but we were determined to go on one of Mel and Justin's favorite hikes in the Ozarks....and it did not disappoint. Crisp wintry air....the smell of fallen leaves...great views. Loved it. And we topped it off with awesome burgers for dinner in a fantastically small town. Awesome. We can't thank Mel and Justin enough for the amazing trip. So great to see them.



And Hilary slept in a tent

If this statement didn't make you rub your eyes in disbelief I'm not sure you know me well enough to be reading this blog. Just sayin'.....

But first, after leaving Bentonville we started our trek toward Crater of Diamonds State Park. We passed through the town of Alma. The name intrigued me so I quickly googled it on my phone and what results are shown? Parley P. Pratt's gravesite! You better believe we pulled right over, did a few more minutes of research and before we knew it we were seeing some church history.

That night we set up camp in the state park. C was so nervous I would have a miserable time. Haha. So maybe I hadn't slept in a tent (if you don't count Relay for Life....which C says we DEFINITELY don't) in like two decades.....and maybe I am decently vocal about how I like to camp....in CABINS. But truth be told, we had a blast. C whipped us up a delicious dinner and even though the rain poured through the night and morning we remained dry and cozy as could be.

The Whitesides' hunt for diamonds

True or False: Arkansas has a state park where you can hunt for diamonds? TRUE!

Blow your mind right? It's true....a full-on diamond field (with all sorts of other rocks and gems). Sure it was a few hours out of our way, but we just couldn't pass up this opportunity. When others ask why we ask WHY NOT?!

While we may have come up empty-handed, and even though we had to do some fancy work to keep my boot-less feet protected from the intense mud, we had a great time. After all, how many people can say they spent a few hours over Thanksgiving break looking for diamonds?

The Bullet and the comeback tour

Not long after leaving the diamond mine the trusty Bullet started having a party on the dashboard. Lights started flashing and gauges started going up and down. Then other parts of the car started getting in on the fun. We quickly realized our windshield wipers were struggling to work and that our headlights were no longer giving the light they were intended to. As we passed a town with the population of about 87, we knew we were in trouble.

So we said a little prayer that, if nothing else, we'd make it to the next town - a town that was 20 miles away - and we kept driving. As we pulled into Hope (ironic right?) we saw a Pontiac dealership on the right hand side of the road and C quickly pulled over. As we pulled into the dealership we lost power steering and the car completely died. We glided half-way into a parking stall and couldn't contain our shock, amazement and gratitude!

I'm not sure what surprised the car guys (who tried really hard to sell us a new car) most - the fact that we were laughing and smiling when we pulled in or the fact that I made C pose for a picture (MEMORIES!) before we could do anything else. A new alternator and a few hours later and we were on our way.

The Bullet is now officially on it's comeback tour....and not a Cher-type comeback tour if you catch my drift....


Thank you Thanksgiving 2010.....you were good to us.