Oct 27 - Hot Springs Arkansas

We started out to find the high school that Bill Clinton attended. It is no longer a high school but it is certainly a beautiful building. On the way back we spotted the historic Hot Springs depot. There was a guy selling vegetables even though it was RAINING again today. Then we went downtown and found the Hot Springs city welcome sign which features a picture of Clinton on the front. As we looked at the fountain behind the sign we found that the back side features a student in the Hot Springs High School band (could be Clinton but we are not sure.) We then headed to the Arkansas Rehab Center – isn’t that weird? We are touring a hospital. This building was built as the first joint Army/Navy Rehab center after WWI (1933.) It was situated in Hot springs because of the healing mineral waters in this area. Although that sounds weird to us, it is pointed out that many of the issues addressed by the hot mineral water baths are now addressed by drugs – arthritis, muscle cramps, etc. This building was operated as a joint military hospital until 1961 when it was leased to the state of Arkansas for $1 for an unlimited period of time as long as it is operated as a rehab center. The construction is absolutely beautiful and the head of security told us the building was exceptionally well built. We were impressed with the detail including the front door, the office doors, and the elevator. Even though built as a hospital, this building reflected the timeliness of history and has now been named to the National Historic Register. We left there and visited some shops, including an antique shop where I twisted my knee as we came out the door. That finished our walking for the day. We rode to Lake Catherine and got a good picture of the dam and then rode up the mountain and got a good picture of the landscape. We came back to the hotel and rested for a while. We noticed that the sun came out and got a couple of pictures of the tower and of Rehab hospital in the SUN (first we had seen since we got to Hot Springs.) A soak in the hot tub certainly helped my knee. A good day.