Bentonville

On Saturday we left Claremore to head for Bentonville, Arkansas, to visit the Crystal Bridges Museum. I figured the name must memorialize a distant cousin on my father's side (maybe closer kin to Alicia), but instead it refers to Crystal Springs that feeds into the water features on the property and the bridges. I didn't figure any of my relatives would have married into the Walton family, anyway (Sam's family, not John-Boy's).

We avoided main roads and found a scenic way through the Ozarks. By chance we drove through Mickey Mantle's home town.

You are greeted at the museum's courtyard entrance by a large spider sculpture that symbolizes motherhood. The setting for the museum is quite scenic, and there are trails through the woods, some of which feature sculptures. The distinctive architecture of the museum is as interesting as the art exhibits.

Perhaps my favorite picture in the museum was The Reader. The photo does not do justice to the glowing white of the dress and the impressionist's sense of light.

There was to be a wedding there later that evening, and bridesmaids were dressed up and being photographed outdoors. There were also students around the museum, some already dressed up, who were having homecoming festivities. The couple pictured below were being followed around by a photographer. I don't know if they were part of the wedding or the homecoming. They looked a little young to be the bride and groom.

When the museum closed, we headed out to eat and decided to stay at the La Quinta Inn across the street from the restaurant. It was nice enough, though not brand new, like the one in Claremore. The pool was indoors, so Torrey decided he would get up early and swim and then go back to the museum to see what he had missed. By then I was aware enough of Torrey's habits to be skeptical, but told him to do it quietly in the morning, and I'd try to wake up in time to eat some breakfast and be showered by the time he got back. Needless to say, Plan A didn't happen. We left for Weatherford and stopped for a late lunch in Oklahoma City at Luby's Cafeteria. We were too hungry to take Siri's earlier advice to eat at the one in Austin. I then spent my last night at Torrey's in Weatherford before flying out of OKC the next morning.