49 of 52: taking the farewell tour through little rock.

Last week my mother flew to Phoenix to visit her sister and niece, and since it was easier for her to fly out of Little Rock, I decided to play chauffeur and make a week out of it. I hadn't been to the Rock since my week housesitting for the Carroll family in late May, and since I ship out soon, I don't know when I'll be back.

[i can always count on alan to join me at the town pump]

[the little and the middle entertain the gina]

I had a great week eating and drinking and catching up with lots of cool people. I stayed two nights with Angela and Lee, and I stayed two nights with the Carroll familia in West Little Rock, and it was great to get some good catch-up time with both of them.

[chihuly exhibit. it's breathtaking]

[pictures cannot do this justice] 

[words from the artist]

[are we sure he can't run again?] 

[inside the library. such a cool place]

I also checked out a few coffee shops [River City Coffee in Hillcrest was my favourite], I did some work at the library downtown, and - most importantly - I made a visit to Slim Chickens. I got to see people in Sturgis and visited the Chihuly exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Center. I had coffee with Don Ernst, lunches with David Monteith and Alex Thomas, and dinner with Dr and Mrs Hughes. And I obviously made it to All Day Happy Hour at the Town Pump.

[love these carroll sisters. sad the maggie couldn't be there with us]

Even though I didn't spend a lot of time in Little Rock when I was younger, I loved the year I lived there for grad school, and I made some great friends. I'm glad that I was able to have some time visiting those places and seeing those people before I leave for India.

other highlights included: my guide to Bangalore was featured on Hippie in Heels; made a trip to Helena for Lauren St Columbia's wedding and got to catch up with a lot of old friends, including some kiddos I used to babysit way back in the day.

[i remember when this sweet girl was born, nearly 16 years ago. i can't get over how grown-up she is!]

[the house that raised me]

I can't believe it's only 11 days until I leave. Perhaps it's time to leave the blog for a bit and get some packing done...
xx