Hot Springs, Arkansas

On our way back to Wilmington to catch the Amtrak train back to New York, and stay overnight, prior to flying out to Hot Springs, the next piece of drama occurred. We had left Chestertown with adequate time, as we had thought, given the usual traffic conditions during the late morning, to arrival in a comfortable time. When, lo and behold, we experienced a major traffic hold up on the freeway, with bumper to bumper traffic crawling along, at a stop-start pace. Needless to say the time for the departure of the train began to creep up very quickly, and it almost seemed at one stage that we just might not make it. As with all cliff hanging adventures in the films, we just made it, with minutes to spare.

The hotel which I was booked into in Manhattan, New York, was so new that even the taxi driver commented on the fact that it was the first time that he had been there and had not known of it previously. I found it on the internet. It would appear that many others had too, as it seemed to be extremely busy with guests coming and going. The staff also appeared to be still learning how it all functioned.

Previously I have stayed at a small boutique hotel near Chinatown, which was well situated for my purposes, except that there was no lift. And dragging one's luggage up and down steep flights of stairs was a bit of a problem, given that mine always tends to be in the overweight category. So this new venue with its lift, was more than acceptable.

The flight to Arkansas was un-eventful, with my host Janis' husband awaiting me to transport me to their delightful home in a most beautiful semi-rural setting, where I was most graciously received for the one night I was to spend there, deliver a lecture, and then drive eight hours or so to Houston in Texas.





Here are some of the enthusiastic group that attended my lecture in Hot Springs.






The building on the left is the new church and the one on the right the 100+ year, old one. And it was in the old one that we attended a service on the Sunday morning prior to to driving to Houston. This was a most delightful experience with all singing being acapella. It was followed by a pot-luck luncheon which was a wonderful way, so I felt, to round out a most pleasant and happy experience. I sincerely thank Janis, her husband, and family for giving me the opportunity of sharing this experience and time with them.