Little Rock, Arkansas

Halfway between Bentonville and Memphis lies Little Rock. We both wanted to check out the Clinton Presidential Library and see a bit of the city, so we gave it a quick stop. Just off the highway is Clinton street, a busy, well kept stretch of bars, restaurants, shops, the River Market, etc. leading out to the library. Running along the water, the street gives great views of the Mississippi and the several old bridges that run across it. It also lends a first-time visitor a pretty good impression of the city. Mine: clean, vibrant, and pretty sophisticated. Signs for regular movies in the park and a production of Alice in Wonderland at a theater overlooking the water don’t hurt.

We parked close to the Clinton library gift shop, which is about three quarters of a mile from the library itself, something we didn’t quite realize until forced to make the walk in the beating sun. Spent a few minutes looking and laughing at old Clinton memorabilia and got our “Billgrimmage” passport stamped (one stamp for every town in AR where the former Pres lived) before heading to the library.

The library itself an incredible, rectangular glass structure overlooking the Arkansas River. It sits at the end of a very long street, that functions like a driveway to a huge residential house set back from the main road. Odd, but cool looking. The collection itself is divided into three floors. We started on the third, where replicas of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room are found. All in all, we spent about an hour reading about his presidency, checking out pictures from his childhood, and reminiscing about how great the 1990s were. On some level, I think we both miss Bill.