North Little Rock

Wednesday morning, after a nice healthy breakfast prepared by our hostess at the Monastery (including a delicious yogurt parfait), we found ourselves almost immediately in interstate traffic.  The route to Little Rock, our next destination, could really not be reached any other way than via I-40, five hours of it.  Very tedious driving.

 

I tried to entertain us by playing music from YouTube on the sound system through my iPhone, which five weeks on the road had enabled me to master.  There were no small towns and no murals.  We arrived in North Little Rock, and I realized that while these last two days of driving had made the road trip less entertaining, Martha had tried to at least make our accommodations interesting.  Our hotel for the night was The Baker, an 1896 Victorian home on a quiet side street near little bistros and restaurants.
 

The house had a round turret, and that is where we were staying.  I don’t think I have ever stayed in a turret before.  We wandered through the house, which was equipped with a modern kitchen, but otherwise furnished with Victorian-era chairs and sofas.  I always admire beautiful workmanship, and the carpenters who had completed this house 127 years ago were the very best.  We climbed the narrow winding steps to the second floor, and then the even narrower steps to the turret room – all 36 of them.
 

Our bedroom was just remarkable.  As someone who has done a bit of carpentry, I had nothing but admiration for the perfect curved base moldings and wainscoting in the master bedroom.
 

We explored the area near The Baker, and decided that after weeks of salads, light Mexican fare, and the like, we were ready for some comforting Italian food, so we sat in the window seat at Ristorante Capeo just a block away and enjoyed one of our best dinners on our road trip.