A weekend of Instax

Bowler Hat & Tights: Target
Blanket: Housewarming gift from Cheyenne

Jake and I went on a small in-state tourist adventure over the weekend. I've been wanting to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art since it opened in the fall, so we planned a mini road trip to northern Arkansas to see it. The museum is about three and a half hours away from us, located in the same city as Wal-Mart's headquarters, and it's a product of Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton's fortune. Though the museum is the big tourist draw, Bentonville's sort of an unlikely place to vacation, so we opted to stay an hour away in Eureka Springs instead.

 We took the scenic route there, straight through the Ozark Mountains, which probably added a ton of time to our trip, but it was fine because our real goal for the day was to have no goal anyway. We packed a picnic of leftovers, but the sky was grey and our stomachs stayed full from breakfast so we never ate it. Jake drove and stopped every time I told him I wanted a picture, which probably happened three or four times along the way. It's the kind of thing I always want to do on a road trip, but their never seems to be any spare time.

We stopped in a small town called Kingston first which consisted of a town square and a strange roundabout which cycled traffic around the square through the middle of the town, and was strange mostly because the square wasn't round, it was square. I read on the gas station door that there was free wi-fi in that square and, in my city ways, thought that was funny for some weird reason. We parked and walked around for a bit, and that's when I photographed the 60s pay phone and the old white building. I had the disguise of a tourist all weekend with my 35mm Canon around my neck and my Instax mini around my wrist.

We spent most of that night drinking in our hotel room, and Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and made our way to the historic district of Eureka Springs. If you haven't been to Eureka Springs, it's definitely a place to add to your list. There's lots of quirky shops there and tons of great history, plus it's nestled up in the hills with spectacular views of purple mountains. Jake bought me a quilt, which I love, and he walked around with me as I took more pictures of Chapel signs and silly sculptures.

That afternoon we drove west to the museum where we saw works by Benjamin West, Georgia O'Keeffe, Andy Warhol and Alexander Calder, to name but a few. Cameras were allowed so long as you didn't use a flash, and so you can imagine my embarrassment when my flash went off as I photographed a Calder mobil. I didn't get in any trouble which was good, but the picture wasn't all that great for such an unintentional renegade moment. Despite that, the trip was great and I was glad that we went.