Arkansas

Yesterday evening I flew into Arkansas to see my friend, Naomi.  She lives in Bentonville, home to WalMart.  We took to the town, which was surprisingly, a town, rather than the giant metropolis I would have expected from a super retailer.  We made sure to visit the first WalMart, the Walton's 5-10.  They sell old-time candy and toys, now, probably a lot like some of the stuff they opened with back in the 60's.  There was also a WalMart museum and cafe.  You wouldn't think that a museum about WalMart would be that interesting, but it actually was really intriguing.  I don't remember WalMart coming to where I lived until I was almost grown, so to find out it had been around for decades was startling. 

The cafe is fun, featuring really nice pastries, drinks, etc.  Perhaps the most fun, however, is the monthly feature they do on a country around the world.  This month is India, so they have Indian music playing and they sell several Indian inspired menu items.  We tried the mango lassi, which was pretty much a mango and yogurt smoothie with pistachios on top.  Very refreshing.

 

Later in the afternoon we went to a frozen yogurt place there, called Kikiberry.  It was AWESOME.  You go in, pick up a cup (3 different sizes), fill it up with as little or as much frozen yogurt you want, in as many different flavors as you want.  Then load up with as much or as little toppings you want, all different kinds, including candies, cookies, fresh fruit, whipping cream, and sprinkles.  Then pay by the ounce.  It was awesome.  And my favorite part?  The cake batter fro-yo is non-fat!  And my other favorite part?  One of the toppings they provide is marshmallow creme.  Did I say it was awesome?!  Because it was. 

And it was also awesome to see Naomi again.  Even more so than the ice cream.

Tonight we went to the Crystal Bridges museum, which is out in the middle of nowhere, but totally free museum.  They have a nice restaurant there, and we ate dinner together--great food.  Not what you would expect to find in Arkansas.  (I know that's a blanket statement, but you know what I mean.)  Naomi had lamb, which I tried for the first time, and I had cream of spinach soup, chicken with shittake mushroom sauce, and smoked cheddar grits.  Hello.  We had intended to wander around the museum after dinner, but it was much more slowly paced than we had intended.  Hopefully we can get back here tomorrow.