About a month ago I planned a trip. A secret trip. Only I knew about where we were going. Oh, yeah, I told Middle Boy T because he would have to take care of the dogs. Otherwise, I told no one. This, of course, was quite a milestone in my secret, surprise keeping. Let’s just say I’m not particularly good at holding in the excitement. If you want to tell me a secret surprise, no problem, ‘mums’ the word. But my own secret surprises? Yeah, nope, it’s just a matter of time before I let the cat out of the bag. This time, however, I was very secretish.
This year we celebrate our 13th anniversary. July 13th would be that day. Good thing we’re not all 13 phobic. Kinda hard for me to be triskadeckaphobic (sp?) since my birthday is October 13th. Unfortunately, I won’t be around on July 13th so I conjured up this little trip for our anniversary a month in advance. I decided to pick somewhere within 10 hours and that somewhere ended up being Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Like Asheville, NC or Austin, TX, Eureka Springs is one of those vortexes of culture and lifestyle that defies stereotype. It’s a live and let live destination in an otherwise bastion of religious conservatism. Bikers, Gays, old Hippies and mountain folk all congregate amidst the touristy shops while Christ of the Ozarks peeks out above the lush green of the mountains. It’s a groovy place and I’ve always found the people of Arkansas to be very friendly. We had a very nice time indeed. One can never discount the therapeutic nature of dang lot of trees all around.
The one roadside attraction I wanted to see was the world’s largest wind chimes. This particular ‘world’s largest’ is actually Guinness approved. It’s not like the rocking chair, pecan or twine wars. Oh no. They’ve got a certificate and everything. And guess what? It’s big. You’ll need some extra gusty winds to move this thing around.
It hangs in front of the Celestial Windz chime shop. They ask for a $5 donation to help with the upkeep. Or, you could do what we did, and check out the cool chimes they have for sale and maybe buy one or two or… ok, we kinda like wind chimes and outdoor hanging thingys.
The best part? Yes, you can ring the chimes and it sounds wonderful…
How FUN!!! Congrats on your 13th annivesary! 13 is a lucky number for me too! Love the story & pictures. Please post more pics!!! xo
How could you visit the world’s largest wind chime and not hear what it sounded like. I know one person from Arkansas (that I know of) and he is truly the sweetest guy on the planet.
Happy, happy, joy, joy, a month early. WooHoo!
Wow! Those are, in fact, BIG!
Oh, wow! These are great! Maybe a road trip to Arkansas is in order… BIG is beautiful!