The Oval Office, duplicated in the Clinton Library.
As you probably have figured out by now, the Coach and I are big nerds. For the Coach’s 40th birthday (coming soon to a candle factory near you!), we decided to take a trip. I gave him two options: Memphis, with all of its Elvis-inspired glory, or Little Rock, where we could see Clinton’s museum. The Coach opted for Little Rock, mostly because there was a chance that he could go to the maritime museum to play on a submarine.* So, we drove down on the 4th of July and checked into the only downtown hotel that would take critters because the Evil Kitten and Katje are in tow. Let’s just say that the hotel is adequate, but almost everyone else is here for a family reunion.
Yesterday, we dragged our sorry asses out of bed, ate our free continential breakfast (pretty good), and headed for the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. For those of you who are keeping count, this is our fifth Presidential Museum.** The library is located along the Arkansas River, on the opposite side of I-30 from the museum bookstore. For some reason — a “mis-memory” of the controversy about the location of the museum — I thought the library would be hanging out over the river. That’s not the case, although it does seem to be in a flood plain.
We started out by looking at the minature White House, then made our way up to the 12 minute orientation film. We were sitting there, waiting for the video to start when this person behind us said that he couldn’t wait for the W museum to open. I had to elbow the Coach on that one. Seriously? What on earth will W say about his miserable presidency? But then, that’s besides the point …
After the video, we wandered down to the model of the Cabinet Room, which was packed to the gills with people from — you guessed it — a family reunion. We decided to go down to Cafe 42 and eat lunch; we figured that this would allow that honking huge family to make its way through the museum. The food, by the way, was pretty good. We had the lunch buffet which included mashed potatoes, roast pork/beef, and bread pudding. Good thing we were walking around for the rest of the afternoon!
As presidential libraries go, the Clinton Library is adequate. It is much better than the Carter and Eisenhower museums, but the Truman museum is, by far, the best one I’ve ever been in. We walked around in there for a long time, browsing through the eight-year timeline, dipping into the policy nooks, learning that the Impeachment was just party politics. Well, let me modify that. The Coach is one of the slowest museum goers I have ever met; I spent a good chunk of time sitting on a bench just waiting for him to finish up.
A rainstorm stranded us in the museum after we were done looking around, but we eventually escaped to the museum store where the Coach picked up two ties (one with Republican presidents, the other with Democratic presidents). We could have bought shirts saying “I miss Bill” but honestly, while I wanted Hillary to be president, I don’t really miss the drama surrounding Bill’s dick (not to put too fine a point on it).
Oh, and Doe’s was closed for the holiday. So was the Velo Rouge. The list goes on and on. We finally ended up at the Flying Fish which was quite charming in a greasy, southern kinda’ way. The Coach had something called the Hogwaller basket (2 catfish, 4 shrimp, 6 oysters, and slaw) while I opted for the faux oyster po-boy (the bread was wrong) and okra. The best thing about the joint? The Billy Bass Adoption Center. {LOL!}
Now, I must get ready for today’s adventures. We’re off to Hot Springs to soak our feet in the therapeutic waters and to drink from the mineral springs.
* Sadly, he got so caught up in the Clinton Library that he wasn’t able to go to the submarine. Oh well.
** We’ve also been to: Hyde Park, NY; Abliene, KS; Independence, MO; and Atlanta, GA. That’s FDR, Eisenhower, Truman, and Carter.
