Discovering Little Rock One Meal at a Time

Carrie and me walking across the bridge

We took a vacation this past week while Carrie was on Spring Break at her work. I took a few days off so we could all go on a trip together. We traveled with Erin and Greg, and while we had originally planned to go to Florida, those plans did not work out. Instead, we threw a bunch of destinations into a virtual hat and voted.

From that list, we narrowed it down to Chicago, San Antonio, and Little Rock. We do plan to go to Chicago at some point, likely by train, but decided now was not the right time. While we had all passed through Little Rock on various trips, none of us had ever spent any real time there. With the voting finished, we started researching places to stay and, more importantly, places to eat.

We reviewed several Airbnb options and selected one. About two weeks before our trip, the owner reached out to let me know they needed to cancel. What? There was some mix up on their end, and they said they could no longer host us. The host asked us to cancel the reservation so they would not lose their preferred host status. Instead, I contacted Airbnb customer service and asked them to assist with the process. The host was not happy about it, but they ultimately had to cancel, which allowed us to receive a full refund. Airbnb's FAQ clearly states that if a host asks a renter to cancel, you should not do so and should contact customer service, which is exactly what we did.

Lunch at Torchy's Tacos on our Way

We scrambled to find another place since several of the spots we had originally saved were no longer available. We did find one that had been on our original list, but it was outside of Little Rock. The house was in Alexander, about twenty minutes from downtown. It turned out to be the perfect spot. The host was excellent, kept us updated on everything, and provided great recommendations on where to eat and drink.

We stayed in the Little Rock area for five nights, leaving on Saturday, March 14, and returning on March 19. We could not take Oliver with us, so Joan and Eddie watched him while we were gone. We figured he would have a better time with them than traveling with us, and the Airbnb we selected did not allow pets anyway.

Between friends, Reddit, vloggers, and our Airbnb host, we had no shortage of recommendations for places to eat, drink, and visit. We had a great time exploring the area and even managed to fit in some cultural stops along the way.

Some highlights from our trip included the following.

• George’s Little Rock is an upscale Italian restaurant in the Heights neighborhood of Little Rock, located on Kavanaugh Boulevard. The menu focuses on classic Italian dishes, along with house made desserts and a thoughtfully curated wine list.
  
  

  

  Lasagna at George's

  
  
• Brave New Restaurant overlooks the river and is located in a business area. The food was delicious, with a menu that includes seafood, wild game, and locally sourced ingredients. It was a perfect spot for lunch or dinner. We went for lunch and sat outside.
  
  

  

  Shrimp for Lunch at Brave New Restaurant

  
  
• The Oyster Bar was a place we discovered while searching for local spots. It was a great find, offering oysters, Cajun options, and other seafood selections. It worked well for either lunch or dinner.
  
  

  

  Oysters and Lobster for Lunch

  
  
• Dust Bowl Lanes was another spot we found when we decided to go bowling on Sunday. It is a retro location where we bowled on old school lanes, drank local beers, and had a great time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Brood & Barley was recommended by vloggers Kelly and Cody, whom I follow. We stopped in for drinks. While we did not eat there, the food coming out of the kitchen looked amazing. We almost went back before we left town but decided to try something else. It is definitely a spot we will visit again on a future trip.
  
  
• Local Lime was another place we came across while researching. It offers Mexican inspired street food done very well. They also had some of the best margaritas I have had in quite a while. A great spot overall. No pictures from this visit.
  
  
• Scoops was one of the ice cream places we found that had not been on our original list. We each ordered two scoops, which turned out to be a lot of ice cream, but I finished all of mine. It was a great stop and one I would highly recommend if you are in Little Rock. We almost went back again before leaving the area. No pictures from this visit.
  
  
• Delicious Temptations was the one breakfast spot we visited. It is family owned and was very busy, with about a twenty five to thirty minute wait, but it was well worth it. This was a recommendation from our host, and I would absolutely suggest stopping in if you are nearby. No pictures from this visit.

Bill Clinton Presidential Library

Those are just a sampling of the highlights from the trip, covering breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, and dessert. We all want to go back again, as there was so much more to do beyond eating and drinking. We also did some sightseeing to expand our cultural experience. We visited the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, which was interesting to see, and stopped by the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, a key moment tied to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling and one that connects directly back to Topeka, Kansas.

Sunset in Little Rock

It was a fun trip, and we all hated to leave and head back home. I cannot wait to visit again. Hopefully next time we will be camping, as we scoped out several locations for a future camping trip. After all these years of driving through Little Rock without stopping, I am glad we finally did. It was well worth the trip, and I look forward to going back.

Returning to C2T Ranch: A Perfect End to Camping Season

We went on our last camping trip of the season and returned to a place we had only visited once before but loved so much that we had to go again. We stayed at C2T Ranch on the Saline from October 17 to 19. This is a HipCamp site we first visited in 2022, and we were excited to go back. This spot never disappoints. It is on a working ranch where we saw and heard cattle roaming the land. At night, after going to bed, we heard coyotes in the distance. It was a fun spot, and we ate well too.

We decided to rent a U-Haul so we could all travel together in one vehicle, which worked out great. We went with Erin and Greg, who joined us on our first trip to C2T Ranch in 2022, so we all had good memories to revisit. We left early Friday morning and already had plans for lunch in Plainville, Kansas, where we ate at The Handle Bar Tavern and Eatery. It is an excellent spot north of Hays, Kansas, where we enjoyed drinks and delicious food. The Handle Bar Tavern and Eatery has a large menu, and everything the four of us ordered was excellent. I highly recommend stopping by if you are in western Kansas.

Check-in for our HipCamp was at 2 pm, and we arrived right on time. It looked just the way we remembered from our first visit. We set up quickly and were ready for the evening with fresh hamburger meat delivered by the HipCamp host. We did this the first year and remembered how good the burgers were on the open range. Along with the meat, we ordered potatoes to cook over the campfire.

Since we had an early start Friday morning, we did not stay up very late that night. I think we were all in our tents by 1 am. It was getting rather cold, so we were ready to call it a day. It was a fun first day of travel, camping, and relaxing.

Saturday morning we all got up somewhat early to make pancakes. Waking to the sound of cattle far off in the distance was something I had never experienced before. We all talked about how, during our previous visit, we did not recall hearing any cows. We guessed they were in a different pasture in 2022, which is why we did not hear them then. This time they were loud throughout the night and most of Saturday. Mid-afternoon the winds started, just as we expected, and that helped drown out the cows, but then we had to deal with gusts up to 40 to 50 mph. Chairs were flying around, items blew off tables, tents came unlatched, and even a few tumbleweeds rolled through our campsite.

We managed to play some cornhole Saturday afternoon before the winds really picked up. We had a few tournaments, but as the wind strengthened, we realized the game had to end because the bags were turning in the air and landing in random directions. It was still a fun afternoon as we listened to the sounds of the ranch, played music, and enjoyed games.

Saturday night we planned to cook pork tenderloin for dinner over the campfire. Greg took the lead in preparing the pork, and we got the fire ready for cooking. The pork turned out juicy and flavorful, and everyone enjoyed it. Erin and Carrie made instant mashed potatoes that paired perfectly with the pork.

After dinner and cleanup, we sat around the campfire enjoying the warmth. Having an unlimited supply of firewood is a real treat at this HipCamp because it allows us to keep the fire going as long as we want without worrying about finding more wood.

When Sunday morning rolled around, we were all sad to pack up and head home. As we packed, we talked about how we need to do the Hays, Kansas trip again and stay for more nights. We will see when we can fit that into our camping schedule since this year was busy with multiple trips. We enjoy camping so much, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week.