Queen for the day!

John took off work Saturday and planned a day chocked full of events! Over a month ago he booked us on the Fall Foliage tour on the Arkansas Queen. Before we headed to the Queen we stopped for breakfast at the Waffle House. As soon as we walked in the waitresses and big boss said, "hey, it's Meg & Tori's parents"! (the girls use to work there) That made us smile but also made us sad because we miss going up there when the girls were working. So we got our bellies full and headed to the Queen in North Little Rock.

We boarded the riverboat, were seated and as soon as the boat started moving down river we went outside on the top deck. It was so windy and so cold!

I think John kept his beanie on the entire time and his ears were still cold!

This shows how windy it was....my hair was in my mouth all day....and in knots by the end of the day. It will take me a good 15 minutes to brush it when I wash it later.


Here is the capitol.



Some fall foliage on the little rock.....down below is a walking trail that I believe is several miles long! I plan on doing this trail one day if I can get a brave soul to walk that far with me. John said he is not the one!


We went down river to the Murray Lock & Dam. That's the Big Dam Bridge above the dam, a pedestrian bridge...actually the longest pedestrian bridge in the United States!



This was one of the coolest parts of the cruise. We went into the lock....they shut these huge doors behind us then that area started filling up with the river water to get us level with the other side.


Once level the doors on the other side opened up so we can get through. It was a pretty cool process to watch. You can tell by the doors how high up the water went. Of course on the way back it did the opposite.

Here we are waiting for the gate to open. My nose was freezing!! I was so glad I brought gloves!

After this we went inside for lunch. The menu consisted of Chicken with bbq or orange sauce, green beans, wild rice, caesar salad, fruit salad and a dinner roll....for dessert a delightful oatmeal raisin cookie. It was delightful!!

While we were eating the boat started to turn around to head back. It made me feel real dizzy....every time I would look up I felt like I was going to get sick....John kept on saying put your head down...it passed as soon as the boat was straight again.

John saw one of the employees curse when she was in the kitchen area...he called her out on it when she came by our table. She giggled!

There was a table of 10 older women...they were really loud....one had the most annoying voice...kinda like Karen on Will & Grace but worse!!!!

We got lots of laughs because, bless their hearts, several older people got confused and kept getting lost and would end up on the wrong level and couldn't find their table. They would giggle when they realized what they'd done.

One older man was carrying around a bottle of wine everywhere he went! I think he was toasted by the end of the 4 hour cruise!!!

It warmed up a little on the ride back....John took this photo....the sky was so clear, not a cloud in sight.

My love, with the view of Little Rock behind him.

A very nice older gentlemen volunteered to take our photo with the River Market and downtown Little Rock area in the background.

At the end of the cruise the piano man sang, Elvis Presley's, "I can't help falling in love with you"....John held my hand and sang it to me....but instead of singing, Fallen....he sang "staying"!!! Awww, I know! He sure was romantic! It's amazing that after 22 years together we can still love one other this much!!


Well, we decided to go to Mardel so I can get the new Casting Crowns CD. All the CD's were on sale for $7.99. We then went next door to Gander Mt....John has been wanting me to get a new gun. They were out of the one I liked so we got a food dehydrator instead because we have been wanting one for years! We went to Sam's and bought a heater for our bathroom....it is freezing in the morning. I also walked away with a dutch oven I had been wanting. It's a pretty red color! We went to Academy and Ft. Thompson to see if they had the gun there. Nope, all sold out. Is everyone buying this particular gun?! We decided to go to Conway and get our dog. Meg was the only one home. We visited with her for a couple of hours and ate some pizza.

It was a long day but John made me feel like a queen the entire time!