Arkansas Road Trip — Patti Part Two

When many people think of Arkansas it seems Walmart comes to mind. And of course that would be true. Walmart was started in the northwest corner of Arkansas in a town called Bentonville. In fact here is a picture of the original store - which is now a museum. One of these times when I am there I will make time to go through it - but not on this trip.

This overnight trip with friends was all about seeing Crystal Bridges Museum - also in Bentonville, AR. I have been to the museum twice before, but it's such a beautiful place I was happy to go back with friends that wanted to visit. Crystal Bridges permanent collection spans five centuries of American masterworks ranging from the colonial era to the current day. And did I mention that the architecture of the building itself is worth a trip? And that the museum is FREE!!!

Crystal Bridges gets it's name from Crystal Spring - a natural spring on the museum's wooded site that feeds into the museum ponds - and from the unique bridge construction incorporated into the bulding design. The building was designed by architect Moshe Safdie - who also designed the beautiful Kauffman Center here in Kansas City.

There are 7 or 8 seperate galleries that you flow through as you work your way through the museum.

The grounds of the museum are as much a part of the experience of Crystal Bridges as the art inside. Plus there are more than three miles of trails to explore with different plant life and outdoor sculptures. We picked a perfect weekend to go - the weather was beautiful and everything was starting to bloom!

My friends found a few new people to chat with!

A new addition to the museum since my last trip two years ago is the installation of an original Frank Lloyd Wright home that you can tour. It is one of his "Usonian" homes (an abbreviation of United States of North America) which was originally built in 1954 in New Jersey. Crystal Bridges acquired the home in 2013 and the entire structure was documented, taken apart, and shipped to Arkansas where it was meticulously reconstructed. It's free to tour the home but you do need to reserve a spot as they only let a certain number of people in the home at one time. I reserved our spots online a few weeks in advance but you might not even need that much lead time. You can pay to be part of a guided tour but they give you a free headset if you do it on your own and that worked out great!

Pictures of the front and back of the home. They don't allow photos inside but you can view them online.

I loved the home! FLW uses a lot of wood, concrete and glass with tons of built-ins. It was super functional and also aesthetically pleasing. Having lived in Oak Park, IL for quite a few years I am a fan of Frank. His home and studio and 37 homes are in and around the Oak Park area and for a time I actually volunteered there.

We grabbed lunch inside the museum at the restaurant there called Eleven. The food is excellent and the setting beautiful.

In addition to the large permanent collection they have special exhibits also. We got to see "Border Cantos - Sight & Sound Explorations from the Mexican-American Border" by Richard Misrach and Guillermo Galindo and it was excellent. Their next special exhibit is from Dale Chihuly the glass sculpture starting June 3rd. I might have to make another trip this summer as I love his work.

Then we jumped on the collection tour with a guide by the name of Alan and he took us to some of the most interesting pieces on display in the permanent galleries.

Yes that's "Rosie the Riveter" by Norman Rockwell and "Airborne" by Andrew Wyeth. Man on a Bench is so realistic you would swear it's a real person!

"Plexus No. 27" by Gabriel Dawe is made with thread, wood and hooks. Huge and beautiful!

We finished our afternoon with a glass of wine sitting outside the museum and then headed over to check into the hotel and get ready for dinner. A great afternoon!

In additions to Walmart world headquarters, northwest Arkansas is also home to Hunt and Tyson - two additional large companies with lots of executives that live in the area. This along with the addition of Crystal Bridges has brought so many cool new restaurants, coffee shops and unique hotels and shops to the area. When I was researching where to eat dinner in advance (Trip Advisor is usually my go-to) there were lots of new options. I picked Tavola Trattoria because we all like Italian and the reviews were very positive. We were not disappointed - in fact the opposite. We all loved it! Located just off the square - very friendly, casual, good wine selection and lots of food choices.

We shared 2 salads and 3 entrees. Oh and a bottle of wine! A white sauce, a red sauce and a risotto with shrimp. All delicious!

Sunday morning Cheryl and I made a coffee run back to the Bentonville Square to try Onyx Coffee Lab. Our waitress from Tavola had recommended it and we were impressed. They had equipment there neither of us had ever seen in a coffee shop!

We just got coffee for everyone but they also had pastries and cookies that looked good too!

Our plan was to head back to the museum and walk on the trails over to downtown Bentonville and visit the 21C Museum Hotel. The hotel is also located right off the square and it's worth stopping to see. They have some really interesting art all over the main floor and they are happy to have you browse through it all. The first thing you will notice as you walk up are all the bright green penguins! They are even on top the bulding! They have several of these types of hotels in various cities and we are getting one soon in KC! The historic Savoy Hotel is being renovated into a Museum Hotel and will open in 2018 - can't wait!

The basketball sculpture is art and not to shoot on - too bad!!

"A Sudden Gust of Wind" by Serena Ozkaya. Or is it Cheryl throwing paper??

The restaurant at the hotel is called The Hive and we almost ate brunch there - but we had another place in mind so headed there for brunch/lunch. Crepes Paulette was the number one restaurant recommended on Trip Advisor so we had to check it out. Located about 6 blocks from the square but easy to find. Super cute inside and the food was wonderful!

We all had Crepes and they had so many that sounded great - sweet and savory. Also salads and soup.

As we headed out of town I wanted to show the girls one more really cool thing. It's called the Mildred Cooper Memorial Chapel and it was designed by E. Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings. The chapel is made of glass and steel and when you're inside it you feel like you are outside because you don't even see the steel. It's very peaceful and serene and was one of my mom's favorite places so holds a special place in my heart. Unfortunately it was closed for a wedding so we couldn't go inside - but at least they got to see it from the outside.

Located in Bella Vista, AR which is almost right on the border of Missouri and Arkansas.

We had a great time and saw a lot in just over 24 hours. If you live in a radius of about 3 to 4 hours of northwest Arkansas it would be a great weekend get-away with lots to do and see. If you have children there is the Scott Family Amazeum that I hear is fantastic! Life is short - Enjoy it!