We're doing Camp Wild a little differently, this year and spreading out our jam packed days of crazy fun sporadically over the summer, vs every day for a week. I really just love to go go go from one place to the next, and the kids don't seem to mind this pace for adventures either, but all of our schedules and family vacations line up as such that this is the only way to make it happen. And happen, it must! A spontaneous adventure with my children, a little learning, a little nature, and a lot of dessert is a recipe for a very happy Meg and is the best therapy for me. It was a very good day.
Stop 1: Hurts Donuts
We discovered the greatness of Hurts by accident in Springfield, Mo, last year during camp wild. Lo and behold, a Hurts opened in Fayetteville last week! We joined the masses. The favorites were maple bacon, Nutella, and cotton candy.
Stop 2: the Confederate Cemetary
Oh the raw beauty of this place. The unmarked headstones had only moss and age to tell the stories of the bodies at rest beneath them. Karie taught the kids a quick lesson about the symbolism and history behind putting pennies and other coins on graves.
Stop 3: the Fayetteville National Cemetery
Just a few miles down the road we have the pristine cemetery where the Union as well as present day soldiers are buried. The juxtaposition of these two places of rest blows me away. Such a fascinating and take telling contrast. Both were lovely, reverent, and peaceful but I could feel a heavy sadness in the confederate cemetery that was replaced with sterility in the national cemetary. Maybe it's just the age and maintenance. Maybe not.
Stop 4: Dickson Street Used Book Shop
This was a serendipitous find on our walk down Dickson street to get ice cream. We had time to kill before the truck opened and this whimsical gem was right on our path. We were all immediately entranced by the endless maze of hallways and nooks and corners stuffed floor to ceiling with books books books and more books. Reese said "this is my heaven!" Really, this shop is a muse for romantic comedies or playwrights. I half expected Lavar Burton go pop out of a crack between the walls with his reading rainbow dragon and tell me I "don't have to take his word for it." Magical. The younger kids played hide and seek, as encouraged by the shopkeeper. We were there nearly an hour and I didn't come close to seeing every room. Very cool place.
Stop 5: Burtons Comfort Creamery food truck.
I've been wanting to try this place for awhile, and thankfully, my Camp Wild sisters are equally gluttonous as I am and didn't mind feeling the kids ice cream for lunch when we still were so stuffed to near-puking with donuts. That won't hold us back. I had chocolate ice cream covered in salted caramel and pretzels. Some of the other kids had their cones coated in luxuries like fruity pebbles, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, fudge, sprinkles, Oreos and coco puffs. Quincy had a swirl coated in crushed Andes mints and when it was handed to her she said, "thank you for making this the greatest day of my life!" To the worker. Five stars for burtons. Ooh that salted caramel was delectable. Delayney led our campers in the camp wild song and then a few girls camp cheers and songs. This really delighted Reese, who is still riding a girls camp high.
The Camp Wild crowd dissolved into our own families at this point, since each mom had different places to be this afternoon. When we got into the van we realized we were onlh 3/4 of a mile away from the Clinton House museum. So we went there, too!
Stop 6: The Clinton House Museum
Old houses are my love language. And this 1930's Tudor home is a charmer.
I really enjoyed this little museum. Our tour guide told us about the very small, intimate wedding of the Clintons that took place right here (shown below) in their living room. Hillary had not planned on wearing a gown and was going to just dress in something from her closet, but her mother insisted she wear a dress on her wedding day. So the day before th wedding, they went to Dillard's and picked a gown off the rack for $50 for Hillary to be married in. I loved the tiny rooms, the tiny parlor, the separate breakfast and dining rooms. I wish the sunroom were still in tact and had not been closed in with gross cinserblock and laminate everything.
My other favorite spots were the blazing bright salmon orange 1970's kitchen, the tiny breakfast nook with one photo of Bill's failed attempt to wallpaper an oddly shaped room with a million uncommonly angled corners. They took a photo of the project, and then tore it all out.
The best part of the museum was the tiny First Lady Garden out back, boasting the favorite flower of each First Lady and little garden stakes with a photo and mini bio about each of them. I think a family history garden with a similar concept would be a really cool project for the kids to create.
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