Another Pin on the Map?
Lora and I are slowly but surely checking off our state capitol bucket list, and our latest adventure brought us to Little Rock, Arkansas! Our mission remains the same: get our passport book stamped, snag a magnet for the RV fridge, and find the perfect Christmas ornament to commemorate each visit.
Since Arkansas was right on our route to Texas, we decided to make the most of our drive-through and turn it into a proper stop. We rolled into Downtown Riverside Park and found ourselves the perfect spot to set up camp for the night. There’s something special about parking the RV with a view and knowing you’re about to explore a new capital city.
After getting settled, we decided to keep dinner simple and delicious – Chinese takeout was calling our names! There’s nothing quite like enjoying some good comfort food in the RV while planning the next day’s capitol adventure.
The next morning, we were ready for our main event: the Arkansas State Capitol. As we approached the building, my first thought was how familiar it looked – but then again, after visiting several state capitols, you start to notice they often bear a resemblance to the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Inside the capitol, we made our way to our first priority: getting our passport book stamped. We found one of those self-service stamping stations rather than an official representative handling it. Lora pulled out our trusty passport book, opened it to the Arkansas page, positioned it just right and…
Wait. What?
There was already a stamp there! July 22, 2015, to be exact. That’s right – we had COMPLETELY forgotten that we’d already visited the Arkansas State Capitol nearly a decade ago!
Talk about a travel memory lapse! Here we were, so excited to add Arkansas to our collection, only to discover we’d already been there and done that. We couldn’t stop laughing at ourselves.
So much for getting a fresh passport stamp! But here’s the thing – even though we’d obviously been there before, we hadn’t started collecting magnets or Christmas ornaments back in 2015. So we still had souvenirs to hunt down and add to our collection!
Since we were already there, we decided to take another self-guided tour of the capitol building. It’s funny how you can see the same place with completely different eyes years later.
We worked up an appetite exploring, so we headed down to the Natural State Cafe in the lower level for a nice lunch. I went with a classic cheeseburger and onion rings, while Lora opted for an impressive salad. The service was great and the staff was incredibly friendly – and considering we were dining right inside the state capitol building, the prices were an absolute bargain! There’s something satisfying about dining right inside the building you’re exploring – it makes the whole experience feel more complete.
As we were leaving, a light rain had started to fall, but you know what they say – no capitol visit is complete without the obligatory selfie in front of the building! We braved the drizzle for our photo op because, hey, tradition is tradition.
And yes, we absolutely stamped our passport book again! Sure, there was already a 2015 stamp there, but this was a whole new visit with new memories. Now we have a nice little timeline of our Arkansas capitol adventures.
Another state capitol experience in the books – or should I say, another stamp in the passport book! The RV fridge now sports a new Arkansas magnet, we’ve got a Christmas ornament to commemorate this trip, and we have a great story about the capitol we “discovered” we’d already visited.
Next Stop: Hot Springs!
Tomorrow we’re leaving Little Rock for our next Arkansas adventure – Hot Springs! After all this capitol exploring (twice!), we’re definitely looking forward to a relaxing hot soak. Sometimes the best part of RV travel is the perfect combination of sightseeing and unwinding.
