YOU NEED TO TRY THIS PIZZA PLACE / HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
YOU NEED TO TRY THIS PIZZA PLACE / HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Who would have thought Hot Springs would be the PERFECT weekend getaway?!
Samuel & I decided every wedding anniversary we’d try to go on a trip together instead of gifts and for our first anniversary we decided to go explore Hot Springs! For my bachelorette party we went to Hot Springs and I just fell in love with the area!
Photo by: Ruggio Pictures
February 14, 2020
We loaded the car up and headed out of Lafayette around 5:30AM! Almost the whole way April rode with her head on our arms and it was so adorable!
Around 7:30AM we stopped in Alexandria for April to stretch and we grabbed a smoothie from Smoothie King. Samuel got his favorite Angel Food and I got Coffee High Protein Almond Mocha (sooo delicious!!)
Fun fact - did you know I used to work at Smoothie King?!
Our next stop was around 11:30AM and we found a Chicken Express. Pretty surprised at how good Chicken Express was!! The rest of the drive we listened to The Office ladies podcast and enjoyed the drive.
Arrived to the Airbnb at 2:30PM! We decided to stay on Lake Hamilton and loved the Airbnb we chose!
After we settled & walked around the lake we hopped back in the car and headed to the state park! Driving to the top of the state park isn’t a long drive and the views are stunning! Highly recommend go to the top of the Observation Tower! While you go up to the top and see the beautiful view, you can learn all about Hot Springs history and I have to say it is all very interesting!! It reminds me a lot of Scotland.
More info: https://hotspringstower.com
After we dropped April off at the Airbnb we headed off to dinner! We ate at a restaurant called SQZBX and Y’ALL it was DELICIOUS! The wine, homemade ranch, pizza … I can’t wait to go back one day!
February 15, 2020
The next morning we woke up to such a beautiful view and went take a morning walk with April! The weather was pretty cold but felt amazing! It was 35 degrees in the mornings and by lunchtime it was around the 40/50s.
We had planned to eat breakfast at a very popular spot, The Pancake Shop, but by the time we arrived it was PACKED and the wait was an hour. We go there around 9AM and it was already slammed! We decided to just get back in the car and stop at the next place we saw. While driving I saw a sign for Phil’s and we turned into the parking lot. It looked pretty small and wasn’t too busy - yet! When we walked in you could just tell it was a locals spot. The most unique breakfast spot that was SO DELICIOUS! We were so thankful we had to find another place because I guarantee this place was 100xs better!
Just know- the pancakes are HUGE and I thought I ordered a side of hash browns but they were the size of my hand! But would I do it again? Yes because they were soooo good!
April was so excited when we got back we went straight to the lake and went for another walk. Lake Hamilton is so incredibly beautiful. After we got ready for the day we packed the car up and headed to Main Street! We spent an hour walking around the town and I filled up some bottles with Spring water. If you ever go here you HAVE to drink some. They have fountains all over the area and it is the freshest spring water! I wish I still had some.
While we are talking about the spring water I have to let you know what we did for my bachelorette trip! There is a place on the Main Street called Quapaw Bathhouse! Samuel regrets not going for this trip so next time we go it is number one on our list! They have a steam cave that is an underground cave and you can sit in the ACTUAL hot spring. It is such a cool experience but keep in mind it is a STEAM cave. They give you eucalyptus towels to help you breathe and you can exit the cave at any time if it gets too much. After the cave you can go relax in 4 different spring pools. They are all different temperatures and actual spring water! Highly recommend this experience!!
More info: https://www.quapawbaths.com
I love all of the shops along the Main Street but of course because we had April this one spot was golden! It was a puppy bakery!! April loved her banana blueberry cupcake :)
After an hour of walking and April’s cupcake adventure we were pretty hungry! We ate lunch at Superior Baths and once again it was delicious! The food in this town is so so good! One cool thing about this place is the root beer is made with spring water!! We ordered one and thought it was pretty good! Loved how it was dog friendly and April could sit inside with us.
Right by the restaurant are the springs! You can walk the trail for a bit and see them from above as well.
Along with an anniversary trip we wanted to do a first anniversary photo session! I found the SWEETEST local photographer, Camille of Ruggio Pictures, in the area & we had a blast taking pictures :) Highly recommend always booking a session when you’re on vacation to capture those memories :)
While April ate dinner we got ready for dinner and headed to a place we saw driving in and wanted to check it out. Let me just say, those milkshakes were SO GOOD! We ate at Purple Cow and enjoyed burgers, fried pickles & milkshakes! Needless to say we got back to the Airbnb and fell into a food coma while watching Seinfeld.
February 16, 2020 (our anniversary!)
The next morning we took one last walk on the lake & then hit the road! Thankfully there was a Starbucks right by us so we stopped to grab a coffee. Of course if you know my husband you KNOW we had to eat at Zaxby’s for lunch on the way home.
Finally got back to the house around 4PM and we finished the day off with wedding cake & our wedding video :) It was truly such a fun trip and we both can't wait to go back!!
video of the trip!