Hot Springs 08

Things we learned on our Hot Springs Vacation:

1) Sour Patch Kids should not be eaten while driving (It is really hard to drive with only one eye while convulsing)

2) Cute camp songs aren't so cute the 80th time.


3) A Honda Civic will hold exactly what is needed for a three day trip to Hot Springs and not one thing more.

4) Don't take restaurant recommendations from nearby shops who most likely get a cut from said recommendation.

5) If she is encouraged to try something, Meg will like it and eat large quantities of it (Mom's Caesar Salad and the traditional Ecuadorian soup from Rolando's)

6) Daddy will ride anything.

7) Log rides + excessive walking = chaffing.

8) Don't ask the check-in lady at the KOA for directions to Walmart.

9) McVay children will ride any ride they are tall enough for (much to Mommy's dismay).

10) Mommy will push aside her intense fear of heights for three puppy dog faces asking her to go on a roller coaster.

11) Two teeny bopper magazines (with massive amounts of Joe Bro and Miley photos) will keep two children mesmerized for hours.

12) Unlimited Free Pepsi Products = no naps needed while at Magic Springs/Crystal Falls.

13) In the absence of other reading material, Bobby enjoys a good teeny bopper magazine.

14) Bathhouse tours are not interesting to 4 and 6 year olds. They are also slightly inappropriate at times. (Try to explain photos of colonic irrigation to a curious 4 year old).











We are back and we had sooo much fun on our trip to Hot Springs. We got to Hot Springs around 4 or 5 and checked into our cabin at the KOA campgrounds. The cabin was tiny but very cute, clean and air conditioned. It was perfect for us! I made a Walmart run for a few groceries we didn't want to pack and I got a lovely tour of Hot Springs thanks to some really bad directions. When I returned we were all starving so we ventured into Hot Springs in search of grub. We wandered in a few of the stores that were still open at 8 pm and one of the clerks sent us to a restaurant called Brick House Grill. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to write home about either. We went back to the cabin and hit the sack.

The next day we headed to Magic Springs/ Crystal Falls. We were a little scared because it was raining when we got to the park, but it stopped by the time we made it into the gate. All of the water attractions were closed when we got there because of the earlier thunder and lightning so we headed to Magic Springs for the dry rides. We measured the kids and Meg was just BARELY tall enough to ride the 42 inch rides with Ryan. The kids rode all of the rides they were tall enough for. Ryan's favorite ride was Big Bad John and Meg's was Diamond Mine Run (both Roller coasters of course!!). Now watching Diamond Mine Run you may think that it was a kiddie coaster but let me assure you it was a real roller coaster. It was faster and jerkier than the much larger Big Bad John. After we had been on most of the dry rides we headed over to Crystal Falls where we played in the wave pool, lazy river and kids area. We broke for a late lunch at 4:00 and caught the van back to the cabin for a quick lunch and were back at the park an hour later. We rode our favorite rides several more times (Ryan rode Big Bad John 3 times and Meg rode Diamond Mine Run 5 times) and we played in the kiddie area of the water park for another hour or so. The kids were only tall enough for one of the big water slides and they showed no interest in it (Mommy was very happy about that). We stayed at both parks until they kicked us out and headed back for a very late dinner. We scarfed down a wonderful dinner of brats and corn that daddy grilled out and sleepily made some smores and we all fell right to sleep with no trouble at all.

Our last day we packed up and headed into down for a little sightseeing. We toured one of the bathhouses and looked in all of the little shops on Central Street. We had a wonderful lunch at Rolando's and then headed back home. It was a wonderful trip and the kids are already asking if we can go back.