Today is our last day at Hot Springs and we decided to clean the camper inside and out, charge devices, and catch up on the blog. It’s chilly today and overcast, hope to get to some sunshine next week. We originally planned to stay in Texarkana area but after seeing the weather forecast, we opted for a longer drive day and made reservations at Waco, TX to hopefully get out of the storm’s path.
To enjoy our last night here, we picked out a local restaurant ‘The Ohio Player’ for the obvious reason and they also had good reviews on their food. It’s the oldest restaurant in Hot Springs, starting in operation since 1905 and has beautiful woodwork and decor from that era. We didn’t realize that Hot Springs was a big gangster hangout starting in the 1920s to the 1960s, and the restaurant was frequented by many: Al Capone, Bugsy Segel, Bugs Moran, Lucky Luciano, to name a few. Several other famous people also frequented the establishment including Babe Ruth in the early 1900s, Al Jolson performed at the Club in 1915, and Mae West in the mid1930s. It also housed illegal gambling and other nefarious activities throughout the early 20th century, shutting down in the 1960s. If these walls could talk quite a few interesting tales would be heard!
The food was great, and Ron enjoyed a local craft beer, Madden’s No 1, made with local spring water – he said it was delicious.
Tomorrow to Texas.
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