Rule #1 of Hicks family vacations: Hotels must have three things: a good
breakfast, a pool and fast
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| Hampton Inn Breakfast |
internet. The
Hampton Inn at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma had all three. Breakfast was a sumptuous spread of oatmeal
with all the fixings, fresh fruit (including grapefruit), hard boiled eggs,
sausage, omelets, waffles, cereal, pastries, toast, milk and – the best part –
a loudly singing, advice slinging, in-your-face friendly, 50-year-old breakfast
attendant who made up in spunk what she lacked in height.
We rose early for a full day of driving. By nightfall, we would be in Vicksburg,
Mississippi – 481.7 miles to the south and east – and on the other side of the
Mississippi. Rule #2 of Hicks family
vacations: Stops are required every two
hours for a leg stretch and snack. With
this in mind, we headed south into an overcast, rainy Saturday. Fortunately, after two hours of solid
pitter-patter, the rain took a break when we did.
Two hours from Broken Arrow on I-40 is the sleepy little
town of Clarksville, Arkansas and The University of the Ozarks. The NCAA Division III college is located on a
compact, 30-acre campus and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. We arrived around 10:00 am – way before the
majority of the students were stirring. We
enjoyed touring the Seay Student Center, the Walton Fine Arts Building and the
Mabee Sports Complex where the purple Eagles play basketball. The student center had great bathrooms and
the campus was just the right size for a brisk, 30 minute meander.
From Clarksville, we
continued south to Little Rock for lunch from the back of the car in the
parking lot of the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum. Docked in the Arkansas River is the U.S.S.
Razorback – a WWII submarine that was one of 12 submarines present in Tokyo Bay
at the formal surrender
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| Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum |
ceremonies on September 2, 1945. The sub is not named, as we were assuming,
after the pig. Instead, it is named
after the Razorback whale – and there are several cute pictures of this mascot laying
around.
Before we went below decks, our tour guide Paul told us that
all the buttons, levers and gears in this submarine actually work – so no
touching. He enjoyed turning on the
diesel engines and testing out the dive alarm for our hearing pleasure. Paul, who was a U.S. Navy veteran and
submariner, also talked about how the boat could get a little claustrophobic
after a long period of submersion. The
biggest problem was that
the CO2 levels would get so high cigarettes wouldn’t
burn. After a while, he said, “people got
a little testy.” He then showed us a
couple of showers but said – those were where the guys kept the potatoes. Water was scarce on board and drinking water
was rationed. He told us that the
longest time he went without a shower was 30 days. Close your eyes a minute and imagine 80 guys,
under water, in a tight cramped space with no shower for 30 days. His trick?
Baby powder.
Becoming a submariner was no easy feat. First, you had to spend 6-12 months learning the
function of every single lever, gauge, knob, wheel, hatch and tube on board the
boat. Then, you had to walk through the
boat with a senior member and be tested.
When you passed, you were given your dolphins. If you ever switched boats – you had to
repeat the process again because apparently, no two submarines are the same.
If you haven’t been on a submarine before, this one is a
good one. It is not, however, for everyone. At the museum entrance is a replica of one of
the seven total four foot high openings that you must crawl through. To enter the sub, you must descend an 11 foot
ladder and to exit, you must climb a 14 foot ladder through tiny,
claustrophobic openings in the deck.
Those two items certainly added an element of excitement to the
experience. The tour was certainly a hit
with our family and a great way to spend our lunch break. We were the first visitors from Winfield to stick
a pin on their visitor map. We were also
interested to discover that Paul, our tour guide, had a niece who lives in in
our hometown – small world.
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| Dining Room at Doe's |
After this great
break, we grabbed I-30 south and crossed the Mississippi just south of Lake
Village, Arkansas. From there it was a
short trip to Greenville, Mississippi and our dinner location. We had 5:30 p.m. reservations at the original,
family owned Doe’s Eat Place. We were
there early enough that we probably could have walked in – but the place was
beginning to fill up by the time we left.
We entered through the kitchen, walked past the spot where the steaks
were grilling and sat in the same room where the cooks prepared our salad, boiled
shrimp and made tamales.
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| Doe's Eat Place - Outside |
The menu is simple, the atmosphere reminded me of backwoods
bait shop, the area surrounding the restaurant looks like the 100 year flood
hit about a month ago – but the steak. Ross
and I agreed it was in our top 5 all-time best steaks that we have eaten. Rich, buttery and oh so good – this was a
real find. The steak was locally purchased, aged just right and never frozen. Ross, Sam and I all
ate cuts that were on the rare side of our order. The steaks were adorned with a side of fries
and the salad and heavily buttered garlic bread were extra. Soda was served with a glass of ice and a can
and the service was prompt and friendly.
Who cares about the visitor’s center in a restored riverboat! It was closed anyway. Doe’s was about the best welcome to Mississippi
that I could imagine.
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| Greenville, MS Visitor's Center |
After an incredibly satisfying dinner, we messed around a
little on the closed restored river boat that serves as the visitor’s center. Then we hopped in the car and headed south on
Highway 1 to our next bed in Vicksburg.
