Day 9: April 29, 2019 Mostly Arkansas Comment via blog

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Yesterday's journal started with a bus; Today it's a fire truck. And a matching mailbox post.

I reached Hot Springs at just the right time to walk to the SQZBX Brewery minutes before it opened. I'd learned of the brewery from a purely text list and saw the name as something highly cryptic. I asked and was instantly embarrassed. Paying a little attention to the logo and decor would have made the name's meaning crystal clear. The owner plays a squeeze box and even performs at the brewery on occasion.

Empty lots are a fact of life in almost every city. Many become unkempt and their use is random at best. In Hot Springs, vacant spaces are kept clear and labeled. Central Avenue provides a history lesson through plaques embedded in the sidewalk. I photographed more than a dozen on as I walked along but my favorite was one describing happy elephants and pragmatism.

Even if the back bar and I weren't both from Cincinnati, I think the Ohio Club would be a favorite stop. Learn a little about it and a neighbor here. I learned that Schultz Beer is brewed for the club across the street at Superior Bathouse (which I've visited before), and, in the men's room, learned that somewhere along the way, the city lost a valuable source of income from licensing. A most educational stop.

I've noticed the swamp next to US-70 in the past but don't believe I've ever photographed it. It's another reminder that much of my original view of Arkansas was just wrong.

I ended my day on the outskirts of Jackson, Tennessee, at a chain motel surrounded by chain restaurants. I learned from the desk clerk that there was one independent in the bunch so that's where I went. At Redbone's I ordered blackened catfish and dirty rice then got my second bit of helpful advice of the stop. The bartender explained that he didn't want to discourage me from getting the catfish but thought he should point out that they offered a blackened redfish meal that included dirty rice and grilled shrimp with a crawfish sauce. I thanked him, changed my order, then thanked him many more times after my dinner arrived. Good eating.

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