Between 1970 and 1972, basically 50 years ago, I was in the Peace Corps in Villarica, Paraguay. Of the 24 Peace Corps volunteers in my group, one other was stationed in my small town, Lesley Case. Her specialty was education -- home economics. Mine was health education. We were told that we should not hang out with the other American in this small town, if we wanted to learn Spanish and get to know the locals and the Paraguayan co-workers. So, we spent the first 6 months in this very small town not really connecting at all. However, over the next year and a half, we became good friends. Since then, we have exchanged Christmas cards each year. And, since our route home went right through Hot Springs, Arkansas where Lesley currently lives, we arranged to hook up.
It is very interesting spending time with someone 50 years after not seeing them. You need to catch up on a lifetime of living, highs and lows, accomplishments and challenges. Lesley picked us up at our RV campground and gave us a delightful tour of Hot Springs, as only a local can. First we went to Garven Woodland Gardens. As Leslie has difficulty walking distances, we had lunch at the lodge there, and she hung out at the lodge while Peter and I walked through the woodland gardens.
What snagged Peter's interest most was a large model train display, with trains carrying pumpkins moving through the extensive train grounds. It definitely brought out the child in Peter. Then, we walked the gardens, through several different garden areas, and several different water features. The Gardens are located on a peninsula on the Ouachita River and Lake Hamilton. The walkways ended at an overlook point, overlooking Lake Hamilton, with a nice cascading waterfalls. We had a very nice walk, and it felt great to be walking through woods again, instead of desert.
Next, Lesley took us on a tour of her gated community, Hot Springs Village. I have never been in such a large, extensive community. It was 14 miles long and 7 mile wide. A little city in itself. They had many different housing areas, with a variety of housing choices, several lakes, golf courses and country clubs which were like rec centers. Lesley's house was in the woods, where she lives with her dog. Very nice. Lesley had one photo from our Peace Corp days -- a blurry one of me dancing a bottle dance with the locals. Ah, but we were both so young! She also had a tablecloth from Paraguay, with the embroidered patterns special to Paraguay. She gave us dinner, more chatting, and returned us to our RV. Good, long day and a rekindled friendship.
Garven Woodland Gardens photos:
No comments:
Post a Comment