Respite \RESS-pit\ noun. 1 : a period of temporary delay. 2 : an interval of rest or relief. (I added that because a couple of my readers complained about the need for a dictionary when I write, hope this helps George and Thom!) Our lives are not difficult, they are just different. That being said, it is nice to sit in one place for while and reconnect with family and friends.

We spent our time in central Arkansas for our respite at Ohana Celebration Park. It is centrally located between Conway and Cabot Arkansas, and is only about 40 minutes north of Little Rock. The campground is beautiful, the Owners and Staff are wonderful people and we love that there are trees and nature everywhere we look.

Most sites have water/sewer, all site have electricity, most 30 and 50 Amp. It is a nice place to rest, relax and restore.

A respite for sure; pack with fun

We managed to do a lot of great things during our respite in Arkansas. Some of it was just remembering to slow down and experience the land and environment around us. There was so much to see and scout out!

Flora

First, the flora is amazing and constantly changing. We had a field of mushrooms pop up next to our camper! Trees and plants changed the entire time we were there, flowering, growing and just being relaxing.

Fauna

Next, fauna was always popping up in extraordinary ways. From insects to deer, we saw it all. There were new caterpillers (well, new to us) everywhere – did some research, these little guys live in and around oak trees (we were under an oak tree) and grow up to be largish black and gray moths! There were lightening bugs dotting the field across from us each evening. We saw leaf cutter bugs, stink bugs, tarantulas and walking sticks. Then we moved on to larger animals, snapping turtles, channel catfish, snakes, a pair of mating osprey and deer walking across a meadow at sunset.

Then we needed a Respite from our Respite

If you follow us, you know we finished renovations to our trailer to make it feel more like a home. If not, you can take a gander at that here. This wore us out a bit and we needed to take a break and have some fun. Luckily our favorite cigar shop, West End in Conway, was having a great cigar event with catered food, cigar experience and chats with manufacturers. It was called “The White Event” because in Cuba, when they get together socially and celebrate, it is HOT and everyone wears white linen clothing that you can’t really wear elsewhere because it gets, well, dirty.

Celebrations!!!

A good friend of mine got married during this time period and we made sure we had the time and opportunity to attend. It was a great night and it was very nice to reconnect with some old friends at the wedding.

Ash had a birthday, so we got to celebrate with her favorite food, mexican. I will not divulge her age, but the cake will be below…

Our grandson had his 2nd birthday! We got to hang with the little guy a few times and teach him new swear words. It was great! He also loves dinosaurs, so that’s a natural connection for me, ROAR!

We also had the opportunity to hang out with two of our older daughters that live in the area. It was a great experience to get to be friends and yet still be their parents. We miss them dearly and it was fantastic to spend time with them. Neither like the photos I take of them so…none of them below.

Park parties

Ohana Celebration Park is a great, quiet and relaxing place to hang out – except when it isn’t! Our respite was added to, not taken away from, by these great events.

4th of July was an amazing event. People came from all over to enjoy kayaking on the lake, swimming, face painting, hotdogs and hamburgers, live music, a bounce castle with a water slide and finally amazing commercial grade fireworks! Most people decorated their trailers, I played military marches most of the day on my outside stereo, it was just a fantastically patriotic day.

The 2nd annual BBQ cookout was a hit,again. They tripled their competitors and had free food, music, face painting, chain saw carving, sno cones, all you can imagine. I was MC’ing this one, so I got up at 6 am to check on the competitors who had been cooking all night. Spirits were high and hope was in the air.

Hanging out with friends, old and new

We got a lot of time passing the whiskey around to friends, old and new. I can not express how great it was to see everyone, meet everyone – deepen some freindships and create new ones. It is truly the highlight of our “downtime” in Arkansas.

A huge “Thank you” and “Until we meet again” to all of our extended family. We will be back, and we will hang out together some more and tell even better lies! Until then, keep up with us here and you can always check the archives if you missed an adventure!