LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas

First stop the Clinton Library. I've had this on my list of places to visit since before they broke ground. Just assumed I'd end up in Little Rock one day. And after checking it out, I wouldn't mind hitting it again if in the general vicinity. The Library has a boxy but lofty, in-flight design. I think the intent is freight trainish as it sits right along the old line that stopped at The Choctaw Station (now the Clinton School of Public Service). The views of the river from the building are expansive and sometimes surprising, offering a respite from the cacophony of Bill Clinton surround-sound exhibits and life-size replicas. When I arrived I headed right for the lower level Cafe 42 which serves graceful portions of locally grown vegetables with a soothing view of the Arkansas River. After touring the museum I walked some of the grounds but the more picturesque sections were roped off for an undisclosed reason.

After settling in at the Doubletree Hotel I set out for The Flying Fish on President Clinton Avenue where I indulged in a basket of fried okra. I ate most of them peel-and-eat style while seated across from a table of 25 men, each with a bucket of beer. It was definitely the busiest Monday-night spot in town filled with locals and the few tourists in town.

My evening was spent on a pre-sunset stroll along the lovely six-bridge waterfront, one of which is now a designated pedestrian bridge. The riverfront paths stretch from the Clinton Library at one of end of town to the Doubletree at the other and offer a variety of settings for enjoying the views.

On the way out of town I stopped at the Little Rock Central High School National Monument. School was out so I was able to wander a bit taking photos before cooling off at the visitor center. It is the most magnificent school I've ever seen - majestic and vast and probably the most historically famous H.S. in America. The exhibit depicting the mighty struggle of the Little Rock Nine and all that they represent is poignant and highlights the fight for equality among numerous minorities. My favorite exhibited quote was made in 1879 by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, "The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it." Rock on Chief Joseph! Let's hope your words live on.

WINSLOW, Arkansas

Spent 10 days in the lovely Arkansas hills in the '30's resort town, now grocery-store and school-less town of Winslow located in the Boston Mountains. My relatives own a good 2% of the real estate (my estimate) and those living in Winslow represent 1% of the population. The views are lushly green in summer and only hint at the valleys and mountains visible in winter.

The hotspot on Saturday mornings is the Winslow Mercantile where my brother Jerry serves donuts and coffee and everyone in town seems to turn up at one point or another after shopping at the farm market that sits in front of where the train depot used to be. It's all freight trains now (the regular 3am woke me without fail) other than a Friday and Saturday excursion train from Springdale to Van Buren that will pick up passengers in Winslow if prearranged. 

The most exciting adventure in town is walking through the train tunnel (absolutely pitch black with evenly spaced cutouts to duck into should a train come along) and then out onto the mighty high train trestle. I traversed it back when Kylee was young enough to need to hold someone's hand but haven't ventured in since.

This trip was mostly family and friends for a week-long celebration of Lee's 80th birthday that included an amazing fireworks display put on in by Jerry, swims in Mike and Karen's pool, coffee at the mercantile, yoga at the school and lots of eating and game-playing. I had such a good time escaping the New York heat I'm trying to devise an annual visit! 

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania

I rarely use Priceline. But every time I have the results have been beyond satisfactory. The Philadelphia experiment proved the rule. $62 per night landed us at the Marriott Downtown,  a five minute door-to-door subway ride from 30th Street Station, close proximity to the major sites, a pool to cool off from the 95-degree heat, and the bonus of a 21st Floor room with a surprise firework show splashed across the horizon of our Delaware River view.

The advantage of a vegan palate is there are websites that pinpoint your limited options, thus cutting down on the number of decisions necessary on a vacation day. New Harmony - vegan chinese - was tucked away on 9th Street just east of Chinatown. Elliott spent the evening maneuvering the messy noodles into his mouth while the rest of us sampled shrimp with walnut, duck, sizzling beef and wonton soup. Every morsel was a taste treat, and I was glad to have something chinese other than tofu and vegetables. 

Rather than go to kid-friendly places, we struck out for the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Thanks to the Annenbergs, the bell has a contemporary enclosure to protect it from the elements and provide exhibit space. We arrived at 9:30 so were able to enjoy it relatively crowd-free. Having picked up our timed-entry tickets to Independence Hall, we then strolled over for a 40-minute tour, which also included the top floor ballroom, Governor's Room and Ammunition storage as an Independence week bonus. The tour is basically one Ranger expounding on historical moments in each room - not the type of show to keep a child enthralled - but Benedicta enjoyed the history lesson while Elliott and I hung back and snapped some photos.

The only other time I had visited this section of Philadelphia was on a trip with my mother when I was 19 and my only memory of it was eating at City Tavern. It was there that I learned for the first time that most important deals are not made in a meeting or a congressional office, it is in the pubs. Somehow we pointed Elliott's stroller in the right direction and ended up at the Tavern just as lunch was served. We took a booth in the bar rather than tablecloth service in the restaurant and enjoyed the banter of the locals as they arrived for their post-noon ale.

We wandered some more and found ourselves on the banks of the Delaware at Penn's Landing before heading over to Elphreth's Alley to see where the little people live. Actually, they're real people, but the houses built in the 1700's are so much smaller than the houses of today, you get the sense that elves may live inside. The street between the houses is one-lane cobblestone and while extremely charming must be a bear for hauling in the groceries.

The Marriott is right across the street from Reading Terminal Market, housing a cornucopia of delicious morsels. We sought out Basic 4 for vegan cheesesteak and ate surrounded by meat on every side. It tasted so good we went back for tofu-scramble for breakfast. Little boys must have time out of their strollers so we turned the contemplation corner of the hotel into a playground. Elliott chased pigeons, and ran circles round a giant ball before heading inside to decompress at the empty bar with meditational music and video.