The SATW chapter group was carted off to Garvan Gardens, an extention of the University of Arkansas, near Hot Springs. It’s quite an expanse of natural Arkansas. Loys of hiking trails and waterfalls. Above is a sketch of a smaller waterfall.

We were next taken into Downtown Hot Springs. There we toured the Fordyce Bathhouse historic site of what we would call today ‘Spas’. A photo of it is above.

Above is an early version of human steam cleaning. The head of the person would stick out of the hole on top. The sink beside it is to clean whatever someone wants to clean of ones self.

Here is the men’s steam room. An elaborate place and quite the opposite of the ladie’s area. It seems men more used these places than women. Notice the elaborate statue that is a center piece of the room. The dolled up lady was our period guide.

We ended the day taking a ride on the Arkansas Queen, which provided food and music. Above is a sketch I did at the top of the Queen of a bridge we went by. While there a nearby table had the last members of a WWII group of  Navy veterans. There were three of the naval USS CAPPS reunion. Apparently there are five left of this submarine crew who, according to member Al Saunders, had eight missions and saw plenty of action. The action is subsiding now that time is taking the crew away. Saunder’s commander was there across from him. Appearing to be in his 90s, you could still see the seaman in him. I did a drawing of the two with Saunders, who has a great sense of humor, bumbling in front of his commander on a sub. They loved it! I’m sorry i didn’t get a phot of the drawing or them. The commander’s wife told me this would be the last gathering of this CAPPS group. They were getting to old to travel so far to meet. They are a tribute to our country and all should be better educated to understand the importance of our military and their maintenance of our liberty.

Above was our entertainment for the evening. That rounder fellow sure can play a banjo!

The Society of American Travel Writers had a big soiree at the Clinton library in Little Rock. Obviously not one of my favorite places to be, but I got lots of reference material out of the trip. This is the only location, besides the White House, with an exact replica of the Oval Office. Above is one of many photos I took of that.

Above is a photo of a fractions of the Clinton papers kept at the library. All of the papers at the library is a fraction of all of Clinton’s papers.

Art: Chilhuly original in the library.

We awike to the roar of lions and tigers in our little cottage in Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. We had heard the day before of the baby tigers born in the last two weeks. We were the first people outside of staff to see the little fellers. There they are above.

Kerry Krauss, of the State of Arkansas tourism was all prepared to take me, Sandra and St. Petersburg Times, Bob Jenkins, around again. Sandra and I had a request for a stop. A doctors office. Kerry took us to the best place she knew of minutes away. What a place! Eureka Springs Hospital. We’ve never been seen so fast. Sandra was first. She was seen within FIVE MINUTES! Out again within halk an hour. WOW! The attentiveness and thoroughness was staggering. Even the connecting pharmacy was careful to go over each medicine. We had six medicines each to take. The diagnosis: Sinusitis. Sandra’s is determined to be severe.

We contined the tour with Kerry and Bob. We made our way back to Little Rock. We stopped at Neighbors Mill Bakery and Cafe. Below is a sketch I drew there. I picked up a loaf of bread for my youthful 100 year old friend, Lucile Fair, a bread connoisseur.

Soon we were back at the Peabody Hotel in Little Rock.

Sunday we were taken up to Eureka Springs, in northwest Arkansas. To the right is a photo of the Crescent Hotel we stayed for the next three days.

By this time Sandra and I realize the plane ride has greatly enhanced our illness. Sandra goes on the familiarity tours around the area for the next two days. I hold back for the next two days for two reasons: 1) To get rest and drink endless fluids. 2) To finish a project that is due. I never thought that the illness I had already had had for a week would get worse. Especially after the doctors visit last Wednesday. I was feeling awful. I still got the project finished. The last part of the project was coloring lots of illustrations. It was tough coloring such a happy monkey as the one above.

As usual there were many seminars and meetings at the annual Natioonal Cartoonists Society Reuben Weekend. Here’s a sketch of the back of of cartoonings greatest enthusiasts and such a kind man, Bill Wilson, at one of those meetings.

That night was the annual Reuben Awards.

Here is the big winner: Al Jaffee of Mad Magazine won the ‘Cartoonist of the Year’ award. He has been creating art for the mag for nearly fifty years. His fold-ins are as great as ever.With his was the Master of Ceremonies: Mike Peters of ‘Mother Goose and Grimm’.

The next big winner was cartoonist Sandra Boynton with receiving the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award.

Two other big winners: Cartoonists attorney, Stu Rees, who received the Silver T-Square Award for volunteerism. With Stu is best Advertising Illustration award winner Tom Richmond.

Here is New Yorker gag cartoonist and author, Mort Gerberg with his award for best Gag Cartoon. He was also part of our Habitat for Humanity crew. I can only hope that I will have as much energy next year as Gerberg does now.

Bill Schorr won for best Editorial Cartoonist.

After the awards it became a room full of crazies in tuxedos. Here’s cartoonist and scientific illustrator, John Norton.

Cartoonist and great influence on me with his ’101 Pickle Jokes’ many years ago, Don Orehek wears his chapeau.

Finally we find cartoonist John Kovalesky declaring himself the Best Dressed Dude of the evening.

We were at the annual National Cartoonists Society Reuben Weekend in New Orleans. This was the best meeting since I joined in ’95. Great food, fun and fellowship!

The group first tackled Habitat for Humanity projects. Two busloads of cartoonists were sent off from Downtown New Orleans and out to the devastated areas of Southern Louisiana. Here are photos:

We were given instructions by a Habitat for Humanaity employee (The fellow in the yellow).

Next we worked! We were split up in separate groups. I felt like a real slacker when working with the group I was with . Here are two of the three hardest workers: Up on the ladder is Leigh Hanlon, with Tribune Media Services, and cartoonist Sandra Boynton.

Of course, there was some cartooning! Here a spare piece of chipboard is drawn upon by Mad Magazine’s Sam Viviano….

… and Sandra Boynton.

Here’s the finished board. Hard to see, I know. My drawing is of a fellow on a ladder to the left of the board.

Here is the house after we worked on it. A good deal of the siding you see was put on by the crew. There was also a bunch of roofing completed also.

We went to many a restaurant. Above is our waiter at a small and very good dinner spot, the Orleans Cafe. There we ate with John Read of ‘Stay Tooned’ magazine. That’s John below. Spooky, ain’t he?

Our trip to New Orleans for the annual event was a great one. This event was the best of all I’ve been to since 1995. We’re only back for a few days and then gone again for Sandra’s travel writers convention in Arkansas. In between we’ve both come down with a virus and I’m working like a mad man to finish a project by Friday in between blowing my nose and taking medicine.

Next week I’ll post art and lots of photos from the NCS event. Here’s a sketch from dinner at Orleans Cafe with artists John Norton and Tom Stemmle and his wife Marie.

Heading home we came across one of three new restaurants from the Chik-Fil-A folks. It’s terrific! I love these kind of restaurants and this one is first class! It’s named after the founder Truett Cathy. Truett’s Grill truly does it’s best to reflect a ’50s diner. The restaurant includes displays of the history of the Chik-Fil-A chain. There’s also an HO train that runs along a track near the ceiling along the inside of the restaurant. A separate room is made up to look like the interior of a subway car, with the entrance to the room painted as an entrance to a subway car. It was quite a place with great food and – Milkshakes!

The drawing is of a time capsule that hangs on the wall of the restaurant that was sealed in 2006 and to be opened 2026. I was hoping to color and better distinguish the art but time and the number of drawings during the trip holds me back.

Our last food stop was outside Valdosta, Georgia. We stopped at Old South Bar-B-Q. It’s a family owned and operated restaurant just off U.S.75. Very good bar-b-q.