Little Rock, home to the Clinton Presidential Center where President Clinton chose to celebrate his presidency right on the Arkansas River near downtown. I’m thinking this was a great move to boost Downtown Little Rock. The grounds are beautiful; the Library is a plethora of artifacts of eight years work.
William J Clinton Presidental Library
There is so much information packed into this building that it is hard to absorb everything that was accomplished during those 8 years. I have a few favorite memories that have nothing to do with politics. Hillary wanted to bring as many personal items with the family to the White House so that Chelsea would be comfortable in her new home as she was being moved from the only home she ever knew – The Governers Mansion in Little Rock! From a Mansion to the White House to a dorm at Stanford University – thats an address resume!
The early photos of Bill and Hillary at Yale were pretty interesting, the two looked like every other student in the late 60’s, shaggy beard and long straight hair. Growing up in the 60’s had to have a real pulse on who he was as president.
The library is full of quotes of the president and he provides lots of commentary throughout the library. One of my favorites was a video clip of Clinton in the Oval Office. “Wait a minute guys. See that rock, it’s 3.6 billion years old. We’re all just passing through, take a deep breath, calm down, let’s see what makes sense.” The rock is a moon rock that is showcased on the coffee table in his Oval Office. The comment is meant to get everyone on the same page, realizing that we have time and do not need to rush to make big decisions.
The big bonus for me at the Library is the Chihuly Exhibit of glass art. We have seen several displays of Dale Chihuly in Tacoma, WA, at the Makers Mark Bourbon Distillery in Kentucky and now in Little Rock, AR. Amazing work, beautiful colors and watching the process makes it even more impressive.
Chihuly Glass Art
The Red Reeds in the fountain infront of the Clinton Library
Chihuly Glass Art
Chihuly Glass Art
These works are so beautiful, the colors are brilliant. The spheres are amazing.
Chihuly Glass Art
The bowl, holds several bowls. They all look like individual pieces. The coloring is impressive
One of my favorites of the collections. The yellow rim is perfect!
The Red Reeds
The RV park we are staying in is across the pedestrian bridge so we can just walk over the Arkansas River and enjoy the beauty of the park setting around the Library. The pedestrian bridge, The Clinton Presidential Bridge is an old railroad bridge that has been converted to a pedestrian bridge across the river and allows North Arkansas neighborhoods a walking/riding path to the Library and surrounding park as well as the downtown area.
The weather is hot and sticky here in October and this am we had another storm pass through complete with lots of rain, wind and the weather alerts!