Day 219 (Monday 2/25/13)- Natural Resources Museum, AR

Before leaving Shreveport we ended up making two stops, one of which was unplanned. The first stop was to try the famous "Muffy" sandwich at Fertitta's (same as a muffaleta, just shortened so that it would fit on their sign). The sandwiches were delicious and the environment friendly.

We also found what we thought was an answer to a problem (read our Blog from Little Rock to learn more). On our drive over to the restaurant our brakes started making an awful noise. On the advice of the owner of Fertitta's (who was a former mechanic) we had it checked out by a local repair shop he recommended. The owner of the shop gave us the green light and we headed out of town, winding up the beautiful 7.

To split up the drive we made a stop along the way at the Arkansas Natural Resources Museum, a two story museum devoted to oil. As several placards explained, the museum is funded by a mandatory tax on oil companies.

Though not a topic I have much interest in, the museum was so well done we found ourselves engaged despite the subject matter (surprise-big oil has money and good PR).

Starting on a glass elevator that takes you up through a re-creation of the evolution of oil, you land on the museum's main floor, made to resemble an early oil drilling town. Here we got to read all about the experiences of people during the early oil booms. For example, so many people flooded into these towns, barber chairs were rented out to people to sleep in at night. Coffins too.

After finishing the tour with a room full of random but entertaining optical illusions, we finished the trek and capped the evening by watching Two days in New York. A quirky, lovely comedy with Chris Rock doing a fine job in a role much different from his comedy stage persona.

Fertitta's