$100 HB
Olde Stonehouse Bed and Breakfast (Hardy AR)
By Greg McKinney
I am a newly minted Private Pilot (my check ride
was March 1, 2006). My wife and I have taken several cross-country
trips in our Cessna 172 since passing my check ride. We just hadn’t
gone anywhere that we didn’t know anyone. Most of our trips were to
visit my wife’s mother in NW Arkansas, a grueling 4 hour drive from
Little Rock or a nice 1 hour flight with someone waiting for us at the
airport upon our arrival.
While I was learning to fly I spent a good portion
of my evenings planning ‘dream’ cross country trips. One of the trips
that my wife and I had planned was an anniversary trip to Gulf Shores,
AL. That trip should have been our first cross country trip to
somewhere that a relative was not waiting for us. However, the weather
was not quite what a new Private Pilot would have hoped for so the No-Go
decision was made pretty early in the day and we began driving.
Another trip that I had begun planning as a student
pilot was a trip to Hardy, Arkansas. A good friend of my wife’s had
bragged about a little bed and breakfast where she and her husband spent
their 5th anniversary. My wife mentioned that she would like
to go there some day. My stock reply during most of 2005 was, “Well,
when I get my license we can just fly up there.” So that trip went on
the list of cross country trips that we were going to make.
The first thing that any pilot should know about
Hardy, Arkansas is that there is no airport at Hardy. However, 8 miles
to the southwest is the Sharp County Regional Airport (KCVK) located in
Ash Flat, AR. The runway (22 / 4) is 6,000+ ft. long. After speaking
with Larry, the owner of the FBO at CVK, I learned that the runway had
just been re-surfaced within the past year.
One thing to remember is that when you land you
probably will not be greeted and directed to parking. This is not one
of the fancy FBO’s that cater to the passengers but rather a ‘pilot’s
FBO/airport’. However, you also won’t be charged an overnight tie-down
fee.
We had made arrangements with the owners of the
Olde Stonehouse Bed and Breakfast to pick us up at the airport. (No
charge for the ground transportation, by the way!) Greg Bess, our host
came to pick us up and even had a sign with our name written on it, much
like the chauffeurs that pick up passengers at the big airports. The
ride from the airport to Hardy was a little less than 15 minutes.
On our way to the Bed and Breakfast Mr. Bess took
us on a tour of Hardy. The words ‘rustic’ and ‘quaint’ kept coming up.
There is a good reason for that. The National Register of Historic
Places plaques on buildings are quite common in Hardy. Hardy is rich in
Arkansas History.
The main reason my wife wanted to visit Hardy
(other than to rest) was to visit the antique and crafts shops in
historic downtown Hardy. That was the next thing we did after we
checked in and settled into our room. I am not much for ‘antiquing’ but
hey, the trip to Hardy was a good reason to fly! If shopping for
antiques is the price I have to pay, then so be it.
We spent most the rest of the day and the afternoon
of the next day browsing through most of the stores. My wife found a
hall tree at a great price (but it wouldn’t fit into our Cessna 172, so
I get to go back and pick it up in my truck). I found a couple of nice
aviation pictures, a DC-3 and a DC-4 in flight.
We topped off our day with a nice meal at the Greek
Restaurant in Hardy followed by a leisurely walk along the Spring
River. The Hardy City Park is right on the river and a lighted walkway
makes for a romantic stroll.
The accommodations were very comfortable and
elegant. The suite where we stayed, The Garden Suite, included a
Jacuzzi bathtub for two and an antique queen sized bed that slept
wonderfully.
The Bess’s take the breakfast part of “Bed and
Breakfast” seriously. When they serve breakfast it is more like a
gourmet meal prepared by a chef that not only knows how to cook, but
more importantly, LIKES to cook. Take my word for it, the breakfasts
are really good.
When we checked out our host once again drove us to
the airport. He even waited around to watch us take off.
One thing that my wife and I had discussed while I
was a student pilot was that once we start making cross-country trips we
will be on our own when it comes to ground transportation. We won’t
have a car that we can jump into anytime we like (unless we rent, of
course). We will need to learn to enjoy a bit of adventure when it
comes time to go from place to place on the ground. Well, we are
probably spoiled now that the Bess’s treated us so well in Hardy. They
offered to take us almost anywhere we wanted. They even offered us the
keys to their car in case we wanted to take a drive.
All in all this was a weekend to remember on many
levels. Here’s to more cross-country trips!
Olde Stonehouse
Bed & Breakfast
108 West Main Street
Hardy, Arkansas (AR) 72542
Toll Free: 800-514-2983
Fax: 870-856-2193
Email:
info@oldestonehouse.com
Proprietors: Greg and JaNoel Bess
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