Winter woes

Like I've mentioned before, it is very hard to find something to do with small children at home in the winter. Eureka Springs has a place called the "Fun Spot" with arcade games and go-karts, but they are closed in the winter. I would think that enough locals would use it in the winter that they could stay open, but maybe it's not cost effective for them.

I would like to check out the museum, but I don't know if my son would behave. Based on how he acts at the library, I'm scared to try the museum. Turpentine Creek Wild Cat refuge is open year-round, but we can only go on semi-warm days since it is outdoors. At least it is free for locals which is really cool. The ESNA railroad will give a free ride to locals, but they are closed in the winter too.

We find that there are too many things to do during the spring and summer, but not enough to do during the winter, when you really need to get out!

Fresh food?

Last night, I tried to order a pizza from our favorite place, Geraldi's. No one answered the phone, so I guess they were closed. Then I tried to call Sonny's and they didn't answer either. Usually both places are open all weekend. I finally found a place that was open, and ordered a pizza from Forest Hill restaurant. It was very inexpensive - $8.50 for a large pepperoni! The taste wasn't that great, though.

Then I got to thinking, if a restaurant owner decides to stay open in the winter and they are so slow, how can they possibly keep their food fresh? Since the tourism fluctuates, how do they know how much to make or order? I would think a lot of food would be wasted and have to be thrown away. Then you have to consider the staff. Do they keep full-time waiters on staff "just in case" they get any customers?

Unfortunately, I think it is probably in a restaurant's best interest to close for at least two months in the winter. Apparently, the residents of Eureka Springs don't go out to eat very much. This is a good thing for families, but a bad thing for restaurants.

Cabin Fever!

Here in Eureka Springs, the winters are very slow for tourism. Many of the shops, restaurants, and hotels are closed in January and February. Since they are also slow in the winter, the state of Pennsylvania has come up with an innovative way to get more people to visit. They have launched the "Cabin Fever" promotion. If you book your stay with a participating hotel, motel, bed & breakfast, or cabin in January, you get the second night FREE. You also get 50% off admission to local attractions, including ski resorts, museums, theaters, zoos, and more. In order to take advantage of this great deal - Book your Cabin Fever getaway today! This offer is only good until January 31st.

I think this is a great idea to get more tourists in their area. It might be something for Eureka to try - 50% off is still better than closing completely!

So cold!

We have lots of family in and around Denver, Colorado. They are having the worst winter ever! They got snow dumped on them for the past four weekends (twice it was 2 feet at a time) and now they are having extremely cold temperatures (think -7) so all that snow is not melting. They have huge piles of snow the size of small mountains in parking lots and have even filled Coors Field with extra snow. They are still looking for other areas to plow even more snow, because some roads haven't been cleared yet.

We lived there for 20 years and have never had a winter that bad. Of course, the weather people are blaming "El Nino," but I believe it is the overall Global Warming of our planet. "El Nino" is supposed to be a shift in weather patterns occurring every 3-5 years, but the weather seems to have been getting progressively worse each year.