My Eureka Moment - As Told In Photos

(PART II - See my last post, Saving The Best for Last, for the beginning of the story.)

What kind of place is Eureka Springs, Arkansas?

A place where Gramps straps his cane onto the back of his Harley and goes riding on the winding mountain roads (marked by signs stating "Crooked Road Next Two Miles") with Grandma.


A place where storybook homes - from Victorians to log cabins to stone cottages, seemingly miniaturized for cuteness - appear right out of a tale you once read.



A place where pristine spring water (discovered in 1856 by Dr. Alvah Jackson, who would market it as "Dr. Jackson's Eye Water") oozes from secret grottoes like this one. There are 63 springs in the area.



A place where you can go canoing on a public lake, pull over for a picnic and find the only source of company - and noise - is a flock of very friendly geese. (The animals? Just like the people!)



A place where a three-story building has three different street addresses, thanks to the unusual "stair-step" design of the town, which sits atop 20 hills. In between buildings, precipitous staircases are the only way to enter a building's mid-level shops and restaurants.



In sum, a place that gives a spectacular first date. I was charmed. I was giddy. I even had visions of what our life together might look like. And we ALL know how dangerous that is.

(In case you're wondering, it looked like this: me, sitting at a desk, looking out the window of my adorable, two-bedroom, circa 1900 Victorian cottage, which cost me less than $180,000 to buy, watching deer stroll through the leafy yard, writing the great American novel.)