Update: Burns Park Light Display

After posting about the driving-thru light displays around the area last night, I came across this article about the Burns Park display in the online edition of the NLR Times. For those of you who are interested, it's $5 per car, $10 per van and $20 per bus. Not sure if the additional cost for vans includes mini-vans or just the larger church style vans.

The article says that the display is open from 6-10 pm ever day between now and Dec. 30th, with the exception of Christmas day. Also, it says the tour goes on for over a mile. Anyone who's been through, feel free to post your reaction in the comments.

Christmas has come to town, but not to the radio!

At the risk of sounding like a scrooge, I'm one of those people who doesn't want to have anything to do with Christmas until sometime after Thanksgiving. It isn't that I don't love Christmas, I just don't want to get tired of it all before it actually gets here! As such, I was disappointed to see the amount of Christmas decorations and Christmas music that found it's way into stores around town well before Thanksgiving. But now, Turkey day has come and gone and Christmas can officially take center stage!

In years past, I recall certain radio stations in Central Arkansas switching over to an "All Christmas, All the Time" format soon after Thanksgiving. This is nice if you're out looking at lights or doing some festive shopping, but there are only so many times you can sit through Feliz Navidad when all you really want to hear is the traffic report. This year, I've experienced the exact opposite. There have been several times when I've specifically wanted to hear Christmas music while driving somewhere and have been unable to find any playing on the radio. This is especially unfortunate since I haven't been able to find my special Christmas mix CD made up of all my personal favorites. So instead, I find myself scanning through stations I don't even listen to regularly trying to find someone playing Christmas tunes. If there is a station that has switched over to all Christmas music, I would love to know what it is!

Apart from Christmas music on the radio (don't know what I've got till it's gone), the other usual reminder to me that Christmas is just around the corner is Christmas lights. I don't put lights up on my own house, but I like seeing them around. If your childhood involved having to help someone untangle lights for hours, search for bulbs that had gone out, and steady a ladder until your arms are sore, you probably don't get as excited about Christmas lights as I do. When I was a kid, we never put up our own Christmas lights, but a couple of times in December, my parents would load us up in the car and make us ride around looking at Christmas lights. I think my parent's did this because it was cheaper than taking us all out for ice cream. So now that I'm all grown up, I have fond memories or meandering through neighborhoods looking for Christmas lights. It felt like a treasure hunt voting on which direction to turn at each intersection and feeling the excitement when you turn a corner and see a house completely lit up. A few years ago, I started satisfying this ritual by driving through Sherwood Forest's annual lights display. It isn't quite as adventurous as trying to find the best house displays on your own, but the excitement is a lot more consistent. If you're not familiar with it, Sherwood Forest is hidden away off West Maryland so that you'll never find it by accident, but I think it's worth seeking out. This is especially true since they fit the bill for "cheap entertainment" by not charging a set admission and simply taking donations instead. I always have a few dollars ready for them at the end where they're handing out candy canes and dog biscuits.

Another great place to look at Christmas lights is down at the riverfront amphitheatre. I assume they have lights set up again this year, although I haven't managed to drive by there at night. I usually make up some cocoa ahead of time and find someone special to wander through the lights with. It makes for a nice evening and it's great for getting you in the Christmas spirit.

If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned the light display at Burn's Park, it's because I've never been. Scratch that- I pulled in one time after seeing it from the interstate and found out that there is a per-car fee to drive through. I don't even know what the fee is, but I'm not one to carry cash, so I was out of luck and haven't ever made it back over. If you've been and think it's worth it, tell me about it in the comments. Otherwise, check out Sherwood Forest and drink some cocoa for me!

Just like riding a bike

Last weekend, I decided it might be fun to reclaim part of my childhood and get a bike. I have fond memories of spending hours riding around in the hot Arkansas sun, exploring my neighborhood and trying to figure out where every trail came out. It's been cooling off lately and spending a few hours outside doesn't seem like torture anymore, so I figured now was as good a time as any.

My one limitation when purchasing a bike is that I wanted to spend as little money as possible. I'm sure any of you who ride bikes regularly or know what a camelback is or who have even halfway considered participating in the Big Dam Bridge 100 are screaming at your monitors right now about how regrettable it's going to be to not have invested a little money to go to a bike shop, get fitted for something decent, and pay a little more for quality. I'm sure J&P Bike Shop in Sherwood could have hooked me up. However, my excitement about new activities like this sometimes lasts about as long as a popcicle. So I foresee more regret from spending too much on a bike than too little. I can always replace a cheap bike later if I actually ride with any kind of regularity.

So, with that in mind, I headed out looking for the best cheap bike I could find. I had an absolute maximum spending limit of $100. Based on that, I checked a couple of websites and narrowed by shopping trip down to three stores: Walmart, Sports Authority, and Academy. I went to Sports Authority first, but that trip didn't last long because they didn't have any adult bikes for less than $100. My second stop was Walmart. I went to the Supercenter on McCain and their bike section is toward the front of the store across the aisle from the shampoo. They had some a display of Schwinns on the end cap, but nothing was priced. The rest of the adult bikes were crammed together on a main aisle, which made it hard to leisurely look over the choices. Walmart had a couple of choices just under my price range, but there wasn't anything I liked enough to keep me from making my final stop at Academy.

When I got to Academy, I found that they had the largest selction of the three stores when it comes to bikes for all ages. They were split up into girl's, boy's, women's and men's, with each section roughly arranged by price. This layout made it very easy to narrow my choices down. They had several options under $100, including the bottom-dollar deal of the day for $59. After pulling a couple off the rack and weighing my choices, I finally settled on one for $80. It was $20 more than I had to pay, but it got me more comfortable grips, easier to reach brakes, and a lighter frame, while still leaving me enough under budget to get a saddle upgrade. All the bikes at Academy came pre-assembled, so all I had to do when I got home was check the tire inflation, adjust the seat and handlebar height, and swap out the saddle. I was off riding in no time!

Once I started riding around, I discovered that there are a lot more sidewalks and trails in my neighborhood than I had noticed before. I also realized that I'm not as young as I used to be. The days of spending all afternoon peddling around the neighborhood are long gone until I can build up some stamina in these old bones. So far, I've gone out riding twice, once down a trail with some gravel and rocks and once on sidewalks and paved areas. I think I'm much more likely to stick with this than if I decided to start walking a couple of times a week. On a bike, I'm able to cover more distance and everything takes on more of a sense of adventure.

I'd like to find out where some longer trails are and I might have to head to the foot of the Big Dam Bridge some weekend. I think trying to peddle up the bridge would use up too much energy and my ride would have to be shortened as a consequence, but I'd love to take off down the biking trails and see where they lead. I've already been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to get around on a bike, and I'm looking forward to getting out again.

Any recommendations out there for biking trails suited for a beginner?

Firefall

I've been to Firefall restaurant three times, most recently for lunch a few days ago. I'm continually impressed that a restaurant snuggled into an off-shoot of the Kroger parking lot can be as nice as it is. I think its proper name (at least when they first opened) was "Firefall Bar and Grill", but it's more Saddle Creek than Applebee's. The food is good, the atmosphere is calm, and I've not had any problems with the service.

So why have I only been there three times? Until my most recent visit, I don't recall them having a lunch menu. As I said, their food is good, but it's more expensive than I want to spend on a lunch, and when dinner rolls around, Firefall usually slips my memory as I run down the list of restaurants bordering the interstate or circling Lakewood Village. But this past week, a co-workder suggested Firefall and to my delight, they have a lunch menu!

The lunch menu was laid out on a separate, one-page menu and you can choose anything from the list for $7.50. They had choices for broken out for chicken, shrimp, fish, etc. Each entree comes with a side item of your choosing. I opted for the tilapia and had a choice of three preparations. I got my tilapia with a Parmesan breading and had red beans and rice for my side. The portion of red beans and rice was bigger than I expected and the fish was delightful. My meal also included a large dinner roll to start, served with whipped garlic butter. Based on the quality of the food and the options available, I thought the price was phenomenal. The lunch menu is available M-F from 11 till 2. Now that I know about this lunch menu, I'll certainly keep Firefall in mind next time I'm looking for a sit-down meal during the week.

Rocky's Pub

I went to Rocky's Pub for the first time last weekend, and it wasn't at all what I was expecting. If you're not familiar with it, it's tucked away in the Kroger shopping center on JFK. It's occupies a corner space, and yes, it's as small as it looks. We got there on a Friday night around 6, and all the booths were full. We could have sat at the bar, but since there were three of us, we decided that would put too much of a strain on conversation, so we waited. What passes for a waiting area inside is very small and can't hold more than a couple of people without blocking everyone trying to get out. Instead, we sat outside on one of the benches and looked over the menu they had posted in the window. Since the waiting area was too small for people to actually wait in and there wasn't any system for keeping track of who was next in line (hostess, pagers, etc) I'm not sure how they keep track of it. Thankfully, one of the waiters was paying attention and everyone was seated in "first come, first served" order.

As I mentioned, Rocky's has a pretty small seating area. If I'm remembering right, there were at most 10 booths, two two-seat tables, and a row of seats at the bar (less than 10). As you can imagine, it doesn't take much to get a full house! In any case, we were seated about 10 minutes after we arrived. In that small of an area, they have enough TVs that regardless of where you're sitting, you have a clear view of one of them.

I said at the beginning that Rocky's wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting it to have the feel of a casual bar, just based on the beer signs in the window and the inclusion of "pub" in their name. What I actually found was a great neighborhood restaurant that happened to have a bar.

Decor:
It's a casual, cozy restaurant. The walls are decorated with paraphernalia from Philidelphia, with an emphasis on Rocky Balboa. This also ties in with their Philly cheesesteak offerings, billed as the best around.

Service:
Our server was very friendly and kept a good eye on our table. He also greeted several people by name as he came in, so I get the feeling that it wouldn't take too many visits before the staff started recognizing you. This is the sort of place where you could become a "regular".

Food:
At my table, we started off with cheese fries, then had a burger, cheesesteak, and chicken parmesan sandwich. The menu had plenty of options, from burgers, sandwiches and wraps, to full on entrees. Everyone at my table was very pleased with their meal, and it certainly exceeded my expectations. I had the chicken parmesean sandwich, and I had the option of grilled or breaded chicken. It was served on Texas toast, which I love. The only problem with Texas toast is that it's often too greasy or too soggy. Rocky's got it just right! The sandwich came with an order of chips, which are made in-house. Let me just pause here and say that the chips alone were reason enough to make me want to go back to Rocky's. They're thick and substantial, and seasoned beautifully. I got too full to finish my sandwich, but ate every one of my chips.

Prices:
The variety of choices on the menu also provided a range of prices. Things started off around $7-$8 for sandwiches, burgers and wraps, then went up to around $15 for full dinner entrees.

Drinks:
The had Guinness on tap, which my table took advantage of. They also had a full drink menu, which included more spirits than cocktails.

Overall:
I would definitely go back to Rocky's. I would probably go at a time that I expected it to be less crowded, but the food was great and the prices were reasonable.

Casa Mexicana gets a face lift

If you're a fan of Mexican food in North Little Rock, you've surely noticed the slight relocation of Casa Mexicana in North Little Rock. For years, this local favorite has set back from the road near the intersection of JFK and North Hills. During that time, it's watched as the larger restaurant space just across the parking lot was occupied by one restaurant after another. Each has moved in, changed the sign, and shortly thereafter, closed shop. Finally, when the most recent occupant closed it's doors, Casa Mexicana decided that it's turn had finally come.

When Casa Mexican decided to move to their new location, they did one thing noticably different than the previous tenants- instead of just swapping out signs, they completely re-did the facade. As many different restaurants as have been in that building, the outside has remained largely unchanged. Until now. Standing in the parking lot of the new Casa Mexicana, you can barely tell that it was once a Dixie Cafe, a Buffalo Grill, and a Chinese buffet.

I had lunch at the new location last week. The first thing I noticed when I walked in is that it doesn't look as big on the inside as it does on the outside. This is because of the way the boothes are laid out. One layout remant from the original Dixie Cafe that has remained unchanged over the years is the closed off outer ring of booths. I suppose it was orignally meant to mimic a wrap-around porch, but as a more practical feature, it probably helps keep the noise down. It also allows Casa Mexicana to fit a lot of booths into the space without it feeling crowded.

In the middle of the restuaurant, somewhat closed off from the rest of the seating is a bar area. There wasn't anyone sitting at or behind the bar when I went for lunch, but I suspect it sees more action in the evenings and weekends when the booths start filling up.

There is also an outside patio area. I didn't have a chance to go out there, but it looked very nice. It's technically an outside area, but it's more closed off than an fully open patio. I like this, because you get the breeze and the open-air feeling without being too exposed to the elements. On my next trip, I may ask for a table on the patio so I can get a better look at it.

You may have noticed that I have yet to say anything about the food. This is because I think most people around here who like Mexican food are already well aware of Casa Mexicana's food. Personally, it's not my first choice for local Mexican food, but they're certainly above average and they have plenty of local devotees, as evidenced by their full parking lot every Friday night. If you've never tried Casa Mexicana, or haven't tried it in a long time, let their new location be a reason to give them another look. A good restaurant experience is equal parts service, ambiance, and food. At Casa Mexicana, the service has always been good, the food is better than average, and their new location gives them a definite bump in the ambiance. Whether you're a regular or a first-timer, stop by, check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments.

Check out their menu ahead of time or view their other locations at RestaurantCasaMexicana.com.

Dealing with Car Dealers

Finding a good car salesman is like finding a good plumber - you want someone you can call up without having to turn around and spend 3 hours researching what they just told you to find out whether you're getting screwed. Of course, plumbers and car salesmen have to make a living too, but I think it's possible to get a good deal that lets both parties keep some money in their pockets.

Usually, the dealership you end up at depends on what kind of car you're looking to buy. If you want to buy a Nissan, you go to the Nissan dealership. That means that even if you are willing to drive to Benton or Conway, you've probably got no more than 4 choices of where to buy. I, for one, don't like drive so far when there are so many dealerships right here in North Little Rock and Sherwood. In fact, there has only been one occasion when I disliked a NLR dealership enough to even bother driving over to LR. As a result, the sum total of all my serious attempts to buy a car are limited to three dealerships right along 67/167.

North Point Toyota
Every time I've going out looking to buy a car, I've stopped here. I keep going because I have such a high opinion of the Toyota brand. I think of Toyotas as being safe, fuel efficient cars that hold their value very well. I like some models better than others, but in general, I don't think you can go wrong driving a Toyota. In spite of this opinion and the number of times I've gone to this dealership (3-4) I've never owned a Toyota. Bear in mind that my most recent visit to this dealership was about a year ago before they moved to their new location and I don't know if there have been any changes to their management or sales staff. I do know that each time I've gone there, I've been drug into a long, drawn out process that is neither forthcoming or enjoyable. The sales people spend a great deal of time going back and forth to their sales manager and juggling every number at once trying to re-arrange things to get you to buy the car.

My most recent visit started because I was seriously considering buying a Tundra. I spent several hours there between a test drive, an overview of features, and lengthy discussions about financing, purchase price, and trade in value. The salesman spent too much time obsessing over a 4-square and kept trying to make me care about the monthly payment more than the overall price of the truck. They also kept insisting that if we took a promotional APR, the price of the truck would stay at MSRP, which is ridiculous. I finally left when after waiting 20 minutes for them to run a credit check and give me a specific APR resulted in the sales manager coming over to give me a range of rates that I could have gotten off their website. After I left, I got calls from three different people at the dealership promising to make me the deal of a lifetime if I came back by.

I might one day have the pleasure of counting driving off a lot in a brand new Toyota, but as long as North Point is my neighborhood Toyota dealer, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

North Point Ford
After my last fruitless trip to North Point Toyota, I ended up at North Point Ford. My father and brother-in-law have both purchased vehicles here and I found the dealership to be about average. They also used the 4 square, but obsessed over it a little less and mostly used it to display the numbers as we negotiated them. Our salesman went back and forth between his desk and the sales manager, but it never took more than a couple of minutes and I didn't feel like I was being jerked around. It was a holiday weekend, so there were a couple of Ford incentives going at the time in addition to the dealership offering a $500 gas card with every purchase. We wanted to take the 0% financing, but they still came down on the price after some haggling. Once I felt like we'd come to a fair price and good terms, I mentioned the gas card, which they suddenly insisted had been factored into the amount they'd take off the MSRP. I wasn't willing to concede that point, so they eventually added the $500 card to everything else we'd agreed on.

All in all, I expect there to be some haggling involved in a car purchase at any average dealership. There was some push and pull at North Point Ford, but I did feel like they were trying to con me and everything remained civil along the way.

Russell Honda
I bought my first car at Russell Honda right after I graduated college. At the time, I didn't have Honda high up on my list of prospects simply because I saw so many of them already out on the road. I wanted something more distinctive, but I went to Russell Honda anyway because at the end of the day, I know Hondas are good cars. Along with Toyota, I think a Honda is one of the best cars you could drive when it comes to price and quality. I understand that there are some luxury brands that could leave Honda and Toyota in the dust, but I'm not made of money.

During that first car buying experience, I went to the local dealerships for Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and finally Honda. Being wet behind the ears, my dad went with me to help weed through the B.S. I got a variety of receptions from the salesmen at each dealership, and liked some vehicles more than others. After weighing a lot of choices and getting a feel for the driving experience in several models, I eventually decided that there was a reason I kept seeing so many Hondas on the road. After coming to this conclusion, I sat down with a salesman at Russell Honda. Surprisingly, he didn't start off by quoting me the MSRP and falling over himself trying to make sure I bought the car on the spot. He quoted me a fair price for the car right off the bat, told me the going interest rate, and helped me find a car with the features I wanted and in the color I wanted. Then he let me walk off the lot without a fight. I went home that day, did some more research online, and weighed my options. The salesman didn't leave me phone messages, but he was happy to see me again when I went back to buy the car. It was a painless process and I got a fair price without breaking a sweat.

Since that first purchase, I've gone back to that Russell Honda and and traded in that car. I always ask for the same salesman, Stan Wilder, and have recommended him to everyone I know who's in the market for a car. As a result, I've had two room mates and three family members buy new or used cars from him. Everyone I've talked to at Russell honda, from the sales staff to the service department is always helpful and curteous. They'll give you a good price and treat you like more than a dollar sign. And on top of all that, you'll walk away with a great car!

Conclusion
There you have it, my take on three local car dealerships. Ultimatly, I think the car has to come first. I would rather go through a few hours of a frustrating dealership experience if it means I get to drive the car of my dreams for the next 10-15 years. This is especially true if you have a good, trustworth repairman to handle any future mechanical hiccups. If that's the case, you can fight tooth and nail with a dealership, walk away with the car you want, and never have to speak to them again! For the time being, my first stop is still Russell Honda because they have good cars and they won't make you fight too much for a good price.

Keep in mind that the best way to get a good deal on a car is to be informed ahead of time. No matter how much you trust the salesman, don't take his word that something is a good deal. Do some research ahead of time, know what you're looking for and know what the going price is. I always make Kelly Blue Book and Edmund's my first stops when researching a car. Also, don't be afraid to walk off the lot and sleep on the decision before signing on the dotted line. Buying a car can be a high pressure situation and it's easy to let the shine of the paint get the best of you.