Dancing the Night Away

The Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs is now in it's third iteration. It used to be across the street (now called Arlington Park). The Old Arlington was a 120-room wooden structure. It was razed to build the New Arlington with 300 rooms and fire escapes. It burned down in 1923. The need 1924 structure was designed with 560 rooms. Al Capone used to visit frequently. It's a bit run down now, but they had a very nice brunch buffet on Sunday and do still have spa services.

But to the dancing point, in the Crystal Ballroom for three Sundays in August, ending on this very night, and for only $10 per person, the Starlight Big Band played and the dancers came out! We felt a bit out of place among the well-seasoned couples with their official dance shoes. Sherry and George sat with us and gave us the rundown. Sherry is an absolute flirt with her husband (mid-80s) on the dance floor. They were they only couple who danced to The Stripper. There was a standing ovation at the end of their dance. There was one young couple there who were quite serious dancers, but didn't look nearly as smooth as Trow and Lanelle. Also at our table was a very interesting lady who had been a dance teacher. She went to Spain for a one-year teaching stint and stayed for sixteen. She gave us some cha-cha pointers and tried to give a quick lesson to a 15-year old boy on the other side of the room.

Sherry insisted on this picture and the pose!