If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed I seemed to have randomly spent a month in Bentonville, Arkansas without saying much about why.
About a month before I went out there, I got a call asking me to come 2nd assistant direct my first movie! The AD I worked on Hallmark with in January needed a 2nd, and brought me along on this journey.
I also couldn't get over the fact that my first 2nd AD movie experience was going to be on a film called "Princess". Talk about a weird full circle feeling. It was also going star a dog, so you know I was thrilled, You can read more about the film HERE.
I had the most incredible time filming with wonderful people like Lucy Hale, Adam Demos, Rickey Thompson, and Dot-Marie Jones.
Filming was going to be about a month long in Arkansas, where I had never been, and to be honest, had to look at a map to even remember where it was. The town was small and quaint, and the weather was perfect with a slight chill in the air still. The production flew me out about a week before for some pre production and scouts.
Production also put me up in the
Block Hotel, which I got to be honest, I wouldn't recommend.
The room was fine, but the hospitality was lacking. The door was this fancy touch lock that I thought was cool, but a lot of people had issues with.
Breakfast was included every day, which was handy, but it was the same thing every day, which got tiresome.
The hotel gym existed, but that was about all there was to it.
My rental car was nice though.
And our office was one of the best parts!
There were often so many dogs around in Bentonville. Even on the set, many people would bring their personal dogs to just hang out, and it was the BEST!
The first week of pre-pro was a little slower, so I had some time to explore. Best part of North West Arkansas was all the beautiful nature trails and parks around. Osage and Coler were my favorite parks, and I found myself coming back there often to explore on my time off. Osage was right next to my office and only a few minutes drive from my hotel, so usually it would turn into my lunch spot. I also saw a baby beaver there once!
Coler was about a 20 minute drive from my hotel, but had a longer walking path, and a cute little coffee shop with delicious scones in the middle of it.
Most of these paths are mountain bike trails, so you just have to be vigilant you're not going to get run over.
There were some other parks and pathways I also visited, but these two were absolutely my favorites.
Bentonville is known as the Walmart Headquarters, and the campus is open to the public to walk around. It's very well kept, and has a lot of cute food places to picnic outdoors.
With Walmart being a pivotal point in this small town, there was also a Walmart Museum located in the town square.
Also in the town square on select days is the farmers market. I have been to farmers markets before but it was nothing like this one. This one was huge and had so many treats to try and dogs to pet!
There were dogs all over this town! I did also venture into a puppy shop one day and almost took this little girl home with me.
The town has a
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where you can visit the animals, go to their coffee shop, work, or hang out while supporting a place that provides so many furry friends homes. I enjoyed coming to visit the kitties while getting some work done.
I tried to make the most of my off days and go to do little adventures, including more historic ones like visiting the
Peel Museum.
I also visited the Pea Ridge National Military Park, which is a historic battlefield in Arkansas where an important Civil War fight helped the Union keep control of Missouri. It was so eerily quiet out here and there was no one else really around, but it was an interesting area to visit.
Another must see in the area according to the locals is a visit to
Crystal Bridges art museum. Personally, I am not a huge art museum person, but the architecture of this place is gorgeous.
There were lots of beautiful nature paths surrounding the facility, which I liked a little more.
I did use one of my days off to drive the 2 hours to Branson, Missouri to venture into the Ozarks. I forgot about the fact that when you drive into the mountains, this most likely means you will be driving on some cliff sides, and this was not my favorite.
I wanted to go ride the
Runaway Mountain Coaster, which is a coaster built into the side of the Ozarks, and it was so much fun!
The whole experience is less than 5 minutes, but I got in and out before it rained and closed, so I was happy I made the drive. From there, I headed to the
Ruth and Paul Henning Lookout for a good view point of Branson.
My last stop was a Branson historic meal experience at
Billy Gail's and their deliciously massive pancakes.
And that was my quick trip to Branson! It was back to Arkansas from here on out.
Food scene in Bentonville was decent, but I ended up really enjoying some of the local coffee stops more.
Tacos 4 Life- food wise 7/10 but all proceeds go to a good cause so it gives them a higher rating of 9/10
The Witching Hour- Horror themed food truck, felt like I was at HHN, but food wise 7/10
Heros Coffee shop- 10/10 great hospitality, had a fun tree house like table, and the barista made me a tasty holiday flavored latte even though it wasn't on the current menu.
Iwa Ramen- looks 10/10 but taste wise was only like a 3/10 unfortunately. I should have just known getting Japanese food in Arkansas would be iffy, especially when they're playing country music in their restaurant.
Azul Tequila Bistro- 10/10 specifically these two items, the guacamole and birria tacos.
Onyx Coffee Lab- 9/10 suppose to be one of the best coffee shops in the world apparently, and I do think it lives up to the name for the most part, I just chose a latte with lemon in it, and that was not the best choice
Torchy's Tacos- 9/10 this is a chain, but I had never been, and it was great
Bike Rack Brewing- 10/10 great vibes and the blood orange cider was amazing
Co-OP Ramen- Didn't learn from my first ramen experience, because this was was a great vibe at the 8th St Market location, but food wise was a 5/10
Field Notes- 10/10 our whole crews favorite coffee spot to hang and do work. Very friendly staff and really peaceful nature vibes.
- Great vibes and hospitality, but tried the salted honey whiskey latte and I did not love it so it's getting a 6/10
Caffeine Bar- 9/10 they accidentally made my drink too large and gave me all the extra. They also have hand whisked macha
Hawaiian Bros- 8/10 where else can you get Hawaiian fast food, and they even had dole whip
Danger Daves- 7/10 food was pretty good, would probably be a better vibe here at night with live music
Taco and Tamale- 5/10 had higher expectations for this, but it wasn't great
Trash Ice Cream- 10/10 this was like DQ but better. Might have been because it was brought to me by our sweet van driver while I was on my like 5th day of 15 hours of working out of my car, but it was still very good regardless
Saiwok- 10/10 delicious Vietnamese fusion
Ozark Bagel Company- 9/10 highly recommend taking your bagel to the square and eating it by the fountain
Archie's Sandwhichery- 10/10 can't beat the crispy boi sandwhich
Parlor- 9/10 gotta try the cookie butter latte, but their cups are my favorite
Overall, it was a pretty decent food scene, but wouldn't say it was the foodie capital of the world or anything. I am actually surprised with how well I do on my own traveling just entertaining myself on my days off. One of my favorite days it was raining and I took myself to go see Project Hail Mary, and absolutely loved the film.
Somehow the month came and went really fast, and the project was wrapping already! I truly learned so much on this experience, and I am so grateful to all the new friendships. I will truly never forget this experience, and I can't wait to see our finished project when it comes out.
That's a wrap Bentonville! Until we meet again!
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