Crystal Bridges and Motorcoach tours

On November 11, 2011 (11-11-11), Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened to the public.  Designed by internationally-known architect Moshe Safdie, who also designed the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts a few hours north in Kansas City, it instantly became a regional attraction for northwest Arkansas, but also southeast Kansas, and eastern Oklahoma.  That isn’t to say people don’t come from further away.  They do!  Some even fly in to our local Bentonville Airport (XNA).  But many others often use a motorcoach tour.

What is a motorcoach tour, anyway?  Some may not be familiar with this interesting and easy way to travel and sightsee within your state or region.  It’s simple.  You have a large, comfortable bus that is climate controlled and has large windows.  You have a good driver or commentator guiding/running the tour.  Finally, you have interesting and well-spaced stops.  It’s a great, human-scale way to see some sights without the hassle of a pat-down or the expense of a flight.  Read – sleep – or chat with your traveling companion.  Someone else is doing the driving so you don’t have to.

Speaking of which – did you realize motorcoach tours were environmentally friendly?  Because of their fuel efficiency, on a per passenger basis motorcoaches are amonth the most environmentally clean modes of transportation in the world.  Modern motorcoaches often get over 200 passenger miles per gallon, which, on average, is seven times more energy and fuel efficient than a single-occupancy automobile.

Crystal Bridges is an excellent part of any motorcoach tour.  It has some beautiful trails.  It has amazing artwork.  The space and architecture itself, both at during the day, and especially at night, is its own artwork.  Sure, it’s a great place to get out and stretch your legs, but as part of the buildup of any great motorcoach tour, hopefully it’s part of some beautiful scenery that you saw on the way, along with some helpful/informative commentary from a guide before.

We think that Crystal Bridges is a beautiful symphony.  If you want close out your day trip or your weekend with something quite different – perhaps akin to a rock-n-roll concert if you want to use our music analogy – then Simple Pleasures would be a great stop for you.  We are just like Crystal Bridges in that we are different, interesting, and for all ages.  Your motorcoach tour company might already have us as part of the planned trip – but if not – you can ask them, whether you live in Tulsa, or Little Rock, Oklahoma City, or Springfield.

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