Overlook at College of the Ozarks

More Fun in Branson

I forgot to mention that we went to Sight and Sound Theater to see the presentation of Moses. This is our third presentation here and each Biblical story presentation is better each time. The music and sets are beyond anything we have ever seen.

Our campground is so peaceful except this year the trees are "raining" huge acorns. It sounds like bombs are hitting the top of the RV. So far no dings….. It is the most talked about topic in the park.

We drove to Springfield to go through Fantastic Caverns. It is  a tram ride with a great guide. Very interesting to hear the history of the cave and the facts about the formations.  Enjoyed lunch out then steak cookout at camp.

Other fun things we did was to go to Shepherd of the Hills play, a presentation of the history of the area, done in an outside setting - horseback riding, gunfights and cabin burning. 

We even got to pose as outlaws, although, we did not look very threatening….

Finally a Johnny Lee and Mickey Gilley concert, then getting ready to pack up. Time to go home with a short stop in Oklahoma City for yet another funeral. Dennis's Uncle Lawrence passed away after a long good life. He is the brother to the aunt in California whose funeral we attended at the beginning of our trip. We do not have many relatives left before  we will be the oldest in the family. A sobering thought.

One of the things we like about camping is all the interesting people we meet. Our neighbors came over to sit and visit with us after dinner.  The plays and concerts are all very good, but the best part is camping with friends, family, meeting new friends, enjoying life, and being thankful for each day we have to live and serve others. 

Happy Trails to you till we meet again.

Finally Branson!

               Finally Branson!!

We made it to Destiny RV Park in Denton then on to KOA RV Park at Checotah, OK.

Both parks are nice. Denton park is good for a number of days, depending on what you want to do in the area. Checotah is good for a night or two as it is not in an area to sightsee. But spaces are not too tight and there is a nice walking trail down to the lake.

We even saw some Monarch  butterflies. I was glad as I left my caterpillars at home and did not get to see many become butterflies.

We arrived in Branson on Monday. Friends and family were already here. We have had a wonderful week. Eating, visiting, eating, walking, eating….. Bill made a fire one night.

Fishing dock

The weather is cool, some rain. The campground is so beautiful. We back up to the river and enjoy watching  the water and fishermen on the docks and boats.

Cabin row where the Whitfields stayed

More friends arrive! We were going to have a hamburger cookout, but it rained all day, so we go to dinner at Uptown Café - a 50's style diner with good food and live entertainment.

Family and some friends leave….. The rest of us go down to The Landing and old downtown Branson. Wes and Cliff ride the Zip Line over the river at Parakeet Peet's. Ask Nancy and Roy if they did it….It's their story to tell.

Then we all go to lunch at The Branson Café established I910. Fried chicken, chicken fried steak, meatloaf,

fish, hamburger steak, chicken strips, peach cobbler, coconut pie later we all take a nap before going to the The Oak Ridge Boys concert. Wonderful concert!!

We make a fire and all sit around talking about our day and enjoying the company. It is good.

The Whitfield's leave. The Lackey's and us enjoy cooking pork chops on the grill.

 

Sunday we go to The College of the Ozarks Sunday brunch. It is a 5 star brunch with more food than you could ever eat and the quality is outstanding. The students do all the cooking - with supervision - as part of their tuition. A lot of the food is grown on campus, including the pork, and the pasta is handmade there. Lots of jams and jellies in the gift store also made on campus. The apple butter is a must buy!

                                 Sunday afternoon is spent doing laundry and sitting out gazing at the river. It's all good.

Life Happens When You Least Expect It

As I mentioned in the previous blog, Dennis's Aunt Thelma passed away in California and we had to fly out for her Celebration of Life weekend. We had a very nice visit with Dennis's cousins and Uncle Roy. His cousin, John, lives inland from San Jose and north of Bakersfield. It is mostly farming country. With the drought lasting so long it is sad to see the vast amount of dry earth. There are still fruit trees, almond and pistachio trees and olive trees. Did you know you cannot eat olives straight from the tree? They are poisonous. They have to be cured before eating. Did not know that. Acres and acres as you drive along. 

John lives on property with a house for him, a house for Uncle Roy , a guest house  called The Craft House. One side is a workshop and the other side is a guest room, bath. They also have a travel trailer with full hook ups. We stayed in the Craft House and were very comfortable. Chris and Debbie stayed in the RV. John's  wife Bev is a super hostess, always making sure everyone had everything they needed.

They have many hummingbirds and other birds. It was relaxing in the mornings to sit outside and watch them. And did I say the weather was perfect? The weekend was a good time of visiting with  everyone and the Celebration of Life for Aunt Thelma was emotional but very endearing. Dennis's cousin Keith and his family came as well as cousin Carma from Nashville and Linda from Vegas. Lunch was served outside under a beautiful Willow Tree.

But as life does happen, while we were there Tiffany called to tell us that her husband Chad's mother had passed away suddenly in Utah. So they left to drive there and we came back from California to stay with the grands.

We had to move our RV from the campground it was in, but we have sweet friends who have a place to leave it with electricity to keep the fridge/freezer going.  

We were almost to their house when we heard a "pop" and Dennis said, "we have a blowout." We pulled over to access damage and realized we were across the street from a RV repair shop.

The manager saw us pull in and told the girl in the office, "oh dear look who's coming and we don't do tire repairs." But they were very nice and let us sit inside in the AC! We do have roadside service and they came and replaced the tire. So we were back on our way to friend's house. BUT - there is always a BUT - we have damage to the rig from the blowout…..

The adjuster came and Dennis tied things up so we could travel. We will have repairs done when we get home. Dennis had heard some noise from the truck earlier on in trip, so decided to take it in for a lookover while we were here. A certain amount of dollars later it is ready to go and new tires will be put on RV. A good time to replace them all; although they were not that old, they will all be the same age…. $$$$$$$

Making Brookies with Kelsey
 and a favorite friend of hers and ours, Michaela

It was not a good week in the RV. We had to cancel part of Branson and had set backs along the way. The blessings are we had the blowout  in an area we are familiar with, have friends and family here, and it did not happen further North. We also got some good quality time with grands!!  We enjoyed being a part of their daily life. We are so proud of how they are growing up and finding their way.

Hopefully, Branson by Monday!!!!