Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 6

This morning we were tired. So, we opted to eat protein bars in our room rather than trying to get down for breakfast and back to walk the dog all before 9 AM.

The tour today not only included the show, but a 3-hour shopping extravaganza at the new Branson Landing. It's a shopping complex along Lake Taneycomo. The lake is more like a river in this area. A little trivia: the lake got its name from TANEY COunty MO (Missouri).

Because we all are not the greatest walkers, we opted to take our own car to the show and then do our own thing afterwards.

The show was the Red, Hot & Blue Show. It was mostly a revue of musicals from the 1920s to the present. It was good, but nothing I'd recommend. Here's a few pix from the shows Grease and Hair.





As we were leaving, we caught a glimpse of King Kong hanging about.



We drove down to the Branson Landing ourselves to see about a place to grab lunch. We drove round and round and round trying to find a parking place. Finally, Dave let us out and we headed for a bench to wait for him. We spotted Famous Dave's as a good place to eat outside along Lake Taneycomo. It wasn't too long and Dave found us.

It was hot, but we were under the shade and it really was the coolest day we have had here. I think it was maybe only 98 degrees! The food was just ho-hum. But, we were all hungry, so we were glad to have something to throw down our necks. Here's Dave at Famous Dave's and then a couple of pictures of the lake view.







As it was, we ended up being down at the Landing until nearly 3 PM anyway. But, we just enjoyed doing our own thing.

After our naps in the room, our next outing was to the show we had booked on our own (not with the reunion group). It was the Acrobats of China. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures during the performance. But, I did snap this one before I was told not to.



The show was superb. How those ladies and men can twist and cavort themselves into such precarious positions is beyond my wildest imagination. We had 2nd row seats and I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. If you ever get the chance to see them, it's certainly worth it.

At the end of the evening we filled up with gas (for the car, that is) and headed back to our respective rooms to get some shut eye. Tomorrow is another early morning rise for a tour of the town.

I trust you all had a blessed and happy day.

Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 5

And, we're up at 6:30 AM. Almost forgot how early that really is. We managed to walk the dog, get dressed, "perdied" up, go down for breakfast, go back to the room to walk the dog, AND be at building A to meet the bus for our first show by 9 AM.

The show this morning was the Doug Gabriel Show. A cute little 2-hour show of musical medleys with his wife, Cheryl, and their three kids performing their hearts out for us.

Here's a couple of pix. I had trouble with the camera in the dark with bright lights in the background, so many pictures are not that great.





Doug's father ran a muffler shop when Doug was a boy. So, his father made Doug a guitar out of a muffler. He calls it a muftar. Only musical instrument to be written up in Popular Mechanics.



His two sons play drums, his daughter sings and dances, and his wife, Cheryl, sings and emcees. Their elder Labrador retriever stole the show. But, the only half-way discernible picture of her is when she was dressed in a patriotic outfit--good luck trying to figure out which end is which in the blurry picture.



Naturally, one of the USS Princeton guys, Burke, was pulled up on the stage. Here's his "before" picture.



Here's his Elvis impersonation picture.



And, here's his motion picture debut.



After the show, we decided we'd eat a late lunch/early dinner. So, we sought out a more Branson-type restaurant, if there is such a thing.

We ended up at McFarlin's restaurant. We enjoyed an appetizer of fried green tomatoes, French fried sweet potatoes, and fried green beans. I tasted the Traffic Jam pie. It was a combo of strawberries, cranberries, blackberries, and rhubarb. I thought it was really good, but no one else would try it. They missed out. I should have taken what I couldn't eat back to the room for a late snack.

We returned to the room for a while to pretty up for the next show. We were to arrive at building A to board the bus at 7 PM. When we arrived for the bus, we were told that the show scheduled for tonight had been swapped with the show that was scheduled for tomorrow night (because of some scheduling mixup some how). Now, for the four of us, this creates a problem. We had opted not to attend the show tomorrow night, but to instead go to a show on our own. That meant, we'd be out of luck for the show we paid for. Humm. So, I called the Greyline organizer and requested we be allowed to attend the show that we had not chosen that was being swapped for the one we did choose. The show we did not choose was the Jim Stafford Show. We didn't choose it as the group was going out for dinner first and the combo of the show and dinner was $70 per person. We had already missed the dinner, which we weren't interested in, but thought the Jim Stafford Show would be great. So, with a phone call and a beg, we got in. We drove our car to the show and we just blended right in.

The show was great and we were glad we swapped the Dutton Family Show for Jim Stafford. He's really a comedian and musician. I heard rumor he used to be with the Beach Boys for a short time.

Here's Jim Stafford. He had us laughing so hard, we couldn't keep our eyes dry. It was a great show. He also had his two teen children (son & daughter) in the act. Both played the piano exceptionally well. His daughter also played the harp and his son played the fiddle. Great talent.



My duty when we return to our room is to take Kalli for a walk. Well, tonight's walk was much more than we anticipated. She saw a cat. I never knew a dog could get out of a harness, but she was out quicker than grease through a goose. I couldn't believe it as I was trying desperately to hang on to her. But, she's quite the escape artist. I tried to call Dave on his cell, but it was turned off. Then, I tried to call information for the hotel phone number. First, somehow my primary language on my phone was set to Spanish, so who knew what the operator was telling me. She realized I only spoke English so proceeded to speak English herself. No such listing for this hotel. Geez. Now what? I remembered that it used to be called the Settle Inn, so asked for that number and prayed they had not changed their phone number when they changed the name. Success. Got Dave. He now had to get out of his PJs and get dressed, round up the cat, and get out to help me corral Kalli as fast as he could.

She will not come when she's set "free." She bolts for hours or until she's good and ready to return. Of course, she has her collar on with our cell phone number, her tag stating she is microchipped with our contact info, and her rabies tag. I was not as worried about losing her as I was her getting hit by a car. Poor Dave, he walked at least a mile around trying to shoo her back to the building we were in. Soon the security guard came out to see what all the ruckus was about, because of course, I am calling Kalli constantly. I was really nervous someone reported me making too much noise, but he said no. He tried to help get Kalli. Then, the president of the reunion group came out with his dog; he tried to get Kalli. This all started around 10:30 PM and she finally decided she'd had enough around 11:30 PM and came back for me to let her into the building.

Needless to say, all three of us were exhausted! At that point, I decided we were not getting up at 6:30 AM tomorrow for breakfast. We would sleep as long as we could (7:30 AM) and eat some of the protein bars I had brought with us. What a day!

Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 4

We were pleased to wake up where we will be located for the next 7 days.

Critters did well again through the night.

Dave & I went to Building A (where the rest of the group is located) and had breakfast. It was nothing more than what we got at Super 8--eggs, waffles, biscuit/gravy. Oh, but the big difference is that while you are eating, there is small band/keyboard and a county singer serenading the diners. The voice is good, but it's very difficult for all the old Navy guys to hear one another at their age without the accompanying vocals.

Around lunchtime, we met up with our friends, Oscar & Pixie. We all wanted to get a few things at Walmart, so off we went. Then, it was time for lunch. Would you believe we ate at Shoney's. Yup, we come all the way to Branson to eat at the same establishment as the only sit-down chain restaurant located in our small town of Lavonia! Go figure.

After lunch we all went back to our respective quarters and rested.

We all went out to Panera's (a soup/sandwich place) for a light dinner. Continued to catch up on the last 2 years and then, you guessed it, back to our respective quarters.

Tomorrow is an early day (bus loads at 9 AM) as we will attend the first of our Branson shows. So until the next episode, have a GREAT day & evening.

Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 3

Starting mileage: 37479
Ending mileage: 37726
Miles driven: 247
Gas price: $2.52

We were on the road this morning at 9:15 A.M. Fortunately, the motel had a luggage cart that Dave was able to use when arrived yesterday and this morning to haul everything out to the car. It was unmercifully hot here yesterday and this morning. The car thermometer read 103 degrees; just seems so wrong to be the temperature this far north of Atlanta (well, maybe that's because we are more west than north).

We headed out to fill up with gas this morning. Then, we are heading west still on Hwy 412.

There was even more farming in this area. The sign leading out of town stated that this area was the Cotton Capital of Missouri. So, there ya go. Cotton is not just in the south.



We hardly got organized when we were in Arkansas. The majority of our day will be driving through Arkansas.



These people take their farming seriously!





Much of the day was driving through farming and then into the low foothills of the Ozark mountains.

Hardy, Arkansas, is one of the foothill towns that has not changed much since the 1920s, so here's a few shots of this quaint town.





For lunch today, we stopped at Sonic in Salem, AR, and just kept the car running for the AC while we parked under the awning. They sure have some yummy onion rings.

Our drive began to get a little twisty as we started to climb into the Ozark mountain area. Here's a good view shot.



We crossed over Norfolk Lake just east of Mountain Home, AR.



The landscape changed again. As you can see the rock seems more soft and forgiving. Maybe it's shale? Not really sure.



And, here we are entering Missouri yet again.



For those of you who have not been to Branson, let's just say, it's a sea of cars and people. There are three routes you can take to avoid the main drag, called "The Strip," which is Hwy 76.

As we came around one of the bends working our way to the hotel, we were faced with a half-scale model of the Titanic.



We arrived at the hotel around 5 PM. It's very "King Arthur." It's called the Stone Castle Inn, and it certainly lives up to its name. Here's a few pictures.





Because we have pets, we are banished to the highest castle. The complex on the left is where the Navy group meets and 90% of the attendees reside. We are in the complex to the far-far right.



Our room is very nice, however.



Our friends, Pixie & Oscar, called about 9 PM stating that they had arrived at the airport in Springfield, MO. However, their luggage had not! They were taking the shuttle to the hotel (about an hour's drive). And, we'll see them in the morning.

Although the hotel is acommodating to pets, there is no convenient area in which to walk the dog. Either its a small patch of gravel in front of the parked cars on the main level, or you have to climb 2 flights of stairs off the second floor deck up to the street above. Then, the grass is at a 45% slant down toward the building. So, if you are unsteady on your feet, like I am, we choose the gravel on the first floor.

Kalli is a hoot in the elevator. She goes in fine. But, as soon as it starts to go, she backs up and gets completely behind my legs. As soon as she hears the "ding" to announce the arrival of the floor, she is ready to bold.

Well, it's been a long day. So, we'll sign off for now. Tomorrow we'll meet up with our friends and check-in at registration. No activities until Monday, so we'll have a chance to rest and chat.

Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 2

NOTE: IGNORE DOUBLE-UNDERLINED TEXT. THESE ARE ADS THAT I DID NOT AUTHORIZE OR INITIATE. I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET RID OF THEM, BUT HAVEN'T SO FAR. IF ANYONE KNOWS, PLEASE SHARE.

Starting mileage: 37151 at Kimball, TN
Ending mileage: 37479 at Kennett, MO
Miles driven: 328
Gas: $ (I'll have to find the receipt--you'll see why as you read on)

Morning came at 7 AM. Early. We are used to sleeping in until 8 AM for Pam and around 9 AM for Dave.

Kalli has a doggie door at home, so we never have to get up early to let her outside. She slept through the night (from 9 PM) and woke me up at 7 AM with a small whine stating she was ready to go outside.

We had purchased a harness for Graykitty. She's been practicing wearing it for a couple of weeks, but never did more than walk a few steps and then plop down. She hates it. Last night with the harness on, she just wouldn't socialize with us. So, eventually, we removed the harness and she did much, much better. Of course, we have to be extremely careful when exiting or entering the room. One of us holds her or puts her under the covers, which she seems to like in the motel, but never at home.

I went down to the motel's breakfast area and got coffee for both of us,a waffle for me, and two mini-muffins for Dave. His back is still hurting a lot. But, carry on we must.

We were on the road a little later than I hoped, but 9:30 AM wasn't bad for our first packup and to get all the critters organized.

We stopped for gas. The price for regular was $2.52. I went inside to get us a soda and pay for the gas. When I came back, Dave informed me he realized at $37, he had accidentally put in premium. Since I only paid $40, by then, why stop. So, we have no idea what we really paid for gas. But, ol' girdie got her pipes cleaned out!

We headed out northwest on I-24 toward Nashville. Our first stop was in Murfreesboro, TN. For those of you who followed us on our USA trip, you may remember my obsession with Culver's Frozen Custard. Well, I found out that one had opened in Murfreesboro, so at 10:45 AM, we had our frozen custard. YUMMMMMMM.

Out of Nashville, we headed west on I-40 to Jackson, TN. There was very little traffic on I-40. We haven't traveled that route in a few years, so we forgot just how steep it is over the TN mountains. Of course, nothing as steep as the west coast mountains.

We got to Jackson, TN, around 1 PM and were hungry. We did our rotating tasks and then drove through the Steak 'n Shake. We couldn't find any trees close by for shade, mind you it was 101 degrees according to the car's temp. So, we found a patch of grass to eat next to, but stayed in the car and kept the AC running. After filling up our tummies, we headed northwest out of Jackson on Hwy 412.

Highway 412 was flat and four lanes with a grass divider. So, it was really an easy and relaxing drive.

We were surprised by the amount of farming in the area. We wondered if we were back in the Dakotas. We kept noticing low plants with white "flowers." We debated a bit whether they were blossoming tomato plants or cotton, but we knew this was not the deep south (so certainly not cotton). We settled on the unknown and decided they were vegetables!

Not long after our deduction that they were veggies, we realized it was cotton. This far north? Yup. Our next surprise was fields of rice. Here's one such field.



Hwy 412 merges with I-155 to get across the Mississippi River. Here's our first glimpse of the bridge that crosses over.



As soon as we crossed over the bridge, we were in Missouri.



Our overnight was at a Super 8 in Kennett, Missouri. This motel was not as nice (by a long shot) as the one in Kimball, TN. The dog walk area was close, but not well maintained--if you know what I mean. They needed to clean up after pet owners who didn't. The WIFI didn't work. I had not tried the WIFI in Kimball as we were so tired, the last thing I felt like doing was dragging out the PC.





Neither of us wanted to go out for take out, so we just ordered pizza and a salad from Pizza Hut.

After the 9 PM dog walk, we were dead tired. Tomorrow is another day. We'll be out of Missouri (we are crossing through the small southeast "flange" of Missouri) and mostly driving through Arkansas.

Until tomorrow. Have a blessed day.

Navy Reunion - Branson, MO - Day 1

NOTE: IGNORE DOUBLE-UNDERLINED TEXT. THESE ARE ADS THAT I DID NOT AUTHORIZE OR INITIATE. I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET RID OF THEM, BUT HAVEN'T SO FAR. IF ANYONE KNOWS, PLEASE SHARE.

Starting Mileage: 36933 at Lavonia, GA
Ending Mileage: 37151 at Kimball, TN
Miles Driven: 218
Gas Price: $2.59



Here's the car during the packing stage. Dave has managed to get the back end of the car into the garage for the first time since we moved in. If anyone can pack 10 pounds of dirt into a 5 pound bag, Dave can. I have no idea where he has put everything that was in the center of the garage, but he's a whiz at warehousing. The night before we left, he even backed the car in far enough to close the garage door.

We awoke at 7 AM this morning and, although sleepy, knew we had to get crackin'. I think getting pets ready to travel that have never done so previously is worse than hauling little kids. At least, for the most part, you can explain to kids what's up.

Here's the cat crate in the car with room for Kalli in front of the crate. Kalli is harnessed into a unit that attaches to a cable to keep her from flying around should we have to brake quickly. She has her "bed" pad in the car and seems nice and cozy.



Dave has been having that awful back pain again, so he was moving slowly, but forward and mostly upright. He just gritted his teeth, downed the Advil, and carried onward.

We were finally on the road at 10:45 AM after a quick stop at the bank.

We traveled north on Hwy 17 out of Lavonia and planned to go through Cleveland and take the back roads over the mountains and to hook up with I-75 around Cleveland, TN.

On those back roads there were a lot of motorcyclists. Several went whipping past us practically laying their bikes on the pavement sideways going extremely fast on those curves.



As you might expect, shortly after several passed us, we found one had crashed over the side of the road. One of his buddies had stopped to help. He was not hurt (I inquired) but there were fragments of what used to be his bike.

We arrived in Blairsville around 1 PM. No special reason to include this picture of the courthouse, other than it's just pretty.



Because of the extreme heat, we can't leave the pets unattended in the car. So, stopping for munchies becomes more like a musical chairs of tasks. First, Dave and I vie for who has to make a pit stop the more urgent. One leaves the car for relief. Then, the other takes his/her turn. Next, Kalli (dog) goes for a walk with me to get her relief. Graykitty just meows in her soft-sided screened-in crate. She has a small litter box inside the crate, should she choose to use it. After everyone is much relieved, we go through the drive-through for our meal. Our final task is to find a shady place, if possible, to eat so that we can get out of the car and stretch some more. Now, doesn't this sound like a whole lot of fussin'?

Here's Graykitty in her crate.



On our way out of Blairsville to find a shady spot, I got my navigation wires crossed and we traveled a few streets in "de ja vu" mode. We did find a really nice marina on Nottelly Lake just a couple of miles up the "correct" road. Here we are parked in the shade.



We tried to get Garykitty to enjoy a stroll on her leash, but she freaked out. So back in her crate she went. Kalli was hitched to her 30-ft leash, so she enjoyed strolling for a bit, but she soon wanted back in the car as well.

Quite a few miles we drove along the Ocoee River. The scenery was exceptional. For those Olympic buffs, this is the area of the river where the kayak competitions were held. We will definitely stop in this area on our return trip and get some good pictures. We were on the wrong side of the road to be able to pull over and stop. I did get one good picture of the rafters (and there must be 50 outfitters along this stretch of the road).





Here's a picture of one of the pick-up buses heading back with rafts on top. Notice the dump truck in the picture as well. We didn't see any road repairs, but there were scores of dump trucks traveling this road. The moved much faster than any of the cars. Guess they are used to it??



We arrived in Kimball, TN, around 4 PM Central Time. We stayed at the Super 8. It was much nicer than I had anticipated. We requested a room on the rear side of the hotel as suggested in Trip Advisor. Glad we did as there was only a sliver of a piece of grass for Kalli to do her business and then there was a massive wall of rock straight up about 4 stories. Also, when we arrived, they were resurfacing the street. Tar smell. Yuk. We had no odor on the back side of the hotel.








The hotel didn't have indoor corridors, so it was fairly easy to unload what we needed in the room for the night. Poor Dave. By the time we arrived, his back was killing him. We had thought it was muscle, but not sure now. It doesn't feel like a tight muscle to me. So, guess that means a trip to the doctor when we return. Bah Humbug. I guess he'll be mainlining Advil during the trip. I'll be glad when we are settled for a week so he won't have to carry things in and out and drive.

When we arrived in Kimball, it was pouring down rain. After it let up a bit, I headed out for Mexican take-out. It was pretty good, but we were both so tired, we weren't much interested in how good it was or wasn't.

After our bellies were full and we had our showers, it was fall into bed and get to dreamy land as soon as possible. Tomorrow is a longer days' drive.

Thanks for checking in. Grace & peace to all.

Navy Reunion for USS Princeton - Branson, MO - Overview

Tomorrow we'll be heading out on our trip to Branson for our sixth Navy reunion get-together. We have been to Seattle (WA), Corpus Cristi (TX), Virginia Beach (VA [Williamsburg area]), Portland (OR), Green Bay (WI), and now Branson.

The reunion officially lasts four days. We will attend five of the many shows offered by the reunion group. Friends of ours, Pixie & Oscar, will join us to go to one show without the group. The group has a business meeting the final day (where we will choose our next destination). Following the meeting the group holds a fund-raising raffle of donated items. The reunion is topped off with a scrumptious banquet. The day after the reunion ends, the four of us will spend an afternoon at the Shepherd of the Hills attraction and attend the outdoor drama (based upon the book by the same name).

We had planned to travel to the reunion in our RV because we have pets (one dog & one cat), but due to a miswiring on our new home's 30 Amp plug for 220 V instead of 110 V, that all changed. When we plugged in to start getting the unit ready, we burnt up all the appliances in the RV. So, it's in the repair shop.

We have done an all-out scramble to find motels that will take the pets, especially because we decided we'd take the back roads as long as we were not hauling the trailer behind us. We were able to find Super 8 motels that would take our critters. The motels are not the most up-scale, but we are grateful for decent accommodations. Most motels charge $10 per pet extra per night. So our $18 per night at RV parks turned into $90 per night in a motel! Of course this also means eating out instead of being able to cook most of our meals and lunches in the RV. More unplanned expense. The gasoline bill will be less, but not enough to off-set all of the added extras.

Stay tuned for more updates as our travels progress. We are "supposed" to have WIFI connections at all of the motels, but we have had experiences where by the time you arrive the WIFI is mysteriously and "temporarily down."