Les and Marcia's Bohemian Life: October 2012

We were so excited about this trip. It is a new place for us and my Brother Bob and Sister-in-Law Edie are coming down to spend the week with us.

We got to Branson a couple of days early and found a great RV park (Andrews Lansing) that butted up to Table Rock State Park and Hiking Trails. This gave Brady and me plenty of nature time. From the trails we saw Table Rock Dam (the Dam was built 1954 – 58), TableRock Lakeand Fly fishermen in LakeTaneycomo (for all purposes looks and acts like a river). This RV Park was such a nice surprise.

When Bob and Edie came to town we registered Brady into the Branson Pet Resort, Stored our RV and lived the high life at Branson at the Meadows on Gretna Roadjust off the main strip. Our condos there were great and I loved being able to stand in a giant sized shower!!!!

Table Rock Hiking trails - Brady said "There wasn't a water fall here yesterday"

Table Rock Lake

Table Rock Dam

First impression of the strip is that is seems a bit run down, older and tired (don’t forget the tornado last February). The traffic is backed up and congested – The upside is everyone is good natured about it. There is a huge variety of shows and show types to pick from (If you wondered what happened to some of your favorites from American Idol or Americas Got Talent contestants you may find them here). We picked 4 shows: Todd Oliver and friends (ventriloquism and talking dogs. www.FunnyDog.com ), Red Skelton (as impersonated by Tom Mullica. www.tommullica.com), Jim Stafford (musical comedian that kicks hinny on any stringed instrument. www.JimStafford.com ) and the 3 Red Neck Tenors (classically trained voices with a twang. www.3rednecktenors.com). All of these show were fun, and well worth the money. I would see all of them again……but there are so many more to see….

Erving and Lucy

Oh Yes!!! Trigger and Bullet are at RFD TV Theater (your welcome Bob)

Ducks - Been there Done that check it off - Quack

Rock from this hill was used to make the Dam

Table Rock Lake on a sunny afternoon

Splash down

The Branson Queen

Red Skeltons Theater

Yes I would love this carpet

Hard Luck Cafe - And all of our singing waitresses CDs

Good to Know - Just so you don't use the dirty ones?

The Grand Village Shops

This is all wood work

Jim Stafford -

Bob and Les learning about ALL the Dam History

Dam and Bob and Edie

One day was spent at Silver Dollar City. This is an Ozark Education, Entertainment, Amusement, and craft park. Bob made this great suggestion. We found half price tickets on line and easily spent 11 hours there. The park entertainment shows we saw were more professional then anything we have ever seen at Busch Gardensor Disney. You could see that great care and expense had been put into the costumes. We saw examples of the almost “Rube Goldberg” style tools and equipment used in the Ozarks as well as the impossible craftsmanship in carving, stitchery, glass work, etc. There are some roller coasters, a younger kids ride section and a train (be expected to be robbed by very friendly hillbillies). Have your good walking shoes on as everything is up or down a hill. The lay out is; I believe purposely confusing so you have to ask for directions. This said, all the employees / characters will happily explain or take you to where you want to go (we had one exception to this and he was almost right…..sort of). The day was filled with mini concerts too. It was fun to listen to Mountain music, Cajun and my new favorite Western (it may have something to do with all the lyrics about horses, saddles, mustangs and cowgirls {I love this girl: www.belindagailsings.com }) This was a completely great day!!!

Us -

So Good - this bakery needs a warnng label

Human powered lath

Mule powered sorgum press

Just play me some mountain music

Straight from the Bayou

Belinda Gail - Americas Western Sweetheart

The Wild West Show

Cutiest Piggy ever - but watch out you live in BBQ Country

Stick em up or high five?

Bob convincing Edie that they don't need this chair

Wait it is suspose to be three tenors - get over here

Edie and me with the THREE Redneck Tenors

Don't miss the trout hatchery

The hactchery and Table Rock Dam in the back ground

Throughout the week we took a ride on the Ducks. It was fun to ride the roads, see the sights and plunge in the lake …….but…. we all agreed that now that we have done this – we don’t need to do it again. Quack! We visited the…….wait for it……..Dewy Shorts visitor center. I know really – Parents think about what you name your kids. Anyway – The volunteers do a great job of explaining the dam construction, lake and history of the area. Free so don’t miss it. The Dam tour is $14.00, but no pictures so we opted out. Heck we took pictures at Hoover Dam – right? We took sometime to walk down town and visit Dicks Old-time 5 and 10 ( I do slightly resent that a store started in 1961 would be considered old-time). It is a crazy collection of things you remember from HL Greens, current gadgets and souvenirs (warning – this is a tour bus stop {time your visit in between these and you’ll be fine}). Time is well spent at the Stone Hill Winery ( www.stonehillwinery.com ) . They have a pretty informative tour and really more of a tasting class then just a tasting. And YES – all the wine is on sale in the fun show room.

This is a very God Friendly, Pro Military, American Flag waving place. So if you are uncomfortable with any of these feel free to stay away – I don’t think you will be missed.

This week we ate well, had much fun, laughed until our cheeks hurt, and had several surprises. It ended all too quickly. However, the sign of a great vacation is when you leave wanting more. I think we all wanted more. Branson is a great destination and a perfect place to come back to.

22 OCT 2012

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As much as we loved our summer in Michigan, it feels great to be back on the road.

We had a short overnight stay in Shorewood ILjust outside of Joliet (Leisure Lake Resort). The next morning we moved on to Kampers Kompanion right between Springfield and St Louis.

So the best thing to do in Springfield is jump into the lore and history of our 16^th President. We started out at the Lincoln Library and Museum ( www.presidentlincoln.org ) (no pictures allowed outside of the rotunda). There are two not to miss complimentary movies. “The Ghosts of the Library” is a very surprising Holovision film. The second film is “Lincoln Eyes” it is an overview of Lincolns life from the prospective of the presidential artist. In the museum you wander into a log cabin and pop out on the streets of Springfield and the law offices of Lincoln and Herdon. You can follow his campaign and the other candidates with a broad cast by Tim Russert. We enter the White House, walk through his presidency and end with the train back to Springfield. This isn’t just a depiction of an amazing tortured man; it is a very cool creative space. It really made history fun. It is very easy to wander around

down town Springfield. Everywhere you turn it is Lincoln Mania!!!

When you go make sure you go to the Lincoln Library and Museum - the Lincoln libray is nice but not as exciting.

The Lincoln Family

Young Abe and Les - both in deep thought

Don't miss the chance to mash a Lincoln penny into a Lincoln penny

The Old State Capital - Where Lincoln launched his Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas

1(800) Call honest Abe

Lincolns Tomb

The majority of the sculptures are made from Confederate Cannons

This granite marker was President Lincolns temporary burial site -

We did tour a remodeled home ( www.dana-thomas.org ) in Springfield. The owner was raised in the house but wanted her Italianate home to be made more appropriate for entertaining (1902). So she called Frank Lloyd Wright of course. He ended up saving one room of the house and threw his style and ego into every bit of the largest of his Prairie style designs (no interior pictures). The home has 35 rooms and more then 100 pieces of original furniture. The Dana-Thomas house is now owed by the state of Illinoisand has been completely restored in 1990. I could really live here! A visit here is a donation of $5.00. If you have never visited a FLW house this is a beautiful opportunity.

Asian influenced roof line

Vertical morter lines are built out to give a seamless look

The inside was just perfect!!!

With only one day for St Louis we had to choose carefully. Tough to narrow it down but we went with The Arch first (completed in 1965). It is so easy to be struck with how big (630 feet high) and shiny it is and I do like shiny things (feel free to take pictures). After Les took my knifeand cork screw back to the truck we were allowed to go to the underground entrance. Part of your admission covers the Westward Expansion Museum. Everything else is extra. We did take the trip to the top. We followed the line and enjoyed the pictures and diagrams showing the arch being built and designed. The reason St Louis has the Arch is because the designer (Eero Saarinen) won the contest. St Louis wanted a monument to commemorate Thomas Jefferson and St Louis’role in the westward expansion. Great view from the top even though you have tiny dirty windows to peek from. No time limit at the top. The base of the Arch was a great place to have our picnic lunch. So glad we finally made it here.

Huh - it is a National Park - Cool

Big and Shiny

Mock up of the pod to the top

Construction pictures line the waiting line walls

View from the top

Us on the inside

Choice number two – of course - The Budweiser Tour!!!! We have been on many brewery tours, but by far this is the biggest, prettiest, and most generous tour we have done so far and they have Clydesdales. Tour is free, take pictures and you can sign up for The Beer Master Tour ($25.00) or Beer School($10.00). Anything you do here will be fun.

Getting ready for a a a a education