States we've Traveled

States we've Traveled

Tribute to Ms Southwind

Tribute to Ms Southwind

Monday, November 30, 2009

Last Day of November

Wow, it’s so hard to believe today is the last day of November! It is amazing how time seems to fly. Christmas is only 25 days away. Before you know Christmas will be here and gone. 2010 is fast approaching. I am one of the worst in remembering what year we are for first months of the year. It takes me longer to register that it’s a new year then most i think.

I got up this morning and did my morning routine that i enjoy. Once i got my time in it was time to get up and do my dishes from the weekend. Yep, i didn’t do dishes all weekend i shoved them in the shower in a dish pan. I know shame on me, but shame on my back. My back is feeling better today and seems to have let up with the sunshine. Although it wasn’t shining when i first got it, in fact my weather bug said 27! Even though we started out with a cold morning the sun came out and warmed up nicely. I stayed in doors this morning until it warmed up 004 enough venturing outside would not cause the back pain to return.

Since i had my dishes done and i have been invited to dinner at a new friend house i made a Cherry Cheese Cake. Well actually 2, one to take there and one for us. Not good on the diet huh? (I added this photo that i took the next day, hubby has eaten some .. hehe)

Since i was feeling better and was beginning to feel closed in i decided to go to the local ACE Hardware store and look around. I hadn’t been in one for some time. It was neat and i enjoyed just walking around and looking at all the Christmas ornaments and displays. After going there i went over to meet Sharon and hubby. They have invited us over for dinner and Richard her husband is going to check out our capacitors for us. Thanks Richard.

We followed Richard and Sharon home they live about 3 miles from town in a very beautiful area. Yes, i forgot my camera once again … their home is beautiful and a very nice size. We visited and then enjoyed dinner. Everything was very good. We had pork steak and beef steak, potatoes, corn and very good green beans with rolls. After dinner we had Cherry Cheese Cake. Of course we ate too much and had wonderful conversation and fellowship. After dinner we went to their newly recent enclosed porch that they’ve made into a very huge family room. It has pool table and we enjoyed 3 games of pool. Sharon and i took the guys and of course they beat us both games and then Richard and Sharon took us on and they one by hubby scratching on the eight ball. Oh well … it was so much fun and we were shocked when we got the car and it was after 10 pm! Where had the time gone? It seemed like we had just got there. We had a great time and we thank Richard and Sharon for being such great host.

We came home and then it was time to my babies out to do their nightly job and then it wasn’t long it was off to bed.

Hope you all enjoyed your last day of the month .. mine was a great one and until next time ….

Sunday, November 29, 2009

a lazy day

I didn’t sleep very good last night. It must be the weather as my back is hurting and walking has been difficult today. I got up and didn’t even get dressed. Yep, i spent the entire day in my pj’s and tonight i took a hot shower and put on clean ones. I had gotten my church clothes ready last night but the back prevented me from going to church today.

I haven’t done anything but lay on the couch and go through email on my computer. This evening i did get up long enough to fry bologna for sandwiches. I was tired of left over turkey! Plus I had some bologna that needed used up before it spoiled and it was easy to do with this aching back. All day long it kept getting colder and colder and it looked like it could snow at any time. It’s been a very grey day. I didn’t even feel like taking pictures. Mr. Winter is suppose to be on it’s way and a slim chance for snow is later in the week

I’ve had Mr. Electric heater going all day long and the dogs are taking turns curling up in front of him. The dogs don’t like this cold weather either, they keep looking at me like … okay where is the warmth … it's wonderful to have electricity when it's cold!

Hope you all had a good day, mine wasn’t so good and hopefully this back will feel better soon…. until next time

Saturday, November 28, 2009

It’s a beautiful Day!

The last 2 days have been absolutely beautiful! The temps have been in the mid 60’s. I have my door open and fresh air is entering. I love it when i can open my door and windows and feel the fresh air coming inside.

Since it’s such a nice day and right after we arrived here our air conditioner decided to stop working. It was decided to check it out. We know it’s not the fan as we replaced it new in the spring. Several suggested checking the capacitors and so they removed and taken to Camping World in Strafford about 16 miles away.

005Camping world put a damper on a very nice day as i called before the capacitors were removed and talked to a guy named Joe, he told me that they could check these. Of course he wanted me to bring the motor home in and i replied no they could be removed and brought in if that wasn’t a problem. He said well if i was going to buy the parts there he didn’t see why not. So that is what happened. Well when i got in there and handed them to the service department the man came back and said they couldn’t be tested and the service department said if they could they wouldn’t know what they should read. Can you believe that? People who are suppose to be professional RV service do not know how to test something they supposedly could fix if brought to them. The guy then did say well we can order news one though. I replied in not so nice of way .. NO Thank You! If you can’t test something and know how to do i sure don’t want you ordering anything for me. He wasn’t happy but neither was i. It would have been different if they hadn’t said they could test them if brought in.

004At least the bright side is that is was a beautiful day for a drive and the trip home was enjoyed. I decided to call Auto Zone and they said they couldn’t test them but they could order me new ones if i brought the old ones in and told me a place to call on Monday that could test them for me. So that is what i will do on Monday. Hopefully it will be a simple cheap fix and a new one will not be needed. If so it will wait until we arrive in Texas when the AC may be needed. Right now it’s not and after today the weather is going to turn off chilly.

I decided to make Turkey and Rice for dinner with left over. We also had left over stuffing and i put the other 6 rolls in the oven and baked them. That was dinner.

After i took the rolls out of the oven since it was heated up i decided to bake a pumpkin. I bought this the other it was 1 of the 3.

It was very good with cool whip on it … mmmm

Hope you all had a great day and until next time …..

Friday, November 27, 2009

Black Friday

003 I woke up early this morning, around 6 am. I guess my long nap yesterday had me fully rested. So i got up and slowly got myself together. Woke to a rather chilly and frosty outside morning. Although it’s warming up nicely and is suppose to be a beautiful day with temps in the mid 60’s!

Finally i did my dishes from yesterday. Yes i know … shame on me, but hey i did all the work i wanted yesterday and my back can only take so much work. After i finished the dishes i figured the huge black Friday crowds would be under control and i wanted to go to Hobby Lobby as they had their Christmas material 50% off and i needed a few more colors to have to start my Christmas quilt I'm going to make.

I haven’t really done much quilting since my back injury. Just the occasional baby quilt here and there for the families new arrivals. Being around Wanda and she is a great quilter put that desire back in me. I decided i was going to try to get a bit more of my life back since my injury and illness. I am going to start quilting again. It may take me a year, it may take me 2 years or even longer, but I'm going to start doing a hobby that i loved dearly. Quilting is a very special hobby to me because i learned to do it from hubby’s dear sweat grandmother whom i loved and miss dearly. We spent hours together while she taught me. The best part of all was the bonding time we got from it all.

I doubt since Mr. Winter is around the corner and as soon as we can were going to head south for the winter. But my plans when i get back in the summer is to go through storage and find some of the quilting things i have saved from grandma’s stuff.

After going to Hobby Lobby we stopped by the Good Will Store and picked up several pairs of dress pants and 2 brand new belts for hubby. He got several pairs of pants with the tags still on them and the belts. We got a good deal and once again i couldn’t find much for me. I am in the size that is hard to find it appears. Just my luck. What actually caused us to go to Good Will is some how i got hubby and Gabe’s dress pants mixed up when i packed Gabe’s clothes up and his navy blue ones he put on the other day would not button and went to the middle of his calves … LOL It wasn’t funny when he kept trying to tell me that he had a problem. I thought he meant i hadn’t pressed his pants and I kept telling him he was fine, just put them on i pressed them and he kept saying you don’t understand, something is wrong. Finally i got frustrated as i was trying to get dressed and when i came out of the bathroom i started laughing. It was a hilarious even though it wasn’t …. LOL Needless to say he had to end up wearing a pair of pants not pressed because there was no time for me to press his other pair. Come to find out Gabe got 2 pairs of his pants and hubby has 2 pairs of Gabe’s pants. Although Gabe probably hasn’t noticed since he has put on a few pounds and gotten taller since he moved out so I'm sure he was happy to have hubby’s pants … LOL I forgot to ask him when i talked to him yesterday … lol

Then we stopped by a dollar store and back to Ms. Southwind. It’s been a nice day and the traffic was pretty heavy, there appears to be lots of shoppers out today, of course that is normal for Black Friday.

Once i got back to Ms. Southwind since it was 62 degrees out, i took the dogs on a walk and then i came back and took down the fall window clings i had up on Ms. Southwind and put up her Christmas ones. I took down the fall wreath and need to make one for Christmas. After that i was exhausted and took a shower and put on my pj’s to spend my evening hopefully finding a Christmas program and watching it. I love Christmas stories! Until next time … have a good one ….

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

Springfield, MO

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Today is a day of giving Thanks for the good things in your life and trying not to think about the bad things happening to you. I know at times this can be hard as it seems like at times bad things in our lives can be so overwhelming. I try to deal with hard and stressed time by leaning on God and having comfort that he will always walk beside me in what ever life throws my way. He has given me such strength to fight a injury that debilitated me to the point i was in bed basically 24/7. At least most days i am able to enjoy every day things and i take it one day at time. When it’s a ruff day, i do what it takes to get through that day, if it’s a ruff few hours, i do what it takes to get through those hours. My life is spent minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day.
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I got up this morning and got the turkey on to cook, then i started getting the trimmings together to go with the turkey. It’s just hubby and i this year. Here is a picture of my plate, although i have to admit my eyes were bigger then my tummy and i shared with the dogs .. they were happy pooch’s.
thankskids2Our meal was the following….
Turkey gravy sweet potatoes over night salad dressing bread rolls apple crisp
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I cheated on several things this year, i bought stove top turkey dressing, ready to heat rolls and here is a picture of the box apple crisp i purchased. Wal-mart had the stove top on sale 2/1.50, rolls 99 cents, and the pie for 3.00. I couldn’t make dressing, rolls or the crisp for a cheaper price then i paid for already prepared.
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It was good and after lunch i took a very long nap! Something i don’t do very often. I slept for 3 hrs!
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After my nice long needed nap i sat thinking of what i was thankful for…. At first it was easy to think about the things i didn’t like about my life and how our economy is and the hardship on families this day and age. I got disgusted that families have lost loved ones because of the wars we are in. the parents, grandparents, husband, wives and especially children who have loved ones over seas and especially our government because of the billions they have given to slimy banking industry, yet we have wounded soldiers that our government is not properly taking care of after all that they have sacrificed for us. I was disgusted that our President felt the need to give a turkey a act of mercy but he doesn’t feel the same for the poor humans that have lost everything including their homes even though they have young children. Then tears came to my eyes with disgust thinking of how my son is struggling to raise his family and how much he has to work, I then remember us going through the same hard times when he was a child so sick that we didn’t know how we were going to afford his medication he needed to survive because we were too proud to have hubby quit his job and take welfare. Instead we worked our fingers and body to the bone and paid off our medical bills in payments. I guess now that i think about things, we went through tough times when we were raising our family, the only difference was there was extra things hubby could do to raise extra money for us, like trapping, ginseng and golden sill hunting. These things are not so easy to do as fur is worth nothing, ginseng prices bottom has dropped out it too. Everyone is having a tough time so scrap metal is a bust as everyone is selling it. Wood isn’t bringing any money like we were able to do. Our son has went back to a lot of the ways he was raised by hunting for meat, heating with wood and doing what ever he can to cut cost. You know even though i thought of these hard times, i still had a smile on my face because there were things in our lives we had that no amount of money could buy. We had God walking beside us, we had love for each other and we had family and friends to lean on. Those are some of the best treasures we can have in our lives.
Then i thought about the good things in my life today …
I am thankful for God’s love that he died to take away my sins for me and you I am thankful to live a country where i am free to worship God openly I am thankful for my wonderful husband who loves and adores me I am thankful for my boys and my grandchildren whom i love dearly I am thankful for the many wonderful family & friends that i have in my life I am thankful to have Ms. Southwind who provides me with a home I am thankful that i have food to prepare for us to eat and enjoy I am thankful for my beloved pets who love me no matter what
There are many other things in my life that i am thankful for and sometimes i tend to forget those things. Then i remember that things could be much worse.
So as we give thanks today, try to remember all the good things in your life and let that get you through the day if today doesn’t feel like a day to give thanks.
ccdhthvegt from our home to yours where ever you may be. Home is where ever your heart is not your body. Until next time ……

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving Eve

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Today is Thanksgiving Eve! I don’t really have anything planned for the day. I was lazy this morning and took my time getting dressed. In fact i didn’t get dressed until after noon …. hmmm

The weather has been chilly here and I'm so ready to head south but my friend Arnette and a medical appoint that is very needed is holding me back. Actually it was planned to head a bit farther south without Arnette to a bit of warmer weather but then i got a call that an appointment i was told could take months to get came available for December and i jumped at it. So plans have once again been scratched out in Jell-o and re-written. One advantage to your home being on wheels is you can always change your plans.

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This afternoon i needed to run to Aldies and pick up a few things for tomorrow dinner and of course i couldn’t go past Wal-mart. I spent $31 at Aldies and well we don’t want to discuss Wal-mart. I have a question … why is it any time i go to Wal-mart i always spend more then i should? It always seems like i can get much more for little money at Aldies then i ever do at Wal-mart? Why is that?

The evening was spent inside of Ms. Southwind trying to stay warm … hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Eve and until next time …..

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Could you be homeless?

Not much happening here this week. Yesterday wasn’t too bad of a day. I did laundry and then went to see a footbridge. Although i have to admit when i looked online and found this footbridge it didn’t say anything about being in a ruff neighborhood. I got up on the bridge and my camera batteries were dead! Ughhh I didn’t walk across the bridge as i was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with my surroundings. From what i understand on the corner down the street is a kitchen that serves hot meals to homeless and tries to help them get training to get jobs. I think that is great!

I just couldn’t get what i saw yesterday out of my mind. Today was spent basically lounging around Ms. Southwind just being thankful i have her. Ms. Southwind is old, she isn’t nice and shiny, she doesn’t have a slide out that give spacious room, everything inside of her is old and worn like me. Many people snub their nose and ask how or why i live in something so old. They judge me because i live in an old RV. That’s okay because i spent the day just being thankful that I have this old Ms. Southwind and she belongs to me.

It’s such a sad thing to see people walking around with a shopping cart, book bag or whatever they can carry their belongings in. Our country needs to wake up. We can give billions of dollars to the banking industry whom has scammed people for years, are still be allowed to scam the American people yet they are bailed out and given billions of dollars. Yet, we have people in this country who are homeless, have absolute nothing and you don’t see the government stepping forward and bailing them out … why is that? It makes my blood boil when i see how our government has wasted billions all because politicians had to bail out the industry that fills their campaign pockets.

You know i am considered a transient (which is a homeless person) because i do not own a stationary home. Seeing these homeless people makes me realize i am lucky because i do have a home that gives me shelter from the rain/snow. These people do not have that luxury, they sleep on the streets out in the cold & heat. They have no shelter from the rain/snow. They have no place to store their clothing and what little belongings they may have. They are limited in how much belongings they can have … it’s basically what they can carry with them. By my home being in a motorized vehicle i have it better then they do. I can fit what ever i need in this vehicle, i can lock it up and leave it to go inside of the store and not have to worry about some one stealing it.

As long as i can keep this vehicle running i have shelter and a way to move to a safer environment. These people do not have that. They can only go where they can walk and most likely the police will run them off as it’s clear by looking at them their homeless.

Have you ever sat down and thought about what you would do, how you would do it and how you would feel if circumstances in your life made you become homeless, have no health care, no money for food, no vehicle for shelter, basically all you had were the clothing on your back and what few items you could carry in a back pack. The only food you had was what you could dig out of dumpster or be given to you through a homeless kitchen? How would or could you survive living this way?

I have been in several large cities through the past few years and i have seen these people and it’s heart breaking. I know your thinking, well that will not happen to me. I used to think that to. I can remember the first time i ever saw a homeless person when i went to California. But the truth is … do you know for a fact that this will never be you … how can you know that for sure? Think about a few things and what would happen to you if these things occurred .. what if you lose your job, you get sick and can’t work or you get hurt and your insurance refuses to pay? What will happen to you, could you survive or would you be homeless and tossed into the streets such as many Americans have been due to the banking industry that taxes payer are paying to give their executives billions of dollars in bonuses.

Americans need to wake up, start calling your congressman/President and let them know how you would feel and see exactly what their doing to help out the thousands of people who are suffering through this exact ordeal right now. If Americans don’t start fighting back you are going to be broke and in the same place as these people. Do you continue to lie to yourself or start believing that this could be me? With today’s economy and the way the world is can you honestly still believe that some day that couldn’t be you or a loved one carrying your belongings on your back while it’s raining/snowing?

I read Michael Moore 15 things we can do … here is the link .. check it out and see if you can do any of these things to help yourself, your children and other fellow Americans out.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/mikes-letter/michael-moores-action-plan-15-things-every-american-can-do-right-now

I hope your all having a great week and think about what I've written today … you could be one of those poor souls i saw yesterday.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Church and relaxation

It was late to bed last night time we got home, took the dogs out, showered and got to bed. The dogs woke me up a little after 6 am!!! I was not a happy camper. I guess i can’t complain and get to grumpy since they have been very good the past 2 days and being left alone not to go outside and do their thing. Grumpily i got up and let them out, i tried lying back down but i was awake. I got up around 6.30 and did the dishes i hadn’t done for a couple of days, swept the floor and got our clothes out and pressed them. Then i started getting ready for church.

Went to Battleship Assembly of God today. Friends Ron and Dorothy called yesterday while was at Branson and invited me to attend church with them today. They even came by and picked me up. Nice huh ?? We enjoyed the service and it was a very nice little church and the pastor had a wonderful sermon. After church they took me out for lunch and some visiting. Got home a little after 3 pm and my back was aching from too much fun the past few days. I took a nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and updating my blog

Hope you all had a great weekend … I did and until next time ….

Saturday, November 21, 2009

A day in Branson, MO

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Since the weather has warmed up a bit and it is suppose to be nice out we decided to go ahead and do the Branson day. Once again we didn’t get moving to early. Yes, i know .. we seldom move early… that is the price we pay for living full-time in an RV ….

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Our first stop was the information center on our way, but i didn’t take any pictures. So the second stop was Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery. The butterfly garden was empty, all the butterflies have either went to hiding or south with the birds … Wait!!!! I’m suppose to be south with them ???

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004Next was this absolutely beautiful Blue Star Memorial to our Armed Forces. This was beautiful with winter on it’s way, i can only imagine how gorgeous it is in the summer. I just loved these rows of purple or is that blue flowers? I’m color blind so what a color looks to me may appear different to you. Either way, they are gorgeous and they are real! I thought they were fake so i touched one and nope they are real.

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Once inside we got to see some of the local critters. They had a very nice display and here was a very nice brown trout.

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Then this critter appeared! Yes it’s a real live Tarantula! Although they claim this one is not deadly like the ones in the west. Hmmm … still not one of my favorite critters.

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The cage needed a good washing and as you can see it had built a nice spider web and so it was hard to get a good photo ….

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The next display was better as they were bull frogs. I am not afraid of frogs although i have to admit i do not enjoy touching them, they are slimy!

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Oh no !!! More snakes!! What is it with me and snakes the past few days ??? Since i promised to take pictures of what i was doing and seeing … here you go … enjoy you snake lovers.

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Missouri has 5 venomous snakes ! Please keep them!

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Once we went outside we got to what we actually came to see … yep .. the fish hatchery!

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These screen thing were over the fish, i’m assuming it is to keep otters and other critters from getting the fish and having them for midnight snack.

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It was kind of hard to get good pictures of the fish. The sun wasn’t shining and it’s been cloudy most of the day and the water wasn’t clear as we were used to. In fact the little fish pictures didn’t even turn out .. i will post one and you might just barely be able to see a little fish … sorry

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These pictures took better as what little sun there was was shining and the pictures turned out better. See all the fish and hubby was drooling and wanting his fishing pole.

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It was neat to see the dam, although no water was flowing through it today.

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On the way out these American Beauty Berries were very pretty.

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On our drive out, we saw another rode and took it. It took us to a picnic area and fishing area. We also say a warning sign … hmmm not sure i want to be around when water does come out of that dam … would you ??

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It seemed to be a day for fishing as you can see one gentlemen on the bank and several in a boat. We met 2 gentlemen sitting on a bench and one gentlemen told us he was a fishing guide a few days a week and gave us some history of the place. He said during the summer time you can wade across the entire lake here. Hmmm I'd of never thought that, it looks deeper.

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I thought the little water fall here was pretty and enjoyed just listening to the sound of water.

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Unfortunately it was time to move on as many things were planned for the day.

Next we were on our way to see Table Rock Lake and drive across that huge dam ….

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On our way to go across the dam to Table Rock Lake we passed the entrance to the showboat Branson Belle. I’m not sure if it was open as it isn’t on our list of to do’s today.

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Here we are approaching the lake, it’s very huge. Here we are on the dam crossing it. Hmmm we were on the bottom, now were on top. Beautiful …

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Here is the hatchery where we just came from. On our way back to town we saw this huge place. Kind of looks like a castle on the hill to me … what about you ??

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Now that we have saw the hatchery and Table Rock Lake, it’s time to head back to town and check out the Landing! I’m so excited as I've never been to a shopping mall that is on the streets where people are everywhere … hmmm

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Well i thought we were on the way to the landing but we made a stop before arriving. we went past a gift shop early that i wanted to stop at and on our way back through it was on my side and the side to pull into so we made a stop. We didn’t find anything we thought the kids would like so we spent no money. On our way out i was taking pictures of the Osmond’s place and the Titanic. Hubby spotted a Chinese buffet for a decent price so we decided to go eat lunch/dinner before heading to the landing. With tip and price for 2 our meal cost us $20 .. not bad for Branson!!

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After leaving there, another place i wanted to stop and get pictures of was the Hollywood … well actually it’s a wax museum.

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The wax museum had it’s door open and apparently you could pay to get your picture taken with this gorilla. Well since we didn’t pay to go inside i decided to take the opportunity to still take the gorilla’s picture. So i zoomed in and behold …

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Since i couldn’t get the Hollywood sign in one picture i took 2 pictures … now use your imagination and think they are one … hehe

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Across from the Wax Museum was this boat Motel. I thought it was pretty neat and snapped a photo of it. Hmmm shame it wasn’t on water, that would make for some nice rocking you to sleep.

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Okay, we were once again on the road and heading to the landing. As you can see there was some traffic, but nothing really heavy as i’m sure it is in the summer. Actually when i was here about 15 yrs ago the traffic was horrible and it took hours to get through this street. Makes me wonder is it the economy or the time of year ????

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Next we passed Dolly Pardon’s Dixie Stampede. I had thought about going here but when i looked the prices up on the internet … my mind was changed

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Yes I'm a cheap scape and i don’t enjoying throwing hard earned money away … so i just enjoyed seeing it from a far. 077

Next we went passed Dick Clark’s American Band Stand …. Yep, i just admired from a far and took pictures for you all … hehe078 079

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I thought this landscaping was neat and snapped a picture on the move. Finally we arrive at the Branson Landing! I had read and heard about this, but never experienced it in person and today is finally my day!

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We had a rocky start getting here. The traffic was horrible! No wonder it wasn’t bad on 76 they are all here!! There was a gentlemen that was causing havoc as well. He was standing in open parking places up close and saving them for family. It wasn’t bad he did this for 1 vehicle but several! Come on .. several older people and including myself were very upset at him. Luckily we found a parking spot not to far away thanks to a lady who waited to back out so we could pull in. On the way in several were saying not so nice words and the gentlemen saving the spots spoke up and stated he didn’t see any handicap people where were their canes or wheel chairs. Well that did it .. I held up my cane , yelled back right here … i have my disability photo id with me would he care to examine it. He shut up and moved on. The sad part is all the people in this group were very capable of walking a long distance and were not very old .. maybe in their 30’s. What disrespect. I held my cool and my tongue after my statement and we went on our way.

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We took the loop behind the fountain and walked along the water and these beautiful flowers were along there. Of course they had a Bass Pro Shop and yes we went inside.

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Since i toured the fish again, it was my turn and we went inside of a quilt shop. I didn’t take any pictures inside as i’m not sure they would of liked that. I was amazed how cheap they were selling hand quilted quilts. $48 for a king size ????

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After the quilt shop we went into a five and dime but we didn’t find anything we wanted again. We did stop see a father and 4 children playing musical instruments and they weren’t to bad. Since we didn’t leave them a donation i decided it wouldn’t be polite to take their picture so i refrained … hmmmm i wanted to .. but i don’t like giving donations to people who use their children to make money. Just my opinion.

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Have you ever seen such a large bag of popcorn? Wow i bet it would take weeks to eat that stuff. Wonder if it gets stale before you finish it?

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This neat little booth had 2 men playing Indian music and they were excellent. I didn’t realize when i snapped the picture they were asking for donations as well. Oh well, i refrained from an up close picture since once again i didn’t donate to their cause.

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As you can see it appeared everyone out shopping and enjoying the nice day at the Landing. People everywhere although i surprised at how many lookers and not a whole lot buying that was going on with the holiday’s fast approaching.

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It was neat to see the water play to music. I also enjoyed the reindeer and the Christmas tree.

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108Every top of the hour they have a music water show. While we were waiting for the hour to arrive we saw these deer across grazing and i snapped their picture. See the nice house on the hill. Can you imagine the beauty of the lights from the landing at night? Hmmm

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112Finally the musical water show began and it was a bit disappointing as i wanted to see the fire and there was no fire …. hmmm Another lady sitting next to us said she had been there twice and both times the fire wasn’t working … Hmmm do you think Branson Landing can get their fire working … Come on Branson don’t disappoint your tourist … well i guess i can’t complain when it’s free … sorry

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Finally it was time to head on to our next destination and i was so glad! My back and feet were killing me from all this walking the past 2 days!! As you can see the parking lots were flooded when we left just before dusk.

We got in the car and i got the directions to our next and finally event for the day. Were off to see the festival of lights. It’s a drive through of Christmas lights.

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We arrived just at dusk and the lights were on, i’m not sure we shouldn’t of waited a bit longer as my camera didn’t like motion pictures in not so light and not so dark dusk.

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I couldn’t get the milk display in so i just captured the cow for 12 days of Christmas. It was an okay display and i wouldn’t go as far as to say we got our $10 worth. But, i do enjoy seeing the lights and it is expensive for electric to run them .. so it went to a good cause. When you leave Santa and his numerous (i could only capture one ) are waving good bye.

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We were going to go through the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights but we were both exhausted and were not sure we wanted to spend $20 to go through it. We still had about a 40 minute drive home so we opted out and decided to save it for another day maybe. We had a great time visiting Branson and it basically was a day of fun and free things to do. It’s amazing what a person can do in tourist places for free if you just look. We are planning to go back another day before leaving. I still have a few things i’d like to do that we couldn’t fit into our busy day today. Not bad site seeing for $30 huh?

Hope you all had a great day and until next time …..