DIXIE STAMPEDE

DIXIE STAMPEDE

We went to a great show last night! Dixie Stamped is a huge indoor arena where hundreds of ticket holders can enjoy a very tasty four course dinner and watch a great show!
 

The Thursday evening show was not full. They initially warmed up the audience with a one man show; a juggling/balancing act on an elevated stage. From there we entered the dinner theatre and sat down in our front row seats. We were waited on by a festively dressed waitress who continually refilled our coffee, tea or Pepsi glasses.

Our dinner consisted of soup, a whole roasted chicken, a thick slice of baked ham, corn on the cob, baked potato, soup and drinks. It was very tasty and very filling!

The show was very entertaining with flashily dressed riders on beautiful horses, races, trick riding, wagons, pig races, miniature horses; all on a dirt floor arena. Lighting was awesome! There were several occasions where artificial snow fell from the "sky". The Nativity scene was amazing! It was very well done; very moving!

Two thumbs up for a great show! You should go see it!

BRANSON, MISSOURI

BRANSON, MO
TRAVELING

Debby and I have now been traveling for 3 months. We have touched 31 States and driven more than 8700 miles. There are so many places we did not get to visit but we aren't finished! America is teeming with an abundance of historic and interesting places to see. All in all, we have traveled more than 23,238 miles counting land, sea and air miles.

We are currently holed up in BRANSON, MISSOURI at Debby's Mom's place. We have enjoyed resting and visiting with family throughout the Thanksgiving holiday. Thirty one of us gathered together at Marvin and Sandi's Lake home for Thanksgiving dinner.

We plan to get off the couch in a few days and take a look at some of Branson's entertainment. Christmas lights are up at Silver Dollar City and we would like to see those. Branson Landing is busy with shopping and lights. I walked the mile distance to the Landing center and brought Debby back a Funnel Cake! That's been the extent of my shopping thus far!

Weather has been good. Even though the days are cool, they have been dry and sunny. We will be leaving here in a couple of weeks; heading back to Oregon for the Christmas holidays. Looking forward to seeing family and friends, but not so much at being poked and prodded by doctors and dentists for our appointed checkups!

OZARK, ARKANSAS

OZARK, ARKANSAS

We passed through Arkansas after leaving New Orleans. We took a left turn at Ozark. Arkansas and stopped downtown to peek at the old town square. I used to go to Ozark with my family when I was a kid. Standing there looking around brought back old memories. We parked on the North street in front of Adams Abstract. 
 The old man who owned that years ago was Dad's insurance agent. We would stop in about every month to see him, as Dad transacted business (probably paid his bill). The first thing that old gray haired man did was to come around the counter and greet us. After a minute of chit chat he would say, "Have you boys had your ice cream today?" We would say, "No". He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, brown, change purse, painstakingly open it in front of us while 6 or 8 little anxious eyes carefully watched, then hand each of us boys a bright, shiny Dime. Back then a dime bought ice cream! We will never forget that old man. He will never know to what extent his generous kindness impacted our lives!





The town square was in the center of town; A square block that contained the City Hall building. The park benches out front were always occupied with old men sitting around talking and people watching.

Across he street to the south, on the corner, used to be a Cafe that had a large swamp cooler in back that blew out cool air into the seating area. We never had the money to eat there but I remember we would drop in during the heat of summer and stand in front of the cool air and let it blow inside our shirts! Ha Ha!

On the corner to the West still resides THE SPECTATOR, the local newspaper. It's still there and still printing. Brought back old memories of going in there with Dad.

The second building from the corner to the East used to be an Rx store. The special thing about that was that Mom would sometimes find a way to sneak away from us (I'm sure with Dad's help because he would sometimes sneak off to the beer joint). Anyway, Mom would go into the Rx where they had an old fashion Soda Fountain and order her favorite, an ice cold Cherry Coke! We found her in there one time and she let us have a sip of her Coke! Mom was so nice to us kids.
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In front of City Hall are memorials of all the wars, Civil, WWI, WWII. Korea, and Vietnam.

We left there and drove out of town to visit our cousin. She still lives in the same place we remember as kids. Dad and Dennis were first cousins so we visited often and played with their kids. We always liked going there. Janet now lives in Atlanta and I was blessed to spend a couple of hours with her recently in Atlanta. We had a great visit in Ozark and plan to go back (hopefully) next Spring!

Driving North on the old highway we passed by my old grade school and on in to Mulberry where we used to go. The town seems to be dying out. 
The old 5 & Dime Store is vacant; the old bank building is empty.

Gene and Shorty's Barber has been remodeled and taken over by another business. The old produce house is gone. We used to take Strawberries there to sell.



We headed to Ron and Nancy's in Springdale to pick up some of our things that we had mailed from Europe. We spent the night, as it was late before heading North.

We are now in Branson, Missouri staying with Debby's Mom. Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and some of our family will be together on Marvin's place at Lake of the Ozarks. For us, the down time is welcomed! We will be here for a couple of weeks before hitting the road towards Oregon.

THE OLD FRENCH QUARTER, NEW ORLEANS

NEW ORLEANS

Our room was not as spacious as any other Wyndham unit we've stayed in, but for sleeping, it was spacious enough for snoring and rolling over. The complex was very nice.

 It's courtyard was enticing. If I could have eaten breakfast there, it would have been the perfect garden setting.
 
 
The large deck on the roof of this 12 story vintage hotel would have been great for catching some sun and viewing the city.



We left out of there about 8:00 in order to cruise around a little before the tourists attacked the town. We parked on Canal Street and Royal, found some breakfast at Daisy Duke's Cafe. (I always wondered whatever happened to that cute little Daisy Duke gal. Well, I think she was there. If you are considering going to see her, you better brace yourself! She let herself go! I mean, really bad!! I really think her tattoos clashed, I mean seriously clashed, with her face! Don't go!!!

After breakfast we walked over to Bourbon Street and walked down it a few blocks. Many of the sidewalk businesses were starting to wake up. They all has some guy washing down the sidewalks with hot, sudsy mop water and hosing it off into the streets. Even with that, the Pine Sol could barely mask the strong scent of beer and urine. I could only imagine what might go on around here at night!

The streets had its share of poor folks sprawled out on sidewalks and benches still trying to sober up. There were a few weirdo's, as well. No, Portland does NOT have them ALL! One guy was looking around himself, then looking up into the sky while staggering around from sidewalk to street, talking to someone. We didn't see anyone else with him so we're not sure what that was about.

As we stopped by the Sienna to plug the parking meter, a young man came up wanting to know what we were doing and to offer us free quarters! His right front pocket was bulging with, what seemed, like quarters. Being raised as a skeptic and being scammed a couple of times in my life, I said, "We've got it! Thanks anyway!" "But they're free", he said. I said, "I know, but we have enough! Thank you!" We walked away quickly, but turned around occasionally to keep an eye on the Sienna. Ha Ha! I still haven't figured out that scam. If it wasn't a scam, I wondered where the pick pocket guy was! (I told you I was a skeptic)!

The Voo Doo shops and girlie shops helped us decide to go ahead and drive down to the waterfront and check that out. We found an expensive parking lot and pulled in. We strolled along the Mississippi River waterfront, taking it all in. This was a beautiful area! Christmas decorations were already up (and the turkey isn't even dead yet!).

A large Sternwheeler was docked, getting ready to load passengers for a river cruise in a few hours. A huge cargo ship was entering the area; laded down with dozens of cargo containers! A big cruise ship was parked out in the Mississippi. Not sure about its status. They probably don't need my help anyway. :)

We walked over to the CAFE DU MONDE, the original French Market Stand. We stepped into the long line for table setting. It did move along much faster than I had thought it would. I held our place in line while Debby walked around taking pictures. She was over by the sidewalk paintings market where the horses and carriages parked, taking pictures. She came back twice talking about trying to get a photo of some guy in a purple suit and spy hat.

We found a table and sat down for coffee and beignets, a type of fried fritter piled high with powdered sugar and served 3 on a plate. These are apparently, famous for New Orleans and when you go, YOU HAVE TO EAT ONE! The coffee was very good, too!

We milled around and saw a memorial of Andrew Jackson.  A few street entertainers were across the street putting on a show and passing a contribution bucket around for a few bucks before doing their audience participated high jump act. Deb and I grew fired of their incessant talking and lack of performing, that we walked on back to our car.

The big Sternwheeler was coming alive as we were ready to leave. On the very top was a Steam Organ and a big dude playing it. It sounded very good! It also drowned out the Street musicians and they just sat there looking defeated. Ha!

That was the extent of our New Orleans tour. We really liked the parts we liked. I, for one, was ready to leave. I think Debby would have liked to stay longer, but we are now on a mission! Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and we need to get to Branson, MO and kill the Turkey!

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISANNA

NEW ORLEANS, LA

Destin, Florida was very nice. We especially enjoyed the white, sandy beaches that stretched for miles. There were more Condos in Destin than you could shake a stick at! Why you would want to shake a stick at them is unclear!

We drove down to the waterfront yesterday to take a Dolphin watching cruise. It was the evening cruise on the Southern Star. We saw many Dolphins, both inside the Bay and in the Gulf; more than 25, I suppose. Our Captain told us that a Dolphin's Dorsal Fin is unique, as our fingerprints are to us. Actually, they all look alike, to me.

We left Destin this morning and drove the Coastal route, sightseeing along the way. We stopped in Boloxie, Mississippi and had lunch on a park bench on the beach by a Lighthouse. It was near Keesler Air Force Base; brought back old memories of my Tech School days in the military. I used to come to this beach as often as I could. I loved the Gulf Coast beach back then . It has changed a lot since 1965. Many houses that used to be there are now gone; cleansed by Katrina, I suppose. Gambling is now legal in Biloxie so the Casinos have multiplied like Rabbits!

This evening we ended up in a Worldmark condo on the second floor, downtown New Orleans. I had a Cajun spicy Shrimp platter for dinner; Debby had Linguine and chicken. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Now to relax for the evening. We will restrain ourselves from going out on the town tonight and partying. We need to cut back!