Greetings from Branson, MO!

[vraiblonde]

Today we went to Eureka Springs, AR, about an hour from Branson. SUPER cute town, it reminded me of Bisbee and Jerome, AZ. There are three or four levels of commerce that you get to by either walking the twisty turny sidewalk or climbing somewhat steep stairs. We ate at a Cajun place (sampler platter for Monello, chicken and rice with a side salad for me) and I bought coffee at one of the specialty stores (chocolate orange, and chocolate mint which I am drinking right now and it is divine).

Thanks Rose and GDub for putting us onto this!

 

[vraiblonde]

Yesterday we went for a ride so I could see the Branson KOA and Reeds Spring, MO, which promised an historic downtown and...yeah...what they meant to say was old and rundown. Fail. But it was a nice drive anyway. Plus we took 65 coming back and there's a ton of everyday necessities stuff just north of us that we didn't realize existed.

Afterward we went to Billy Bob Dairyland, which I thought was going to be a DQ type of place. No. It was a sit-down 50s diner with really good burgers. I had a burger and fries, and Monello had a raspberry milkshake.

50s is the theme in Branson - a lot of places have that decor and vibe, with 50s music on the jukebox.

 

[kom526]

Today we went to Dolly Parton's Stampede. There's one in Gatlinburg that we thought we should go to but never did, so we decided to go to the one here. It was fun but I wouldn't call it a "must see", especially since it was a bit pricey. The food was okay - a whole capon, a slice of roast pork, a potato wedge, and a half a corn cob, then a turnover for dessert. If they had a show with a reduced price and no meal, that would be the way to go.

The funnest thing about it was that it's a progbot's nightmare. Unabashedly patriotic, with "North" vs. "South" doing riding contests and piglet races and such - we were South and our team won. A couple years ago it was called "Dixie Stampede" and was a Civil War themed show. This new iteration is completely inoffensive, but I'm pretty sure Lefties would hate it anyway. In fact, I'm sure they'd hate Branson in general.

There was a Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach years ago. Think Civil War meets Medieval Times.

 

[vraiblonde]

There was a Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach years ago. Think Civil War meets Medieval Times.

Yeah, now there's no Dixie and the Civil War aspect has been eliminated because it made progs cry.

 

[Sneakers]

Yesterday we went for a ride so I could see the Branson KOA and Reeds Spring, MO, which promised an historic downtown and...yeah...what they meant to say was old and rundown. Fail. But it was a nice drive anyway. Plus we took 65 coming back and there's a ton of everyday necessities stuff just north of us that we didn't realize existed.

Afterward we went to Billy Bob Dairyland, which I thought was going to be a DQ type of place. No. It was a sit-down 50s diner with really good burgers. I had a burger and fries, and Monello had a raspberry milkshake.


View attachment 149768 View attachment 149769


50s is the theme in Branson - a lot of places have that decor and vibe, with 50s music on the jukebox.

time to clean the lens on your camera.....

 

[vraiblonde]

My aunt was telling me about this place they ate when she and my other aunt were in Branson. Turned out she was talking about the Great American Steak and Chicken House.

They have buffets three times a day, but they also have a seafood buffet where you can get the regular buffet, or you can get the buffet with 1 lobster and 1 lb of crab legs, or you can get it with AYCE lobster, and finally you can get the big kahuna with seafood buffet, AYCE crab legs, and AYCE lobster.

They add a disclaimer that the AYCE lobster is capped at 10 lobsters.

10 lobsters.

I'm curious how many food studs go in thinking they're gonna put a hurtin' on some lobster, then don't even get through two of them.

Branson is absolutely a vacation place where people are going to do things like try to eat 10 lobsters.

 

[RoseRed]

Two is my lobster limit!

 

[stgislander]

So there are not regular fights over the last of the crab legs?

 

[vraiblonde]

Two is my lobster limit!

When we did New England I don't think I ever ate a lobster and wished I had another one. Sometimes I miss the lobster pounds in Maine, but then I remember that by the time we left there the thought of lobster made me gag.

 

[vraiblonde]

There's this Asian restaurant called Noodles 21 and it's my favorite place to eat. Out of like 8,000 restaurants to choose from in Branson we've eaten there twice. Today's nom was a spicy pork concoction with white rice in a sizzling dolsot, and it was amazing.

A town that has really good Asian is high on my list of permanent spots.

 

[TPD]

If my wife wasn't limited to a 150 mile radius because of the wuhan & her job, we would be getting in a car tomorrow morning to come join you in Branson and buy you and Monello dinner Tuesday night. And there is a small possibility I will jump in the truck and drive by myself....

 

[Monello]

If my wife wasn't limited to a 150 mile radius because of the wuhan & her job, we would be getting in a car tomorrow morning to come join you in Branson and buy you and Monello dinner Tuesday night. And there is a small possibility I will jump in the truck and drive by myself....

 

[vraiblonde]

Weeeeeellllll...

The Branson city council just voted in a mandatory mask requirement in all public spaces.

This despite a zillion of the residents showing up to the council meeting say NO to masks, including local entertainers and business owners. The Aldermen minus one said, "Meh, eff you. We do what we want." And now people are PISSED.



There are a ton of posts saying, "Come to Lake of the Ozarks! We're still free here!"

I don't really understand these politicians who thwart the will of the People and deliberately try to destroy their community's economy.

Anyway, we're leaving on Monday heading to Lincoln for a couple weeks, then supposed to be coming back here for another month. Ideally the super pissed off residents of Branson will convince their fearless leaders to revoke this mask crap.

 

[vraiblonde]

Seriously? Nobody wants to say "ha ha" after I've spent a month bragging that Branson isn't freaking out over the virus??

 

[Sneakers]

Seriously? Nobody wants to say "ha ha" after I've spent a month bragging that Branson isn't freaking out over the virus??

Nope. It was inevitable.

 

[stgislander]

Seriously? Nobody wants to say "ha ha" after I've spent a month bragging that Branson isn't freaking out over the virus??

 

[Monello]

We are back in Branson. We picked up the RV yesterday. Tuned up with the fluids changed. Brakes, tranny, radiator, oil, plugs, etc. all good to go. Best part is, the levelers now work properly. We are in a new spot. More centrally located. Got all set up. Put out the awning with the shade insert. It was hot yesterday. The rub was that the refrigerator was taking it's sweet time getting cold. The freezer was humming right along. But the lower level was on union brake most of the evening. Woke up to a cold fridge. It that's the worst thing to happen to us this month, then I'd call that a win.

I also added an after market steering stabilizer. That sure would have come in handy last year when we went through Ft. Stockton, TX. If you have ever driven a class A RV on the interstate, you can relate to the challenges when you are overtaken by semis and the wide open wind.

We will probably see a show or two this time. I need to take Vrai to the IMAX movie. I can see a few pickleball dates in our future. We found the PB park just before we left. Not as many people camping this time. I'm sure it will get busy on the weekend. Driving around we are seeing a lot less people when compared to when we left a few weeks ago.

Shortly we will be planning our route back down to South Padre Island. We'll have 1 1/2 months to piss around to get south. I think we will try to plan on staying in the Port Lavaca. It's not far from Port Aransas. I'm sure New Braunfels will also figure into the equation. Then our annual 1 night stop in Kingsville before SPI. Kingsville has a great RV park. Only problem is it's in Kingsville, TX. Not the worst place we've landed but not much to do there.

All in all , this has been a weird travel year for us. We originally had grand plans but the virus caused a detour. But we got to a few new places. Seen some neat locales. Drank and ate in a few spectacular establishments. So at the end of the year, it's been another interesting year on the road.

To recap 2020 so far. SPI, Kingsville, New Braunfels, Burleson, OKC, Sallisaw, Branson, Joplin, Lincoln, Manhattan; KS, Osage Beach. Then on to Hot Springs, Shreveport, Port Lavaca?

Bonus for me is that I caught fish in Oklahoma and Missouri. So that makes 21 different US states where I've landed at least 1 fish. Last year Arizona got added to the list.

 

[Monello]

Today we launched the boats in Table Rock Lake. I was able to get all the gear loaded in the Jeep. I went to the lake the other evening and fished from the shore. I managed to catch 21 panfish in about an hour and a half. I tossed lures from the shore. I wanted to fish 1 of the coves close to where I fished before. Fishing from the boat opens up a lot more water for me.

We launched late in the afternoon. There were dozens of boat trailers already in the parking lot. Plenty of people were swimming along the shore. The water had a good chop to it but the wind was almost non existent. Vrai always gets set up before me, so she was on the water first. I finally got out and worked my way along the shore. The constant wave action had me making a beeline to the cove, into protected water.

I got 1 fish on the drift down then fished the back of the cove. The fish must have known I was coming because I only got a few nibbles but didn't hook any fish. I switched lures a few times but it didn't matter. I rowed back to the boat ramp area and caught 3 fish in quick succession. All on a beetle spin. Then I got 1 more past the boat ramp. And that was it for the day.

It was a vigorating row around. We spent around 3 hours on the water. It's a large lake with lots of coves and points. There's no shortage of boats, jet skis and pontoons. The park is part of the Missouri state park system. There's no entrance fees nor any cost to launch a boat. The park enjoys plenty of visitors. Most activities are water related. I saw a few bicyclers. There is a paddle wheel boat that you can ride for a couple of hours. They are building a new bathroom near the boat ramp. There's a large marina with a camp store but it's not close to the boat ramp. The people in this area are fortunate they have this place for recreation.

Me working the shoreline

On the way home, we got Chinese takeout. They had 2 tip jars on the counter. They were labeled TRUMP & BIDEN. The Trump jar was full and the other had 2 or 3 singles in it.

 

[Louise]

Today we launched the boats in Table Rock Lake. I was able to get all the gear loaded in the Jeep. I went to the lake the other evening and fished from the shore. I managed to catch 21 panfish in about an hour and a half. I tossed lures from the shore. I wanted to fish 1 of the coves close to where I fished before. Fishing from the boat opens up a lot more water for me.

We launched late in the afternoon. There were dozens of boat trailers already in the parking lot. Plenty of people were swimming along the shore. The water had a good chop to it but the wind was almost non existent. Vrai always gets set up before me, so she was on the water first. I finally got out and worked my way along the shore. The constant wave action had me making a beeline to the cove, into protected water.

I got 1 fish on the drift down then fished the back of the cove. The fish must have known I was coming because I only got a few nibbles but didn't hook any fish. I switched lures a few times but it didn't matter. I rowed back to the boat ramp area and caught 3 fish in quick succession. All on a beetle spin. Then I got 1 more past the boat ramp. And that was it for the day.

It was a vigorating row around. We spent around 3 hours on the water. It's a large lake with lots of coves and points. There's no shortage of boats, jet skis and pontoons. The park is part of the Missouri state park system. There's no entrance fees nor any cost to launch a boat. The park enjoys plenty of visitors. Most activities are water related. I saw a few bicyclers. There is a paddle wheel boat that you can ride for a couple of hours. They are building a new bathroom near the boat ramp. There's a large marina with a camp store but it's not close to the boat ramp. The people in this area are fortunate they have this place for recreation.

Me working the shoreline
View attachment 150710

On the way home, we got Chinese takeout. They had 2 tip jars on the counter. They were labeled TRUMP & BIDEN. The Trump jar was full and the other had 2 or 3 singles in it.

Awesome!

 

[Monello]

The other morning the RV had a plumbing issue. Like a home, there is always something that needs tightening or adjusting on the RV. I'm a troubleshooter, so I tried to eliminate causes till I figure out what is causing the problem. The first sink wasn't draining. But the sink to the right of that one was. Also the bathroom sink was just fine. So we narrowed it down to the general area. I poked down the drain with some long skewers. But the turn is only a few inches in the pipe. I unscrewed the pipes to do a visual inspection. It looked fine as far as I could tell. So I removed the drain to the other sink. That looked good. I took all of it outside and flushed it out with our garden hose. A plug of what I guess was organic matter popped out. I flushed it again and got a bit more of the goo out. I retightened ever up and did a wet test. Water is now draining like a champ. I was intrigued as to how flimsy the RV pipes are. I guess to cut down on weight, they use the lightest possible materials. Moving your home doesn't help with keeping things tightly adjusted. The potholes do a number on the various systems as I sometimes bounce down the road.

Then sometimes the campground we stop at will have plumbing or electrical issues that make living a challenge. In Mathis TX our toilet was draining slowly into the ground. A few times I saw water and possibly sewage coming out. I told the camp guy and he got right on it. Later he told me about 4 sites down from us was a huge clog of disposable wipes. Since the pipes drained down from our site, once the water backed up it came out ours since our cap was removed to accommodate our rig sewer pipe. A few stops we ran into electrical issues with the campground's power supply. Luckily we haven't had that happen for a few years now.

As long as I can either get my issue resolved or find a doable work around, life isn't so bad. The day our levelers were acting up, we had to spend a full day with our slides in. That for us is the equivalent of an RV first world problem. I'd have to say the biggest challenge we face is actually the weather. Either too hot, too windy or rainy for days on end. But it's a small price to pay for being able to tool around and see unique and different places on a regular basis. So until the next thing breaks, life is good.