I am back!!! Vacation notes
This will be kinda long, so if you don't want to read it, or bore easily, you might want to move on to the next thread.
First of all, thank you Janet. For your suggestion to Jan for a place to have lunch with Mary and I. Mel's Hard Luck Diner in Branson is awesome! We liked it so much, we made sure we went back on our last day. And the waitress remembered us. And Jan, it was so nice meeting you and your hubby. Had a great time. I still can't believe the size of that desert!
The trip started bright and early Friday morning. When we hit Arkansas, I pulled over at the first exit to get gas. Went in and bought (3) $1 lottery tickets. Thank you Arkansas for the $50! What a way to start a vacation. Spent two days with Mary's grade school friend that she met in Spain. What a wonderful visit. Didn't do anything special, just visit. And they did introduce us to the Rib Crib. Good food there too. Actually, good food everywhere we went this week. And it was quite cheap. We did order one meal to split just about everywhere we went.
Checked into the Radison Hotel in Branson at about noon on Sunday, then went to lunch with Jan C. She is getting around pretty good. Tried to help her out the truck, but she said she just slides out.
Branson pretty much emptied out before we got there. It was great. Never a parking problem.
Monday night we saw the Osmonds. It made the vacation for Mary. I paid the $20 to go backstage. We had our picture taken with the boys and chatted for a few minutes. David (Alan's nephew) is singing with them, and he and Mary spoke to each other in Spanish.
Tuesday afternoon we saw Jim Stafford and Tuesday night Shoji Tabuchi. If you can only see one show in Branson, I would have to say see Shoji. He can play that fiddle. And the production for the Christmas show was great.
Wednesday night was the Kirby Van Birch magic show. I would not pay to see it again, but probably will never pay for a magic show again. Just wanted to experience it once. He was really good, but the size of the audience (less than 150 people) was very disappointing.
The days were for shopping. I got 4 pairs of pants at the outlet malls (three outlet malls in town) and 2 shirts. And LOTS of sugarfree snacks. Lots.
We had to sit through the obligatory time share presentation. That got me $75 in Bass Pro Shop gift cards (that we used to get me a pair of jeans and a deep fryer). Really ticked that guy off. They "only" wanted $30,000 plus $1000 a year in maintenance and fees. Right. I told him I spend less than $1500 a year on vacation. Why would I spend $30,000. He said we can pass it on to the kids and I told him the kids can take care of their own vacations.
We also went to two vacation presentations. One gave us the Shoji tickets (which were in the 5th row - awesome seats) and $40. The other gave us $100 cash. Sat in both for 90 minutes each and was gone. Not bad pay.
I could go on and on, and I am sure I will think of stuff later to add. So you will be hearing about my vacation for a while.
By the way, the restrooms at Shoji's theater! If you have not heard about them, they have been voted the best restrooms in the country. 1800 square feet. Sparkling clean and beautiful.
First of all, thank you Janet. For your suggestion to Jan for a place to have lunch with Mary and I. Mel's Hard Luck Diner in Branson is awesome! We liked it so much, we made sure we went back on our last day. And the waitress remembered us. And Jan, it was so nice meeting you and your hubby. Had a great time. I still can't believe the size of that desert!
The trip started bright and early Friday morning. When we hit Arkansas, I pulled over at the first exit to get gas. Went in and bought (3) $1 lottery tickets. Thank you Arkansas for the $50! What a way to start a vacation. Spent two days with Mary's grade school friend that she met in Spain. What a wonderful visit. Didn't do anything special, just visit. And they did introduce us to the Rib Crib. Good food there too. Actually, good food everywhere we went this week. And it was quite cheap. We did order one meal to split just about everywhere we went.
Checked into the Radison Hotel in Branson at about noon on Sunday, then went to lunch with Jan C. She is getting around pretty good. Tried to help her out the truck, but she said she just slides out.
Branson pretty much emptied out before we got there. It was great. Never a parking problem.
Monday night we saw the Osmonds. It made the vacation for Mary. I paid the $20 to go backstage. We had our picture taken with the boys and chatted for a few minutes. David (Alan's nephew) is singing with them, and he and Mary spoke to each other in Spanish.
Tuesday afternoon we saw Jim Stafford and Tuesday night Shoji Tabuchi. If you can only see one show in Branson, I would have to say see Shoji. He can play that fiddle. And the production for the Christmas show was great.
Wednesday night was the Kirby Van Birch magic show. I would not pay to see it again, but probably will never pay for a magic show again. Just wanted to experience it once. He was really good, but the size of the audience (less than 150 people) was very disappointing.
The days were for shopping. I got 4 pairs of pants at the outlet malls (three outlet malls in town) and 2 shirts. And LOTS of sugarfree snacks. Lots.
We had to sit through the obligatory time share presentation. That got me $75 in Bass Pro Shop gift cards (that we used to get me a pair of jeans and a deep fryer). Really ticked that guy off. They "only" wanted $30,000 plus $1000 a year in maintenance and fees. Right. I told him I spend less than $1500 a year on vacation. Why would I spend $30,000. He said we can pass it on to the kids and I told him the kids can take care of their own vacations.
We also went to two vacation presentations. One gave us the Shoji tickets (which were in the 5th row - awesome seats) and $40. The other gave us $100 cash. Sat in both for 90 minutes each and was gone. Not bad pay.
I could go on and on, and I am sure I will think of stuff later to add. So you will be hearing about my vacation for a while.
By the way, the restrooms at Shoji's theater! If you have not heard about them, they have been voted the best restrooms in the country. 1800 square feet. Sparkling clean and beautiful.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
George, I agree with the others. Sounds like you had a good time. Some times it is just good to get out of Dodge, and do the things you enjoy.
I to went to see Shoji, and yes, he can play that fiddle. When I went a few years back, he was voted the best show in Branson, and I agree.
When you spoke about the rest rooms, it brought back memories of my trip. I went to see Mickey Gilley, and this was before WLS, and I think my innards would always push on my bladder. So, at half time, I was the first to get to the restroom.
To my big surprise when I stepped up to the urinal, I looked down, and low and behold, it was full of shaved ice. I have never seen this before. What a great idea. If you were the first to use it, you could practice your penmanship. Better that writing your name in the snow.
I just had to make this comment, and remember, you caused it...John
I to went to see Shoji, and yes, he can play that fiddle. When I went a few years back, he was voted the best show in Branson, and I agree.
When you spoke about the rest rooms, it brought back memories of my trip. I went to see Mickey Gilley, and this was before WLS, and I think my innards would always push on my bladder. So, at half time, I was the first to get to the restroom.
To my big surprise when I stepped up to the urinal, I looked down, and low and behold, it was full of shaved ice. I have never seen this before. What a great idea. If you were the first to use it, you could practice your penmanship. Better that writing your name in the snow.
I just had to make this comment, and remember, you caused it...John
Don't blame me. I voted for Sarah......
No problem with the urinal comment. I have already made the same comment to several people.
As far as the time off, it was needed. One of the timeshare guys told us we would be able to afford to go on vacation 4 or 5 times a year. He was upset when I told him how I feel. I really like going on a vacation no more than twice a year, because then it is really special. If you are going every other month, it sort of becomes expected. I like the idea of having something to really look forward to. And the folks here know what I mean by how much I commented before the trip about going. Not sure I would have been that excited if I had just been on vacation two months ago.
As far as the time off, it was needed. One of the timeshare guys told us we would be able to afford to go on vacation 4 or 5 times a year. He was upset when I told him how I feel. I really like going on a vacation no more than twice a year, because then it is really special. If you are going every other month, it sort of becomes expected. I like the idea of having something to really look forward to. And the folks here know what I mean by how much I commented before the trip about going. Not sure I would have been that excited if I had just been on vacation two months ago.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!
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