We are on the road by 8:20, missed 8:00 by just a little. It has been so muggy at night that we find it hard to sleep good. Once out of town and back on the 65, we are able to relax and enjoy the trip. It is about 250 mile drive to Cahokia IL, it is just outside of East St Louis. With all the problems in St Louis with that kid being killed by the police and rioting, we were a little nervous about coming here. But we were reassured by the visitor center we stopped at on the way that we would fine with where we were staying. It has calmed down some but there is still a lot of racial tension there.
The drive is very relaxing and the scenery is very pleasant to look at. It is cool to be driving along in a lot of greenery and trees and all of a sudden out jumps the lime stone that make up the Ozarks.
We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch out side of St Louis and had a very good lunch. It took about another hour and half to reach Cahokia IL. We are staying at the Cahokia RV Parque. There are two race tracks close to here, this is why Joe choose this area.
We will be going to the track in Belleville tonight. It doesn't take long for us to get set up and relax for a little bit before heading to the race track. It sure is looking like rain right now. It takes about 30 minutes to drive to Belleville race tack called Belle Claire SPDY. This is fan appreciation night and everyone gets in free, an their beer was only $4 for a 16 oz can. You can't beat that. This is a very small track, only 1/5 of a mile. There are quite a few cars here to race. When the line them up on the track you wonder how are they going to get around each other in such a short distance. Well let me tell you, they bounce off each other and the walls, especially in turn 4. It was fun to watch them come into turn 4 at high speeds and bounce there back end off the wall and shoot out to the front straight away. I couldn't believe how close they were running to the wall. Then then there was the mud that was being flung at us sitting up in the rickety old grandstands. I wore my GOT DIRT shirt so I couldn't very well complain about being hit by mud, LOL!!!! We moved up a few rows and that helped some and I used my fan to help protect my face from the mud. Once the track dried out some not only were we getting mud but the dry dirt they were kicking up. Not only mud and dirt did we have to contend with but it rained off and on all night. At least it was just a light rain.
The races started around 7 and were done by 10. That was a lot of racing in such a short time. They knew how to keep things moving quickly as there is a curfew as to the noise from the cars so they have to have it over by a certain time, never did hear what that time was.
After the races the parking lot emptied pretty fast and in no time we were back at our fifth wheel. I was pretty wound up but tired at the same time. We were so dirty we had to take showers before going to bed. I had just put on clean sheets and didn't want to crawl in them as dirty as we were. The hot shower must of really relaxed me because I went right to sleep.
Another good day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Last day in Branson (08/14)
Today is our last day in Branson. Had a yummy pancake breakfast again, then got busy with laundry. I think this is the chore we both hate the most and put it off until we have no more clothes to ware. It takes most of the morning as there were some problems with the dryers. It seems someone forgot to empty the money boxes and they were full so the dryers would not work.
Finally done with that chore, now it is time to go to our last show. We are seeing the #1 Hits of the 60's at
2 pm. All the other shows we have seen have been so good that are expectations are high. We were not disappointed at all. To start with the cast of the show are also the ushers. This is great because you at least have talked to one of the cast before the show starts. Our usher was a very pretty young lady from, of all places, Casa Grande AZ. Born and raised there. She came to Branson about two years ago to audition for the show and loves it here. After the show we talked some more to her and her parents who were also there. They just recently moved to Branson from Casa Grande. Her mom works on productions for CAC in Casa Grande and will be going back soon to work on this years Nut Cracker put on by CAC. It is definitely a small world.
Back to the show. While you are waiting for the show to start they play commercials and short programs from the 60's along with trivia questions. This was fun to see how much we remembered of that decade. Once the show started you had to hold on to your seat for the fast pace. I read that they had 100 costume changes during the show and some of them done right on stage. That was fun to watch, there skirts and jackets were reversible. The ladies helped the guys with their jackets, then the guys grabbed the skirts and trilled the ladies around and re rapped the skirt with the reverse showing. All this while preforming a number. What fun that was. They preformed 110 number one and top 40 hits. Some from the 50's and some from the 60's. We sang along, danced in our seats and clapped ourselves silly. This was a really fun show, different than the others in the way it was produced.
This was a great way to end our stay here. After the show we went to Shorty Smalls for BBQ ribs. We were told this was the best place for BBQ. Now we have been told that several times on this trip and have so far been very disappointed. But finally we found good BBQ. The meat fell off the bone and was still very juicy and tasty. Joe being skeptical, ordered and pulled pork sandwich. After tasting my baby back ribs he was wishing he had ordered them. All I can say is YUMMY!!!!!!!
Back at the park we start getting things ready to leave by 8 in the morning. We have found if we do most of the work the night before then we more relaxed in leaving the next day.
Branson is definitely a place we would like to come back to. We are finding way to many places that we want to come back to.
Finally done with that chore, now it is time to go to our last show. We are seeing the #1 Hits of the 60's at
2 pm. All the other shows we have seen have been so good that are expectations are high. We were not disappointed at all. To start with the cast of the show are also the ushers. This is great because you at least have talked to one of the cast before the show starts. Our usher was a very pretty young lady from, of all places, Casa Grande AZ. Born and raised there. She came to Branson about two years ago to audition for the show and loves it here. After the show we talked some more to her and her parents who were also there. They just recently moved to Branson from Casa Grande. Her mom works on productions for CAC in Casa Grande and will be going back soon to work on this years Nut Cracker put on by CAC. It is definitely a small world.
Back to the show. While you are waiting for the show to start they play commercials and short programs from the 60's along with trivia questions. This was fun to see how much we remembered of that decade. Once the show started you had to hold on to your seat for the fast pace. I read that they had 100 costume changes during the show and some of them done right on stage. That was fun to watch, there skirts and jackets were reversible. The ladies helped the guys with their jackets, then the guys grabbed the skirts and trilled the ladies around and re rapped the skirt with the reverse showing. All this while preforming a number. What fun that was. They preformed 110 number one and top 40 hits. Some from the 50's and some from the 60's. We sang along, danced in our seats and clapped ourselves silly. This was a really fun show, different than the others in the way it was produced.
This was a great way to end our stay here. After the show we went to Shorty Smalls for BBQ ribs. We were told this was the best place for BBQ. Now we have been told that several times on this trip and have so far been very disappointed. But finally we found good BBQ. The meat fell off the bone and was still very juicy and tasty. Joe being skeptical, ordered and pulled pork sandwich. After tasting my baby back ribs he was wishing he had ordered them. All I can say is YUMMY!!!!!!!
Back at the park we start getting things ready to leave by 8 in the morning. We have found if we do most of the work the night before then we more relaxed in leaving the next day.
Branson is definitely a place we would like to come back to. We are finding way to many places that we want to come back to.
50's rock and roll and the Presley's
It looks like another beautiful day. I am so happy that we have had good weather here. Today at 2 pm we are going to the 50's Rock 'N' Roll Reminisce. We just kind of take it easy this morning, go for our pancake breakfast and just relax. Joe did go to Cracker Barrel for lunch, I wasn't hungry. When he returned to went to the show. We didn't know what to expect, but we got more than we bargained for. What an awesome show. The talent in Branson is unbelievable. Dave, Shane and Heather are the main singers, accompanied by a keyboard, drums, base and a 17 year old lead guitar player. They took us back to our younger days. I was born in 1952 so I remember most of the songs for hearing them in the 60's. Heather did some Patsy Cline and Brenda Lea and Shane and Dave did some Marty Robins, Righteous Brothers, and Elvis, just to name a few.
We got to talk to them during intermission. Very friendly with all the audience. This is another show that I would highly recommend you see if going to Branson.
We stopped at the Price Choppers and bought steaks to grill for dinner. Joe has got really good at grilling for the most part, he did char one end of my steak but it was still good. With full bellies we got ready to go to the Presley show. Again not knowing what to expect. Everyone we talked to said how good it is and all the shows we have been to so far have been really good. Will this one was no exception. Most of the group are family, then they add a few others to the group, mostly from Texas. This was a great combination of singing and comedy. You can truly see how much they enjoy what they do. Towards the end they brought out one of the younger Presley's, she looked about 15 or 16, she has a lot of potential but could use a little more time to perfect her singing. But it was fun to see how they start them out. The youngest son of one of the comedians was really funny and cute too the couple of times he came on stage. Another show that is a must to see.
There are so many shows to choose from, it is hard to decide what to see. We had a lot of help from the host at the KOA we stayed at. KOA gets you discounted tickets and goes over what shows to see. The ones we wanted to see unfortunately were on vacation for the month of August. We wanted to see Oakridge Boys, The Haywood's, and Jim Stafford. The Jim Stafford show has been canceled permanently. I guess last year his wife got upset with something that happened between him and another women and has forbidden him to come back to Branson. Our loss!!!!!
Another good day in Branson.
We got to talk to them during intermission. Very friendly with all the audience. This is another show that I would highly recommend you see if going to Branson.
We stopped at the Price Choppers and bought steaks to grill for dinner. Joe has got really good at grilling for the most part, he did char one end of my steak but it was still good. With full bellies we got ready to go to the Presley show. Again not knowing what to expect. Everyone we talked to said how good it is and all the shows we have been to so far have been really good. Will this one was no exception. Most of the group are family, then they add a few others to the group, mostly from Texas. This was a great combination of singing and comedy. You can truly see how much they enjoy what they do. Towards the end they brought out one of the younger Presley's, she looked about 15 or 16, she has a lot of potential but could use a little more time to perfect her singing. But it was fun to see how they start them out. The youngest son of one of the comedians was really funny and cute too the couple of times he came on stage. Another show that is a must to see.
There are so many shows to choose from, it is hard to decide what to see. We had a lot of help from the host at the KOA we stayed at. KOA gets you discounted tickets and goes over what shows to see. The ones we wanted to see unfortunately were on vacation for the month of August. We wanted to see Oakridge Boys, The Haywood's, and Jim Stafford. The Jim Stafford show has been canceled permanently. I guess last year his wife got upset with something that happened between him and another women and has forbidden him to come back to Branson. Our loss!!!!!
Another good day in Branson.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Branson Scenic Ozark Zephyr Railway (08/12)
Tuesday morning is beautiful, finally I can wear shorts. We went for our pancake breakfast, then got ready for the day. Today we are taking a train ride through the Ozarks to Arkansas and back on the historic Branson Scenic Ozark Zephyr Railway.
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This is a 40 mile round trip through the Ozark foothills. Most of the cars are old dinning cars from trains that were famous at one time but are no longer active. This is a very easy relaxing trip. The scenery is beautiful.
Once back at the park we decided to skip lunch because we are going to the Dixie Stampede tonight. This is a dinner show.
Before the show you go to a preshow, in the carriage house. Tonight's show was a juggling comedian. He was very good. At the end he asked how many of us remembered the guy on the Ed Sullivan show, he told us this man is still alive and in good health and that he taught him everything he knows. It is his father. I remember watching this on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a kid. Now it is time for food and the show.
The dinner is 4 courses that consist of creamy vegetable soup, whole rotisserie chicken (like a Cornish hen), slice of barbecue pork loin, corn on the cob, (very tasty), herb basted potato, biscuit, and desert. The big thing with this dinner is there is no silverware, you have to eat it all with your fingers. The soup you just drink out of the bowl. This was definitely a different experience, and the food was excellent.
While you are eating the show is going on. It is a tribute to the North and the South. Our side of the arena is the North the opposite side is the South. There were competitions through out the night between the sides with a lot of audience participation. All in good fun. I loved the very big Belgium horses that pulled the wagons. They were huge and beautiful, one of them had the longest beautiful blonde tail. When you see them standing next to a quarter horse, they make the quarter horse look like a pony.
There were lot of funny skits and a lot of singing and dancing. This show belongs to Dolly Parton and you can see her touch everywhere. This was a very enjoyable evening and I would highly recommend this show to anyone visiting Branson.
Back at the park I am having trouble falling asleep, I am on sensory overload.
Tomorrow at 2 pm we see the Rock and Roll Reminisce the 50's, then at 8 pm we are going to the Presley show.
Good night everyone.
 |
| In the background you can see one of the old bridges |
This is a 40 mile round trip through the Ozark foothills. Most of the cars are old dinning cars from trains that were famous at one time but are no longer active. This is a very easy relaxing trip. The scenery is beautiful.
Once back at the park we decided to skip lunch because we are going to the Dixie Stampede tonight. This is a dinner show.
Before the show you go to a preshow, in the carriage house. Tonight's show was a juggling comedian. He was very good. At the end he asked how many of us remembered the guy on the Ed Sullivan show, he told us this man is still alive and in good health and that he taught him everything he knows. It is his father. I remember watching this on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a kid. Now it is time for food and the show.
The dinner is 4 courses that consist of creamy vegetable soup, whole rotisserie chicken (like a Cornish hen), slice of barbecue pork loin, corn on the cob, (very tasty), herb basted potato, biscuit, and desert. The big thing with this dinner is there is no silverware, you have to eat it all with your fingers. The soup you just drink out of the bowl. This was definitely a different experience, and the food was excellent.
While you are eating the show is going on. It is a tribute to the North and the South. Our side of the arena is the North the opposite side is the South. There were competitions through out the night between the sides with a lot of audience participation. All in good fun. I loved the very big Belgium horses that pulled the wagons. They were huge and beautiful, one of them had the longest beautiful blonde tail. When you see them standing next to a quarter horse, they make the quarter horse look like a pony.
There were lot of funny skits and a lot of singing and dancing. This show belongs to Dolly Parton and you can see her touch everywhere. This was a very enjoyable evening and I would highly recommend this show to anyone visiting Branson.
Back at the park I am having trouble falling asleep, I am on sensory overload.
Tomorrow at 2 pm we see the Rock and Roll Reminisce the 50's, then at 8 pm we are going to the Presley show.
Good night everyone.
Branson MO (08/10-08/11)
We have finally arrived in Branson and have managed to find the Branson KOA. A lot of streets do not have street name signs so it was hard to find our way even with GPS.
What a nice KOA, very spacious and clean. Nice swimming pool and hot tub. They even have free pancake breakfast every morning. You can also get biscuits and gravy and sausage for a small charge, along with coffee and juice or milk. This is so nice to get up in the morning and go have breakfast that you don't have to fix.
Didn't do much Sunday night, relaxed in the pool and hot tub, had dinner and a movie and that is about it.
Monday we didn't do much either, we are both still recovering from the week at the Knoxville Nationals. Got caught up on the blog and otherwise just relaxed. This is a first for Joe. He has a hard time just doing nothing, so I was surprised that was all he wanted to do too. We did go to the office and book 4 shows to see this week. Starting Tuesday night with the Dixie Stampede.
Monday night we drove down to Old Town Branson. Went to the famous Dick's 5 and 10 cent store. It is quiet unique. After that we just walked around until we heard music. It turned out to be piped in music it the new outdoor strip mall by the river.
We walked along the river walk, which was very enjoyable.
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They have dancing waters like in Las Vegas. The same company that did the Bellagio waters did these dancing waters.
If you look closely at the last picture you can see a green and red light in the sky, these are the lighted zipline chairs. They were really cool to watch. They went up across the river then shoot you back down to the landing where a big rubber band stops you. They really looked fun so we thought we might go on them until we saw the price, $25 a person, ouch!!! We walked around a little more and looked at all the shops then headed back to the KOA and bed. Great first day in Branson.
What a nice KOA, very spacious and clean. Nice swimming pool and hot tub. They even have free pancake breakfast every morning. You can also get biscuits and gravy and sausage for a small charge, along with coffee and juice or milk. This is so nice to get up in the morning and go have breakfast that you don't have to fix.
Didn't do much Sunday night, relaxed in the pool and hot tub, had dinner and a movie and that is about it.
Monday we didn't do much either, we are both still recovering from the week at the Knoxville Nationals. Got caught up on the blog and otherwise just relaxed. This is a first for Joe. He has a hard time just doing nothing, so I was surprised that was all he wanted to do too. We did go to the office and book 4 shows to see this week. Starting Tuesday night with the Dixie Stampede.
Monday night we drove down to Old Town Branson. Went to the famous Dick's 5 and 10 cent store. It is quiet unique. After that we just walked around until we heard music. It turned out to be piped in music it the new outdoor strip mall by the river.
We walked along the river walk, which was very enjoyable.
They have dancing waters like in Las Vegas. The same company that did the Bellagio waters did these dancing waters.
If you look closely at the last picture you can see a green and red light in the sky, these are the lighted zipline chairs. They were really cool to watch. They went up across the river then shoot you back down to the landing where a big rubber band stops you. They really looked fun so we thought we might go on them until we saw the price, $25 a person, ouch!!! We walked around a little more and looked at all the shops then headed back to the KOA and bed. Great first day in Branson.
Monday, August 11, 2014
National Championship Night at the races (8/09)
The last night of racing is finally here. You can feel the excitement of the fans and drivers as you walk around by the race track. There are t-shirt and food vendors everywhere and I see people walking away with bags full of shirts and other memorabilia. Tonight's races should be really good. The skies are clearing with a little blue showing and some sunshine, it feels so good.
I opted not to go to this afternoons show, not sure I could sit through two big races today. This afternoon they are running Friday nights show which was bumped due to rain on Wed. Joe went and said the racing was excellent.
I on the other hand stayed in the park and got things ready for an early departure Sunday morning. We have about 450 miles to drive to Branson MO. I was also in need of some more sleep, last night was a late night again.
We leave for Saturday nights show about 6 pm in hope of getting something good to eat. All week I have been watching people eating great looking food. But tonight I am unable to find any of it that looked appealing. Settled for sweet corn on a stick and a bratwurst, very small not what I expected but I was hungry. The corn was really good.
The stands are packed on the front straight and on the back stretch.
It is time for the E main, 4 cars will move to the D main from this race. The racing is tight and fast. Jimmy Light #23, Chris Marin #44, Dustin Clark #45c Danny Smith move on to the D main. Next comes the D main, again 4 cars to move up, Brad Loyet #05(my pick), James McFadden #3G, Jason Meyers #83X and Jason Sides #7S, move on to the C main.
5 cars will move up from the C main. C main were Dale Blaney #14K, Greg Wilson #W20, Danny Lasoski #33, Bud Kaeding # 0 and Cole Wood #17W. Again fast racing with a really bad crash in turn one on lap 1. It involved about 7 cars so took out several rivers. One being my pick of Rico Abreu, his car flew so high in the air and then came back down. He luckily didn't roll but landed very hard. Everyone was holding their breaths until he climbed out OK. All involved in this crash were OK, thank the lord. After that the race went pretty quickly and was over before you knew it. Now on to the B main. 4 cars from this main will round out the A main with 25 cars. Winners of the B main were, Brooke Tatnell #55, Clint Garner #40, Brad Sweet #49 and Lee Jacobs #81x.
After these were over they did the drawing for tonights 50/50, the winner to take home $23,987, as usual we were not even close.
The A main, which is the race for the championship, is 50 laps. With so many cars wanting to win it could be a long race. Donny Schatz, my pick, is looking for his 8th Sprint car Championship here. Joe is hoping for Brian Brown to win. The crowd wants anyone but Donny Schatz to win.
They are taking their parade lap at 4 a breast. Also added to this lap were all the push trucks that do an amazing job of keeping the track packed and getting the sprints started. They all have to be pushed started.
The race is on with just one restart because the flagman didn't like the way they started. Donny is so fast it doesn't take him long to have a 3/4 of a lap lead on the field. Brian is trying very hard to catch him. At lap 25 the whole field comes in for tires an fuel and to make adjustments to the cars. I have never seen this done before for Sprint cars. Once back to racing Brian almost catches Donny but not quite until about 6 laps from the end he manages to pass him. The fans go crazy. But he can't hold him off and Donny gets his 8 th win. It is now almost 1am and we are tired but pumped up at the same time. It took a while to fall a sleep. I woke up at 3:30, partying still going on around us. I don't know how they do it, I guess age is everything because they are all 40 or younger.
Up at 6:30 an on the road by 8:30. It was tricky to pull our unit out of our spot and not hit the truck in front of us or the trailer beside us. We finally had to wake up the owner of the truck and get him to move it. We had someone else helping guide us out, me on one side an him on the other. We breathed a sigh of relieve once we out of the park and on our way. Eight plus hours later we are in Branson MO.
We stopped for lunch at a Flying J truck stop with a Denny's. While we were waiting for our food we heard the new report on the fatal accident that Tony Stewart was involved in. At first we thought it was Tony that was killed, but it was Kevin Ward Jr. What an unbelievable tragedy for all those involved. Tony had just been at Knoxville along with Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson a few days ago signing autographs. It was one of Tony's cars that Donny Schatz was driving in the Knoxville Championships.
I opted not to go to this afternoons show, not sure I could sit through two big races today. This afternoon they are running Friday nights show which was bumped due to rain on Wed. Joe went and said the racing was excellent.
I on the other hand stayed in the park and got things ready for an early departure Sunday morning. We have about 450 miles to drive to Branson MO. I was also in need of some more sleep, last night was a late night again.
We leave for Saturday nights show about 6 pm in hope of getting something good to eat. All week I have been watching people eating great looking food. But tonight I am unable to find any of it that looked appealing. Settled for sweet corn on a stick and a bratwurst, very small not what I expected but I was hungry. The corn was really good.
The stands are packed on the front straight and on the back stretch.
 |
| This it turn 4 on the front stretch Still some seat available but by the C main not many left! |
5 cars will move up from the C main. C main were Dale Blaney #14K, Greg Wilson #W20, Danny Lasoski #33, Bud Kaeding # 0 and Cole Wood #17W. Again fast racing with a really bad crash in turn one on lap 1. It involved about 7 cars so took out several rivers. One being my pick of Rico Abreu, his car flew so high in the air and then came back down. He luckily didn't roll but landed very hard. Everyone was holding their breaths until he climbed out OK. All involved in this crash were OK, thank the lord. After that the race went pretty quickly and was over before you knew it. Now on to the B main. 4 cars from this main will round out the A main with 25 cars. Winners of the B main were, Brooke Tatnell #55, Clint Garner #40, Brad Sweet #49 and Lee Jacobs #81x.
After these were over they did the drawing for tonights 50/50, the winner to take home $23,987, as usual we were not even close.
The A main, which is the race for the championship, is 50 laps. With so many cars wanting to win it could be a long race. Donny Schatz, my pick, is looking for his 8th Sprint car Championship here. Joe is hoping for Brian Brown to win. The crowd wants anyone but Donny Schatz to win.
They are taking their parade lap at 4 a breast. Also added to this lap were all the push trucks that do an amazing job of keeping the track packed and getting the sprints started. They all have to be pushed started.
The race is on with just one restart because the flagman didn't like the way they started. Donny is so fast it doesn't take him long to have a 3/4 of a lap lead on the field. Brian is trying very hard to catch him. At lap 25 the whole field comes in for tires an fuel and to make adjustments to the cars. I have never seen this done before for Sprint cars. Once back to racing Brian almost catches Donny but not quite until about 6 laps from the end he manages to pass him. The fans go crazy. But he can't hold him off and Donny gets his 8 th win. It is now almost 1am and we are tired but pumped up at the same time. It took a while to fall a sleep. I woke up at 3:30, partying still going on around us. I don't know how they do it, I guess age is everything because they are all 40 or younger.
Up at 6:30 an on the road by 8:30. It was tricky to pull our unit out of our spot and not hit the truck in front of us or the trailer beside us. We finally had to wake up the owner of the truck and get him to move it. We had someone else helping guide us out, me on one side an him on the other. We breathed a sigh of relieve once we out of the park and on our way. Eight plus hours later we are in Branson MO.
We stopped for lunch at a Flying J truck stop with a Denny's. While we were waiting for our food we heard the new report on the fatal accident that Tony Stewart was involved in. At first we thought it was Tony that was killed, but it was Kevin Ward Jr. What an unbelievable tragedy for all those involved. Tony had just been at Knoxville along with Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson a few days ago signing autographs. It was one of Tony's cars that Donny Schatz was driving in the Knoxville Championships.
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