Well we are back at the Ranch again after 5 days in Branson. Boy what a welcome we got from the Rigg’s, He jumped up and wanted kiss’s and all the time the little cries and full body wags. What a sissy. Now he won’t leave Dad’s side, wherever I go in the house I have a shadow, won’t let me out of his sight. Today I had to go to the store since we were out of Milk and beer. I had to sneak downstairs and take Donna’s car out of the garage.
Surprisingly Sadie jumped up on Donna’s lap as son as she sat down and wanted lovin and just to stay with Grandma for the evening. Not much so with Grandpa, just a kiss and over to Grandma.
Well we had a great time on our trip enjoyed our stay and visit with Donna’s Brother and wife. and then the meet up with the other bloggers was just great. we always enjoy a sit down and jaw flap with other bloggers.
The trip from the Ranch is not that bad to Branson, a little over 4 hours and if you break that up with a quick lunch stop in Rolla, which is two hours out, it goes by pretty quick, plus Donna and I usually share the driving. so one can relax for half the trip.
Hey how about a Navy picture.
My idea of a trip along the beach.
Here’s what you get when you ask for a light on a carrier.
Now to get settled back in here at the Ranch, we can sit and figure where to go next. We are hoping Judy&Emma get their fridge fixed so she can stop on her way south. Rigg’s always enjoys a doggie visitor.
That’s about it for today, hope all is well for all our friends. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna……
Yesterday was a laid back day, didn’t do much. Decided we all wanted to go for a nice steak dinner. After the fiasco the night before, it was an agonizing decision, after checking out the internet we decided on BT Bones.. It’s a little pricey (but then I am cheap so prices are probably right) but the food was great. We each got something different. Pat got a ribeye rib combo plate, Sam a filet, I got prime rib and Kathy a New York strip. All were cooked perfectly and well seasoned without over powering the flavor of the beef. Portions were large and we took quite a bit in a doggie bag. Their rice, broccoli, and cheese casserole is one of the sides and it was excellent. The server was friendly and gave us great service. We would recommend dinner there.
Today we had brunch with fellow bloggers and rvers, Allie and Ron, lifewiththeworkentins.blogspot, Jay and Stella of Jay and Stellas Travels and Ken and Angela of RV Life is Good. What a great time. We all talked and laughed so much, we told silly stories on ourselves and swapped campground stories.
Kenny and Angela will be leaving on the 1st headed to Coffeyville Ks to work for Amazon during Christmas rush, and then to Puma Az for the winter, no more Missouri winters for them. Jay and Stellas next stop is Iowa for a rally. They are inveterate ralliers and Jay helps organize many of them. From there they are heading to their home state of Texas. Allie and Ron are going to stay in Branson and manage the Branson View Campground. If you ever get a chance to hookup with any of these couples make sure you do, a great time is in store for you.
We ate at Grand Country Buffet and the food was good. We got there at 1030 which was still breakfast but at 1100 they switch to lunch so we got both. Angela and I out ate all the others….4 or 5 plates each. Of course neither of us will probably need to eat again for a couple of days 
Jay, Stella, Angela, and Ken
Sam, Donna, Ron, Allie…………Ken, Angela, Stella, Jay
Oh and Karen P, thanks for the great big bear hug via Allie
We are now back in good ol’ Dardenne Prairie and Riggs almost knocked us over when he saw us..he is such a big baby.
(p.s. for the record, I hate my picture)
As Sam would say, please Be Safe out there.
I have a tendency to do things that, as Archie Bunker would say, make me look like a dingbat.
Yesterday the trash cans were full (they are small) so I walked them up to the dumpster they have here at the resort.
I opened the door, went in and tossed trash…then I heard the dreaded CLICK. This is a self locking catch and had closed and locked behind me.
Oh crap now what ! Well this structure did have cross bars, so I hiked myself onto the first cross bar> Fortunately I am tall and could see over, aha, spotted one of the maintenance carts across the way. So I wait for someone to come out of the building..I spotted him “Hello, Hello” he stopped in his tracks and started looking around, of course being a normal human being he didn’t think about looking in the dumpster. He’s walking off!! “Hello, over here I’ve locked myself in the dumpster” finally he noticed me….he said ‘there should be a little wire on the inside pull on that’…whew freedom. I guess if I hadn’t seen someone I could have crawled over using the cross bars, but would have been a heck of a drop onto the parking lot.
On to more pleasant topics than trash. The four of us went to the Dick Clark Theater this afternoon and saw The Legends. Tribute shows to young Elvis, Buddy Holly, Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, and Las Vegas Elvis, and the Blues Brothers. Was a very good show, especially the Johnny Cash, close your eyes and you would swear it was actually him. The gal that did Whitney had a great voice, but isnt much of a performer….just stood and sang, no movement or expression. But the sound and lighting, the costumes and the performers were a lot of fun. Of course music is geared to our age level which made it even more enjoyable. There were ladies in the front that were screaming like teenage girls when you Elvis did his shakin’.
Young Elvis had the women screaming.
Good voice, but this is how she was the entire show.
Of course these guys were all over the stage. Fun to watch
I
Buddy Holly okay. This is same guy that did young Elvis.He was a much better Elvis than Buddy
Johnny was the best. One of dancers did a number with him as June Carter Cash. She was a much better singer than dancer.
All in all we had a great time. Since we went to an early show, we went to dinner afterward……if you are in Branson stay away from Doc’s Hickory House. My prime rib sandwich was inedible. I had ordered it rare to med rare, it came out well done. Server very apologetic and took it back, came back medium which I would live with but color was grey which prime rib shouldn’t be and tasted awful, one bite was enough for me. Sam got a sausage link sandwich and he said it was incinerated. Pat and Kathy’s food was just barely edible, a pulled pork sandwich and a sampler platter. And food took forever to get to us, they were not busy and was over half an hour to get sandwiches. As with most places in Branson, there was a guy singing and promoting his CD. He was awful. No original songs and he picked songs that did not fit his voice, he tried to sing tributes to many different artists and it just did not work.
Now we are back at the condo and just chillin. Tomorrow I think we are going to see some tigers.
Oh, in case you didn’t guess, this is Donna…
Well everyone….Be Safe out there
Good Night.
Hey it’s Donna tonight.
My son said Riggs has stopped running all over the house looking for us…now he is in the pouting stage. Aren’t they funny.
Sam mentioned yesterday that we had lunch at College of Ozarks, the college they call Hard Work U. That is right on their sign at the entrance. This plaque is at a small area across from the dining hall.
This college was founded in 1905 as a Christian College. The students that attend must work on campus. They raise livestock, milk cows, grow most of their own food for the restaurant, bake all the bread etc. Besides instilling a good work ethic, it pays for their schooling. They are a nationally ranked college so no one is short changed as far as the quality of their education goes, but they come out without be tens or hundred of thousands of dollars in debt. The college can only admit one out of every 11 applicants. The grounds are the prettiest of any campus I have every seen and all taken care of by the students.
Today we took a (now I know this is going to shock most of you) TRAIN RIDE! Branson Scenic Railway. It’s an 1 hr 45 min ride. The train is very nice. Runs from Branson into Arkansas and back. MoPac built the stretch of track that is uses (uses only a small part). The original ran from Carthage Mo to Newport Ar , 239 miles at a cost of 12 million dollars and took 5,000 men to complete. Along the way there used to be 284 wooden tressels. Railroad started replacing these in 1908 and the last one was replaced in 1980. The track is now owned by the Missouri Arkansas Railway and the engineers of the trains are employed by them not by Branson Scenic. Mo-Ark run their freight trains at night and Branson Scenic leases the daytime.
We sat in the Silver Chef car on the the dining cars, built in 1956. Has been nicely restored and the ride is very smooth. Though at times it swayed just enough that I wanted to just get comfy and take a nap.
Sam Pat and Kathy.
A few good views but mostly trees and hills.
Not being an ace photographer like most of you, just noticed the other pictures reflected my sweater in the glass and looks like the hills are half covered in snow. Oh well.
We went to dinner at a great Italian restaurant, Florentina. Was so busy eating the food forgot to get pictures of any of the entrees. Here is a pic of their nachos…special cheese blend (which was wonderfully creamy) tomatoes, olives, artichokes, and a couple of other things and drizzled with a sweet balsamic vinargette. The chips were the lightest most flavorful I have ever had. Needless to say I couldn’t eat all this. Would highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area
Well guess I have rambled on long enough. As Sam would say, Be Safe out there.
We did a bunch of sightseeing and stopped at the Tangier Mall with our brother & Sister in Law. Also stopped at the Branson View Campground to meet and say hi to Ron and Ali Workentin who we ha never met. They are managing the campground so we made plans to have a breakfast together later in the week. We also plan on meeting Ken & Angela who we last saw at the Escapade Rally, They are in Branson also so all of us will be getting together for breakfast.
College of the Ozarks.
Lake Table Rock Dam.
Lake Taneycomo.
Ron & Sam.
Ali&Donna.
That’s about it for today, Hope all is well with all our friends, And Rigg’s we will be back Thursday so keep you chin up. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna………..
Here it is rainy day here at the ranch, we have packed up our bags for the trip to Branson tomorrow, we will be staying at
Wyndham Branson at the Falls
110 Willow Bend Drive
Branson, MO 65616
Tele: 417-336-4993
Donna’s brother Pat and his wife Kathy are celebrating their 50th anniversary.
We look forward to having family gathering and enjoying the hotel.
We also want to stop and meet Ali and Ron at the
hope the weather improves.
So far to day a slow day at the Ranch, everyone is just laid back and relaxing. Donna took the day off and we will head out in the morning, the truck is topped off with diesel so, we are set for takeoff.
Looking forward to a bit of a getaway. Hope all is well with all our friends. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…
Been a couple days, but it has just been slow here at the Ranch, we had rain the last couple of nights, and cooler mild temps in the 70’s. I guess the majority of the 90 degree weather is over. Although September and half of Oct can still be swimming weather here.
Rigg’s is loving the cooler weather and will stay out longer and even lay on HIS patio and just watch the world go by. Of course I know he is watching for birds ,squirrels, ground hogs, and now a couple of young possums, that he gave the run to the other night. I haven’t seen them since so maybe he scared them off.
Donna is off today and she baked for awhile, an apple cake, and a big pan of rice crispie treats. It doesn’t pay to be diabetic in this house, but the apple cake is sugar free so I can have some of it.
That’s about it for today, Hope all is well with our friends , Be safe out there. Sam & Donna………
Had a great weekend , mild sunny days both days, Saturday the kid’s went to some kind of concert so thy were gone all afternoon and evening. Donna had to work last night, so it was just me and the mutso’s hanging out and holding the fort. They sure enjoy these mild nights in the 70’s where they can play outside.
Donna got called in on the day shift today (Sunday) so I decided I was going to move the fiver from the pad to over in front of the garage door. This gives me an open pad and more room on the drive for when Judy & Emma arrive with their motorhome. I didn’t want to wait until next week since we will be in Branson from Sat until Tues I believe Judy will arrive around the 29th or 30th.
I also have a 30 amp RV plug available for her there.
I can run my fiver off a 30 am plug inside the garage.
I am looking forward to both the Branson trip and the visit from Judy & Emma.
We will be staying in a hotel with my Brother in Law and family as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary. We also want to make a quick visit to see Ali & Ron at the campground they are managing.
That’s about it for today, hope all is well with all our friend out there. Be safe. Sam & Donna……….
The other day I made a post on my Face Book Page that went as follows.
“The Silent Majority isn't so silent when they start up their Bikes and head to Washington, hope this is a wakeup call to the politicians, that millions of Americans are Fed-Up....”.
I did this in response of what I observed as a complete blackout of the Riders going to Washington to show support for our country and a form of protest against the Muslim Rally scheduled there by our news media. In fairness when the numbers reached a million and a half the press had to acknowledge something was happening but kept it very low key.
I Googled the term Silent Majority, and it said the following in Wikipedia.
The silent majority is an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly.
I usually stay away from political statements but I remember President Nixon using this term and I always felt Donna and I fit in to this group pretty well ,Middle class American , myself a veteran and the son of a WW2 veteran, and possessing a love of our country.
I also think we have a problem in Washington and can only pray that things will get better. But I guess what I am saying is if you pole the majority of the bloggers you will find I have a lot of company in the Silent Majority.
I apologize to anyone who takes offense at this as a political statement, I assure it is not. But sometimes you can only remain silent so long.
Here is a couple of pictures for my Navy Fans,
First pilotless Stealth Drone to be launched and recovered from an Aircraft Carrier.
First new F35C is delivered to the US Navy 09-2013.
Pretty state of the art stuff.
That’s about it for today, everyone be safe out there. Sam & Donna………
It’s a rainy cloudy day at the Ranch today, But we haven’t had many of them lately. The big news of the day is from my Son Tim from New Jersey is in Colorado, he is hunting out there, and yesterday he got his big bull elk. Did I mention he got this with a bow and arrow. Way to go Son.
Tim and his Elk.
Hope he had lots of help dragging it out and loading it into the truck. Looks like there will be plenty of steaks this winter at his place.
Don’t know where he is in Colorado but we can only hope it’s far from the flooding.
Donna is working tonight, so she is napping this afternoon before she goes into the restaurant.
Rigg’s is laying on the floor next to his Daddy out like a light. He knows he’s safe and Dad has the homeland security watch.
If I go in the guest room for a movie he will follow me in and crash on the bed next to me. Never have to worry I have a 4 legged furry shadow wherever I go.
That’s about it for today, Hope al s well with our friends out there. Be safe, Sam & Donna…….
We’re back to another gorgeous sunny day but the temps will reach 97 this afternoon, just a little warmer than it’s been. I guess most of the midwest and prairie states are experiencing warmer than usual weather. Okay by me at the end of the month we will be going to Branson for a few days, and when we get back Judy & Emma will be stopping for a few days visit. Rigg’s always looks forward to having a blogger doggie friend visit, so far we have been lucky and he has gotten along with all of them.
He came in the Grands room where I was watching a train movie and hopped up and laid next to me today, Sadie has been doing the same thing and most days I have both of them with me all day. I hope they enjoy the train movies.
Donna has a Doctors appointment this afternoon and since she will be over in North St Louis County she is meeting one of her old co-workers for dinner and a gab fest.
With the hot sun nothing will get done outside today. But I am catching up on the computer.
Not much else top report, all is well at the Weeb Ranch, hope all the rest of you have a good day. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna………
Just a shorty for today My Son Tim is in Colorado hunting for Elk. It is another gorgeous sunny, 90 degree, Dardenne Prairie day.
Donna is getting ready to leave for the restaurant, the kid’s are out, so me and the mutso’s have the watch here at the ranch.
Hope all is well out in blog land, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna…….
