Branson RV Dreams Rally

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Today things are looking better for our departure on time this Saturday, the 7th.  My mother has been in the hospital, but will be released tomorrow (Thursday).  Tests did not reveal any real problems, so she is going back to the Assisted Living facility.  We need some special 'sitters' for a while, but all systems are ok.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Right now its about 10:45 and we are loaded and ready to go in the morning.  My mother is still improving at the Assisted Living facility, and hopefully will continue to do so.  Management has upgraded here care level, so that should be very helpful to her.  Of course, the cost went up some, but the Director has been very good at holding increases to a minimum.

Saturday, June 7, 2006

We left home this morning about 7:15 and went to Love's for fuel.  Only needed about 80 gallons ($4.599 per gallon), so we were on the road by 7:40.  Our buddy Chester was pulling into Charlie's as we went by, so I had to hit the air horn for his pleasure.  Hope you knew who we were, Chester.

We would normally go through Marshall, Jefferson, etc to Texarkana to hit I-30, but the Delorme Street Atlas routed us around Shreveport and north on US 71 to Texarkana.  Was actually a pretty good way to go, good roads, not a lot of little towns and a new 'interstate quality' highway for the last 30 miles into Texarkana.  I think this will probably be a part of an I-49 extension from Shreveport to Texarkana.  The highway started about the Arkansas line, so I guess Arkansas felt that was a good place to spend some highway $$$'s.  It was certainly a well built road, with almost no access points along the 30 miles.

As we neared Shreveport, I noticed diesel was $4.519 at Love's and $4.49 at Flying J.

Our plans were to stop overnight near Little Rock, and continue on to Branson on Sunday.  But we were in Texarkana a little after 11am, and near Little Rock just after 1 pm, so we decided to continue on to Branson.  I called the RV park, and the site we are assigned to was available today, so we decided to just continue on.  We took I-40 west out of Little Rock to Conway where we headed north on US 65, which would take us directly to Branson.  Most of this road was fairly mountainous, with lots of hills and curves.  Pretty slow going but some really nice scenery, and some short areas where a new highway bypassed some of the worst parts of the old hiway 65.

We got to the ABC campground about 5:15, got set up in a really good site, shade in the afternoon, and a direct shot for both satellites.  Got the datastorm locked in on the first try.  Donna fixed a pizza, we ate on the outside table, and then met a couple who are also attending the rally.  We visited with them for quite a while, and then Donna and I took a quick drive on to the Tourist Area (hiway 76), to check a few sights.  Lots of changes, buts still just more of the same.  Such is Branson.

Right now its about 10:30, Donna is in bed and I won't be far behind.  Yawns are coming quite frequently.  LOL

Sunday, June 8, 2008

We didn't get up too early today, although I was up earlier than Donna.  After a nice home cooked breakfast (eggs, toast, bacon), I took my book outside to read for a while.  As I sat there drinking my coffee, and reading, Howard and another guy (Ed?) walked up, introduced themselves.  We chatted for a bit, and Howard asked if I played golf, that he was trying to get up a golf game.  I told him I had mastered the game, and had moved on with my life, but I appreciated the offer.

Later Donna and I drove over to Branson Landing, a brand new commercial, retail, hotel development right downtown on the river/lake.  Anchored by a small Bass Pro Shop, it was basically a 'main street' theme with wide sidewalks, a brick street where the only traffic besides the pedestrians was a trolley that ran from end to end and back.  There were lots of really nice shops, and a bunch to Tourist Information offices offering free and discount tickets in exchange for a "Time Share Presentation".

Every hour on the hour there is a 'fire and water' show at the Landing, and today the 12pm show included a concert by the Southeast Nebraska Volunteer Band, made up of folks from about 8 counties in Southeast Nebraska.  They were really good.

Donna did quite a bit of browsing in the stores and I did quite a bit of 'bench sitting' and visiting with other 'old codgers' like me.  We probably spent at least 2 or 3 hours just checking out all the various shops, etc.  We then drove through a part of the residential area across the river/lake, and then took a tour down 76, the main tourist drag in Branson.  The Baldknobbers and The Pressley's are still going strong in Branson, and both claim to be the first show in Branson.

We then went back to the coach, I took a short nap and Donna took a long one.  We left about 6 to pick up tickets for the show we had reserved for tonight, The Haygoods. They have been in Branson 9 years, 7 brothers and 1 sister.  The oldest is 31 and the youngest 15.  They put on quite a show, with lots of variety, from rock & roll, to comedy, to gospel, to Irish, to patriotic. 

On the way to show we had to go by K-Mart to buy a new coffee pot, our old Mr. Coffee just quit today. It was about a year old, and that is just about the maximum life of a Mr. Coffee.  We are back in the coach now, will be heading off to bed soon, but I think I will read some more of my novel first.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Another nice home cooked breakfast today.  We had poached eggs, muffins, and bacon.  Donna is really doing things up right.  The rain started during the night, never waking me up, but Donna said she heard it pecking on the roof.  Sure made for a dreary morning.  None of the folks that are already here were outside 'visiting in the circle', so we just hung around in the coach for a few hours.  Howard and Linda are having a large tent put up so folks can gather out of the sun (or rain), but that won't be till late today.

We decided to go back to Branson Landing, where we were yesterday.  Donna wanted to do a little more shopping for some 'cruise wear', and I wanted to check out a couple of things also.  We spent most of the time there in 'Cache', a really nice ladies shop, and Donna found several things she liked.  Then after visiting a couple of other shops, we went to Bass Pro Shops where I bought some rain gear for the cruise.  They didn't have Donna's size in the one she wanted so we may have to make the 45 minute drive to Springfield to their 'flagship' store, which does have it.  I also bought a couple of belts, which Donna said I needed badly.

Right next to Bass Pro Shop, but on the White River is the White River Fish House, where some of the attendees had gone on Saturday night (before we got here).  Since it was again raining pretty hard, and it was getting past 1pm, we decided to have lunch there.  The food was great, and the server was very good.  They had some of the best coffee I have ever had, a special blend made just for them.  I hoped they might sell it, but it was not the case.  We learned the restaurant is owned by Bass Pro Shops, and there are about 20 in the chain.

We went back to the coach, and took long naps, in anticipation of the show we are going to tonight, Tony Roi's Elvis Experience.  It is at the same theatre where we went last night to see The Haygoods.  Although not a big theatre, only about 600 seats, it is a great place to see a show.  I met the father of the Haygood kids outside before the show.  The Haygoods actually own the Tony Roi show, and a third show, Red, Hot, and Blue, which also performs in this theatre.

Tony Roi had been performing for many years, first in Vegas with the Legends show, then for the Legends show in Branson, and now in his own show.  He has won many awards in Branson, including 'Show of the Year' in 2006 an 2007, Singer of the Year in 2006, and Performer of the Year in 2004, 2005, and 2006.  His show lasted considerably over 2 hours and he was extremely appreciative of the audience, even stopping the show right before intermission to allow folks from the audience to come on stage for a 'photo op' with 'Elvis'.  We had front row seats, so Donna even got to hold his hand and get a peck on the cheek. He is an amazing 'Early Elvis' look alike, and sang a lot of Elvis songs, although he also sang a couple of originals he had written.  Although the crowd was rather light, everyone was really enthusiastic, particularly Tony.

Back to the coach, we stayed up way past midnight, trying to get our Datastorm back on line, with no success.  We were able to connect to the parks' WiFi so we could catch up on the news, and Donna even did a little work, but not much.  We are hoping the weather is better tomorrow, and the Datastorm will be back in business.

As I write this it is about 7am on Tuesday, still very cloudy, and the Datastorm is not connecting. It is supposed to clear by noon today, so I am hoping the cloud cover and rain is the only problem with the Datastorm.  Time will tell, and in the meantime, we will continue to use the campground WiFi.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

We were up at fairly decent time today, but just skipped breakfast.  Well, actually I had a couple of small micro-waved sausage biscuits.  Still having problems with the DataStorm this morning, but maybe after the clouds and fog go away, I can get a connection.  We left the coach for a little sight-seeing, driving back downtown, then along The Strip.  Stopped at The Presley's theatre to get tickets for tonight.  Actually got pretty good seats, third row on left side.  We then drove around some of the country roads, and out to the dam at Table Rock Lake.

Back in town we went to a little shopping area next to The Grand theatre.  We had lunch at the 'Hard Luck Cafe', where all the servers take turns singing, and offering their CD's for sale.  These are supposedly young folks trying to get a start in the music business, but only having 'hard luck'.  Most has 'some' talent, but it was easy to see that they better hold on to their 'day job', there are just too many really talented people around.

We headed back to the coach, saw a pretty good group had gathered at the Rally Tent, so we grabbed our chairs and headed that way.  We met quite a few of the attendees, some really nice folks, and visited for quite a while.  About 3:30 Donna joined a group to get a lesson in 'T-Shirt Tying', or something like that, taught by Linda, of RV-Dreams. I went on back to the coach, visited a few web sites and just hung around.  I don't think we turned on the TV all day yesterday.  So I guess No News is Good News.

After Donna finished with the T-Shirt Lesson, we left for dinner and the show.  We ate at 'The Baldknobbers' restaurant, and actually met one of the Baldknobbers, Stubby.  We spotted him as we came in at the same time he did with a group, and asked the photographer if we were right as to who he was.  The photographer went to his table, and few minutes later, Stubbs came over and visited for a few minutes.  Their show is one of the longest running shows in Branson, and was either the first or second on the strip, depending on who you ask.

We then went on over to the Presley's Theatre, and just hung around outside, visiting with a few people.  Really easy to start a conversation, just say 'Where Ya'll From?".  Nobody is from Branson, so the conversation just goes from there.  While wandering around, this guy says 'Hey, Donna and Keith'.  Turned out to be John? Slack from Lufkin, and as we visited with him, 'Little Arnold' (Montes) walked up.  Diana, 'Little Arnold' said Hi !!

The Presley show, who claim to be the first, was lots of fun, with 4 generations of Presley's in the show.  A really large cast, but the real stars where Herkimer and Cecil, the comedians. (Second and Third Generation Presley's)  One of the neatest things was when Cecil (third generation) decided to clone another Presley, by dropping a tick in a jar of moonshine.  When he did, fog came out of the stage, lights were flashing and suddenly a little two year dressed just like Cecil, came running out of the fog across the stage.  It was Cecil's little son, the Fourth Generation.  83 year old Lloyd Presley, the First Generation is also in the show, plays bass fiddle, and still sings one song in the show - 'I Don't Need No Rocking Chair'.

Joining the Presley's were some professional performers, permanent with the show.  In fact one of the lady backup singers had just married one of the Presley guys back in February.  Although the singing and instrumental performances were great, the comedy acts were really the best part, the stars of the show.

I did get the satellite back connected this afternoon, so maybe that problem won't crop up again.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Well, as of 12 noon today the Rally officially started.  I was up fairly early, but laid back down on the couch for a while, but still beat Donna up.  She slept in until after 10, but really deserved it.  She really needed a good long night's sleep.  We just hung around the coach all morning, both of us did a little cleaning, me outside, her inside.  We will have an Open House at the coach on Thursday for a couple of hours.  We never ate any breakfast but had a quick lunch about 11:30.  Since registration opens at noon, we headed to the tent shortly thereafter to get registered.

After registering, we sat around under the tent visiting with different folks for an hour or two.  The first official function of the Rally is a Pizza and Ice Cream supper in the campground meeting room tonite at 6.  So shortly after 4, we went back to the tent for some more visiting, and I remembered to take my camera this time.  We enjoyed meeting and visiting with several couples.  It is interesting to meet folks from different parts of the country, yet find out they are just like us, with a lot of the same ideas and attitudes about life, and how to live it.

Rollie & Gina, are from Louisanna, not full timers as yet, but looking forward to it.

 On the left are Howard and Linda Payne, the organizers of the Rally. They live and travel in their Fifth Wheel, retired at age 43 or so, and are Full Timers starting on their 3rd year, I think.  

On the left are Bob and Linda.  They are some of the first folks we met, since they are parked right next to us with their great looking Fifth Wheel

Thursday, June 12, 2008

The official functions of the Rally started early today, and I mean 'early'.  Coffee and donuts at 7:30 with the first seminar at 8am.  The first one was presented by Howard and Linda, and was basically on the subject 'So you wanna be a full-timer?'.  They did a great job of covering all the decisions that have to be made along the way, how to analyze your suitability to full time, and of course financing the lifestyle.

Next was a seminar on RV Insurance, and the various related products.  Although we did not go, we heard it was very interesting.

The last for the morning, was presented by Merrill-Lynch and John Hancock Company, a great program on investing to finance the lifestyle, and for other retirement income.

There was no group lunch today, so Donna fixed us baked potatoes in the coach, and then we started getting ready for the Open House this afternoon. We were in the group that was open from 4 to 6pm, and I am guessing we had about 40 people inspect our coach.  Most were familiar with Foretravel, and some aware of its reputation for quality.

At 6:30 the campground served a buffet dinner with a whole bunch of food.  And it was all really good. Lasagna, Baked Chicken, rice, corn, new potatoes, salad, and a whole bunch of deserts.  After the meal, some of the Rally Go'ers put on an RV 'Style' show.  About 7 or 8 participated, in joke costumes and skits.  Cute and entertaining.

We are now back in the coach, trying to stay awake, but gonna hit the hay early, I am sure.  I doubt we will make it to the early coffee or even the first seminar at 8am. 

Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but everything scheduled is indoors, so maybe the rain won't detract to much.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Up and at 'em again this morning, but not quite so early.  We skipped the coffee and donuts at 7:30 and the 8 am seminar RV Weight Safety.  At 9:30 we went to the seminar, Internet Connection Options and Computing, with Jim and Chris Guld, The Geeks on Tour.  Real interesting and we picked up some fairly useful information.  Then at 11am, after a 30 minute break, Linda Payne presented the 'Emotional Aspects of Leaving Family, Friends, Community, and the Comforts of A Home'. 

After this seminar, we decided to drive over to Fuddruckers for lunch.  Donna had one of their famous hamburgers, and I ordered a Chicken Caesar's Salad, the biggest sucker you have ever seen.  The salad was served in a clam shell shaped bowl that was at least 15 to 18 inches in diameter.  Huge, it was ! 

Then it was my turn to do a little shopping, so we when to the Tanger Mall, where I bought some shirts at Tommy Hilfiger's and some socks at Nike store.  Shopping is real easy for me, just find it and buy it, then on to better things.

Tonight was 'Pot Luck' dinner night, with tons and tons of food.  Donna made two batches of her brownies, one with sugar, one with Splenda and they both totally disappeared.  Quite a variety of food and all that I sampled was really good.  Sure is a bunch of good cooks around here.

After the dinner, door prizes were drawn and I won a license plate holder from RV Dreams.  Then it was time for Karoke, with a good participation from a pretty talented group of folks, with even Howard singing a couple of number.  Linda can really sing, let me tell ya!!  The campground management and employees provided the equipment and a couple of them even got involved in the performance.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

More meetings and such again this morning, and then a free afternoon.  We didn't do a whole of anything for the afternoon.  Saturday nite was the catered dinner, furnished by the campground.  Early Saturday morning, Pat, the campground owner, put about a dozen 'Sirloin Roasts' on the smoker.  These were sirloin cuts but about a 10- 12 size.  He  smoked them all day in the smoker, and it was served thinly sliced, like a roast.  Lots of side stuff and great desserts, also.  Then the entertainment arrived.  A hillbilly band of 5 people, who played a lot of good music, and told a lot of jokes.  At intermission, there was a 'hillbilly costume' competition.  The top three were really great.  More music after that, then back to the coach.  On our way, we stopped at the tent to tell Howard and Linda, and few others we had gotten to know, goodbye since we are leaving early Sunday morning.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

We were up at 5:30 and hooked up and on the road by 6. It was really foggy for the first hour or so, and from Branson to Conway, the roads are quite hilly and curvy in most places.  Nearly 500 miles to get home.  We swapped drivers several times, got fuel south of Little Rock ($4.749 per gallon), stopped at Texas Welcome Center for lunch in the coach, and arrive home at 3:45.  Course we went to Charlie's about 6 or so, and was glad to see a lot of our friends.