We have just finished a fantastic steak dinner and I decided to sit outside for a while enjoying the unusually warm evening. Our site is quite dark and the stars are bright in the sky with an occasional bat darting in and out of the old maples. Sharon joined me and we watched several planes pass overhead and even a satellite come into view. Reflecting on our activities of the day we both again agreed that this trip is really special. Maybe it's the freedom we both have to enjoy what's around us more. Whatever it is...it agrees with us.

We met some interesting and kind people today. People who came into our lives with no other reason than to be helpful. A lady in line at the post office stepped forward to offer her office's fax machine when we thought we needed one to solve a problem we were having with our mail. We met her again in the parking lot and discovered she and her husband were deeply involved
in the local music festivals, friends of jazzman Dave Bruebeck and a truly engaged supporter of the Hot Springs community. Refreshing to see such honest enthusiasm. We felt so comfortable with her we later called her for a recommendation for a good meat market (remember that great steak dinner above?). She graciously said since she was a vegetarian it wasn't her forte but asked around the office for us and came up with suggestion.

With the thought of a steak on the grill this evening we headed out to find this market. We located the place and I was soon ogling the selection of steaks behind the glass display case.
After quizzing the meat cutter I settled on a couple of porterhouses. At $9.75/pound not a bad deal I thought. As I stand there watching the meat being cut, a gentlemen comes up and strikes up a conversation with the meat man and soon the three of us are engaged in meat talk. Sort of a man thing I suppose. Something primal for sure. Anyway the more the guy talked of how good the meat was, the more I bought. Before long I had an armload and noticed Sharon, out of the corner of my eye, talking to a women in the back of the store. I wandered over to show off my purchases but they were engaged in the finer points of the homemade macaroni and cheese offered in the display case. Soon, her husband joined us and he, as it turned out, was the same guy at the meat counter. We soon were exchanging backgrounds and travel stories. We parted company after swapping email addresses and headed for our respective homes and I again realized how many gracious and interesting people that have come into our lives. It was another good day.

Hot Springs Arkansas

Whew... what a ride south from Branson. I now know of a new place to hold the next grand prix race. Up, down and around hills and hairpin turns in a 65ft, 19 ton ,ten wheel, two vehicle package that has it's own toilet. The view from the drivers seat is sort of like tunnel vision. There is no room to allow the eyes to wander about enjoying the spectacular scenery. I think something more like a mule might be more fitting the next time I go this way.

Shortly before prying my whitened knuckles off the steering wheel after the 5+ hour ordeal, someone was standing near the entrance to our KOA stop frantically waving me to stop. I brought the behemoth to a halt and the guy said 'you're dragging something under your rig'. I asked if it was still alive and he said it was some sort of pipe. Relieved that I had not drug some oldster who had wandered into my path while in Branson, I discovered that the exhaust pipe on the diesel furnace has broken loose. Luckily there was a mobile repair service already working on a rig at the park and he agreed to look at it. It appears to be a minor fix however having said that, most of the time any repair people touch the rig it's ten times more than I estimate. Wanderlust has a price. I called Monaco for assistance and they're working on a solution with AquaHot, the company who manufactures the furnace. Should know more tomorrow. Unfortunately our plans to go diamond hunting may be delayed a day.

The park is nicely laid out. Rolling hills with lots of trees decked out in autumn colors. The neighbors appear to be a mixed lot. Single women in a Class C on one side spending a lot of time using her laptop and about 5 units on the right side filled with good ole boy stock car racing fans. Since they're close to my age, they've slowed downed to a couple of beers and a brat then a slug of Metamucil then off to bed. Apparently there is a race track nearby and they are getting ready for next weekends festivities.

Depending on the repairman and the weather, we may end up touring Hot Springs and maybe getting Sharon into one of the mineral springs to help with her sore back. She also wants to go to the Billy Clinton library for some unknown reason. All I interested in is seeing the famous blue dress. Suppose I'll be disappointed?

As these days go by and we continue to see what a privilege it is to taking a trip like this, we still think of our friends and family back home and hope that through this blog, all of you can share in our experiences.

If you're a first time Phil & Sharon BLOG reader

Just in case you're new to blogs, the column to the right of the photos and commentary (where this is located) is the running stories we have written as this trip progresses. If you want to read the first entry you will need to start at the bottom of the list and work up if you need (want) to catch up. That means the latest comments/photos are always on the top of the column. Or just arrow down in the column to the end (could be several pages) to the first entry.

Also don't forget...you can double click on any photo for an enlarged view. But beware...the extra detail might not be good for either your eyes or young impressionable children.

The blog also has the ability for our readers to comment on what they have read. As a matter-of-fact the whole world can see these words and photos and some will probably either not like them or take exception in some way. We'll apologize in advance to any that are offended.

Since this is also our first blog, we are learning as well and will surely misspell, mis-punctuate, and just plain miss the boat on how we've told the story. Not to worry as we'll probably tell the story a different the next time we see you anyway. We'll also try to keep things in some sort of order but since we occasional want to share with you something that earlier slipped our mine, we just throw it in whenever we need to.

We're headed off to Hot Springs Arkansas in the morning (Monday 12th). We'll use that KOA as our base camp for our great diamond hunting adventure at the Crater of Diamonds National Park. Recent multi-carat stones have been recently found so our enthusiasm is high in spite of the 0% chance of repeating others good fortune. Hope springs eternal...

Titanic

TITANIC

I was just a little skeptical about going to this 'show', but as it turned out it, was one the highlights of our stop here in Branson. Not a typical stage production but a collection of Titanic memorabilia and historical documents that focused on the crew and passengers and the time line from the laying of the keel to the first images of ship at the bottom of the Atlantic.
The staff we so knowledgeable about every aspect of the ship and the souls on board. They were dressed in uniforms of the ships staff and available for questions any time. We took about 2 hours to walk through the exhibit but could have easily spent more time there. If there was a down side it was they did not allow photos to be taken.

Branson's American Bandstand

Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater. Glitzy place with a great collection of 1957 vintage cars, old rock and roll headliners and a resturant that serves very marginal food.

Branson November 11th

Official sample taster.
One of many craft and specialty shops around Branson. Sharon and I managed to try a little of everything in this shop. Cheese spreads, dips, coffees, spiced drinks and other good stuff. This dealer was next to a shop that made dulcimers and guitars. Unfortunately the workers had already gone home but left much of their finished and almost finished work to look over. Lots of quilts and blown glass were in adjacent shops but far too much to see.
Tom and Hilda Wood of Baton Rouge. Celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary in Branson. He recited a poem to us he wrote for his bride and gave us a card with the Rules for a Happy Marriage" . Among them was....
"Make time to have fun together
You are never too old to play
Remember to say "I love you"
At least once or twice a day"
Tom was a Korean War Navy Vet who was a radioman on a landing craft in the first wave of the invasion of Enchon . Filled with many stories but his most favorite was any that included his wife whom was still very much in love with. Quite a couple we were lucky to have met.

This is the real Branson....Miles of neon and flashing lights, signs that rival Las Vegas but with some of the most courteous people we've met so far on our trip. Three days here and did not see a single police officer on the street. Finally saw one this evening in a squad car. Driving in the city requires lots of patience and quick reaction times and good brakes.We enjoyed a nice dinner at Landy's Seafood Restaurant. Waitress was pleasant but was from a town named Blue Eye. When asked how the town got its name she replied that the mailman apparently had blue eyes. Go figure.

Springfield Illinois state capitol building.
Beautiful monument where Lincoln is buried.
Original train station in the town of my fathers birthplace and where my grandparents Anton and Elizabeth Madarasz (even though on the wedding license it's spelled 'Lizzie') were married. Both grandparents probably arrived (separately) here at the turn of the last century where Anton later worked for the Madison coal company and then the Illinois Central Railroad.

Little remains of the mine as is it now closed, and the town has shrunk from its peak in the late twenties of around 3500 souls to its present day 1000. Talked with several older town folks who filled in some detail about the town had not known.

For those you you who served in the military these should look familar. I took these at Ft Leonardwood Missouri. I was stationed here in 1966. The place had change so much I hardly recognized it. These buildings were just like the ones I stayed in while at Ft. Knox in 1965 are are some of the last examples left at the post.
Typical sleeping arrangements. Not exactly a Serta Sleeper for sure.
If modesty was an issue then you had better had left for Canada before the draft. This was multi-tasking at its earliest. To the left, not in the photo were the sinks for shaving and the open showers.
I spent a bit of my early boot camp days learning the finer points of using one of these. Never did get it quite right.

All alone in Lebanon MO

Top Gun ?

Sharon trying out an F4 Phantom fighter at Grissom Air Museum somewhere north of Indianapolis. She says ... "it gets to the mall in a hurry... but tough to park".

On the backroads

Stumbled across this little air museum on a secondary road heaing south to Indianapolis. Not as spectacular as the Dayton museum but interesting.

In the beginning...

Don't let anyone fool you...retirement is all it's cracked up to be. At least that what we think so far. With great going-away parties from our children and our extended families from our home town and my college days, we're off on a six month journey that should take us through some fifteen states. Our trusty (we hope) motor home is ready for the road and should keep us safe.
Sharon and I will share the duties of writing and photographing for this blog and hope you enjoy our efforts. I also have to admit that I stole the title of this blog from a former co-worker (who probably got it from somewhere else) but it fits and I'm grateful...thanks Tim.

We began our trip with a stop in Holland for some minor service on the coaches heating system. With just a step or two ahead of possible snow flurries and much colder weather, we decided to make sure we had enough heat on board in case the weather turned sour faster than we could drive south. We scheduled our first stop on the south side of Indianapolis. Why there? Well I really don't know other than it's a neat city and it's about 250 miles from my last stop. Being that we're in no hurry, our plan is to start each day around 9am and finish around 3pm so that should give us enough time to travel the allotted distance.

Our slow pace did allow us to stop at the Grissom Air Museum somewhere north of Indianapolis.
Certainly not the caliber of the Dayton Air Museum but interesting anyway. I even got Sharon into the drivers seat of a F4 Phantom. They had a B-17, B-58, C-47, F-14 and several others piston engine craft.

After finding our camp in Indianapolis and setting up, we enjoyed a very nice Italian dinner at a little family owned restaurant south of town celebrating my 62nd birthday. The next morning we unhooked the tow car and headed to the city only to run into bumper-to-bumper traffic. It seems that the Colts were playing a big home game (they lost) and tied up most of the downtown area. As we tend to roam around with no particular destination, I soon recognized familiar territory not long after heading west from the city. The Indianapolis Speedway sign appeared and I decided to show Sharon the track. We found our way inside the track at the museum and booked a ride around the track on a short bus. Not exactly the racing steed I'd like but the only thing they'll let you out there in. Though we were rolling along at a brisk 15 mph pace our pulses quickened as we picked up a 30 mph tail wind coming out of turn 4. A thrill to be there anyway. The thought of doing 230+ on the straights and going into the turns at nearly 200 seems impossible.

Our next stop was Springfield Illinois. We booked a couple of nights at Mr. Lincoln's RV park located near the downtown area. I wanted to visit the Springfield area to do some research on my father's family. His folks were married and he was born in a small town (Divernon) just south of Springfield. Little information was available but the trip to Divernon and spending time with some of the town's older citizens was interesting and entertaining. While in Springfield we also finally figured out who was buried in Lincoln's tomb.

While driving through the countryside of both central Indiana and southern Illinois it struck me as to the vast amount of farm land in use. Mile after mile of neatly tilled soil waiting for winter snows. Some might say boring but to me but it imparts a sense of security and tradition. I do however miss the Burma Shave signs.

As we struggled through the hideous traffic in East St. Louis we manged to lose one the new hubcaps while crossing the Mississippi river. Roads as bad as in Michigan.

We arrived at our KOA camp in Lebanon Missouri. Like the last stop, the camp was quite empty with only 3 others staying. The camp was right next to I44 so it will be easy to get going Friday morning for the Branson. Today was another nostalgia trip for me as we spent a couple hours at my old Army base Ft. Leonardwood (see photos on a later entry). Went to the museum and toured some of the old barracks that were preserved. I even took a ride to the camp golf course to see if that wicked 600 yard par 5 was still in place. It was and looked just as intimidating. 41 years had not changed much other than the trees had grown, almost every building on post had been torn down and the place looked like a small modern city.
From there we headed for another old haunt, Lake of the Ozarks. About a hour north of the Fort it was a remote, sparsely populated tourist town with about 20 stores and bars. The big attraction for us Army guys was the three decker boats that went out on the lake on the weekends complete with live bands and lots of beer and girls. The boat were still there, and maybe even the girls... but they place had grown to a scale like Traverse City only larger. If I had only the mind to buy land there 41 years ago.

We only have a short 2 hour drive to Branson Friday so we should have a restful, lay-back sorta of day.