Boat Cruise/Sunday in Branson (Sat. night & Sun.)

To pick up where I left off, we did the dinner cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle paddle wheeler last night, and it was very entertaining.   There was a good crowd and it took just a little while to board.

 A nice, relaxing evening, good food, and great entertainment, which included a comedian/magician/MC (Christopher James), and a very talented aerial violinist/pianist/vocalist/acrobat (Janice Martin) who did an amazing act with her violin while climbing the silks (instead of ropes) hanging from the ceiling.  There was also a young male group of 5 (The ShowMen) that sang a wide variety of songs and also served as waiters.  All in all, a very enjoyable evening.

Sunday it rained most of the day, and we took the day off.  We read, watched the race, and rested until it was time to go into town for our show, which was The Legends in Concert.  It was good, covered a variety of music interests -- Johnny Cash, Celine Dion, the Blue Bros., the Temptations, and Elvis.  Each act had 4-5 songs, and Elvis had a few more than that, including audience requests.  They all were very good. We weren't familiar with Celine Dion or the Blue Bros., except recognizing their names, but they did a good show too.  A lot of the theaters are dark on Sundays so this one had a good crowd last night.

One more day here, then we hit the road Tuesday morning.

First 2 days in Branson (Thurs./Fri.)

We knew we had some miles to make today if we were going to make Branson before too late.  We want to stay at Table Rock State Park, and when I called, they told me it was first-come, first-serve (I later learned that they take reservations up to 48 hours ahead, but it was only about 24 hours out when I called).  So we were on the road by 9:20 a.m., looking for fuel.  We wanted to wait until we got into Missouri to fuel because gas was cheaper here than in Indiana or Illinois.  We were below 1/4 tank, which we don't like to run that low, but we found fuel for $3.499, and we needed a lot -- $197.77 worth! (56.52 gallons).   We took a wrong turn when we crossed the bridge and had to go north a few blocks before we got turned around, but other than that, we got out of St. Louis fairly easily.

Other than the Mississippi River and the Arch, it was just a pretty drive through Missouri green hill country.

 We did pass a moving truck loaded with a pick-up, which was loaded with a riding lawn mower. 

We got to the campground just before 3:00, after fueling again in Springfield, Mo., when Joe spotted gas price at $3.399.  We were lucky because we got the last full hook-up campsite available.  Good thing Joe put the pedal to the metal today.  He put in 273 miles today.  This campground is right on Table Rock Lake.  We had scoped it out when we were here 2 years ago and knew we wanted to stay here if we ever made it back to Branson.  It's a little bit of a drive into town, but the campground is very nice, and the price was right ($26/night).  There were a few other empty campsites (probably being held on reserve), but it filled up completely by the Friday night.

We settled in and I called the ticket broker we used last time and got on their web site to see what shows were available.  We had thought we would not go to anything tonight, but once we started looking at the shows, we succumbed and booked reservations to the Clay Cooper show, which was very entertaining.

Friday we had an afternoon show, "Rock, Roll and Reminisce,"  which of course was 60s music, our favorite.  We really enjoyed this show.  After the show, we drove downtown and walked into some of the shops.  For dinner we decided to take Jim's recommendation and go to Mel's Hard Luck Diner, where the waiters and waitresses also sang.  While we were in here, a guy came by handing out coupons for his show, " the Doug Gabriel show, at 8:00 p.m., so we just decided we might as well take that one in too.  It was very good, had several members of his family involved, and of course there was some audience involvement.  For this one, Joe ended up on stage as a member of the horn section (he was one of 3 kazoo players).  Joe's kazoo was defective, imagine that.  But he ended up with an autographed kazoo as a souvenier.  I didn't take my camera into the theater this time, so I had to copy these photos from emails the wife of the other male kazoo player took (she had a better seat than I did so her phone pix were better than mine).



Anyhow, that was fun, and it was a great show.  We found our way back to the RV in the [very] dark, but didn't sleep well.  We had a 10:00 a.m. show on Saturday morning so we were on the move early.  Traffic here is a lot like Gatlinburg, TN -- the main street just crawls.  This morning's show was the "Good Ole Boys," and was the same guys who did our first show.  We made a Walmart stop for some groceries when we left the show, then headed back to the RV and took naps.  We still have another show today, the "Showboat" dinner show at 8:00 p.m. (see why we took naps). 

It stormed during the night and was raining when we headed into town this mornng, but it stopped while we were in the show and now it is just very hot -- probably in the 90s.  We are thinking the boat ride (paddle boat) should be very enjoyable at sunset.

Ft. Wayne to E. St. Louis (Wed.)

Forgot a couple things I meant to post yesterday.  On Monday, Lucille, for some reason, did not put her hearing aids in, and while we were sitting out on the porch watching the kids play, Joe told her she needed to go inside and put her hearing aids in.  She immediately responded, "why, I can see them [the kids playing] pretty good."  We didn't quite compute that one!

The restaurant we went to last night had a very nice lake in the back, and two beautiful white swans apparently live there year-round.  You can eat on the patio and watch the swans and ducks, but we didn't do that.  (Joe never wants to eat outside, I think it comes from all his years of eating his lunch in the shade of the truck at work.)  

Our days in Ft. Wayne were full and went very quickly.  Joe intended to get the oil changed in the Explorer and also get it washed, but he didn't get worked in, nor did I get to the grocery store.  Nevertheless, it was time to leave on Wednesday.

I had intended to wake Joe up at 8:00 a.m., but I slept until 8:15 so we were off schedule from the beginning.  But we did get on the road about 9:20, Joe dumped our tanks while I drove over to McDonalds for breakfast sandwiches and sodas.  We watched the price of gas jump dramatically, and Jim had warned us that is what usually happens when their local station drops it suddenly a few cents.  But about an hour of of town, Joe spotted a station that hadn't got their prices raised yet, so he took advantage of that ($3.389).  We were finally, FINALLY, heading toward home.  Our GPS Lucille showed that we were going SOUTHWEST.

We were traveling in style, with Lori's roses and a Vincennes watermelon. I tried a couple of different places for the flowers to ride, but finally decided the sink was the safest.  Life is good.

Joe mentioned that he needed to use the bathroom, so I volunteered to drive for a while.  I was going to switch with him at the next stoplight, but suddenly we heard a strange thump and Joe felt something that wasn't quite right, so we pulled off the road to investigate.  PROBLEM.  The return spring on the front leveling jack had broken again, and the foot of the leveling jack had fallen off when the spring broke.  Joe said we had to have that foot (we actually have spare springs with us), so after debating about unhooking the car, he decided just to turn the motorhome around and backtrack a mile or so (we were on a 4-lane highway at this point).  So that's what we did.  Fortunately, he spotted the foot in the middle of the highway, so he pulled over and I ran out and grabbed it while he crawled underneath the RV and took the second spring off.  After we got that taken care of, he still needed to go to the bathroom, so I took over driving for the next 60+ miles, through road construction, several small towns, misty rain, and the highway changed back to 2-lane (I even passed a car while I drove on the 4-lane).  But I turned the wheel back over to him at just the right time, because we ran into a detour that took us about 21 miles out of the way, and the county roads were much narrower than the highway we had been on.
 

We took U.S. 24 across Indiana to Illinois 54, then at Springfield we picked up I-55 into E. St. Louis.  We know our gas mileage isn't as good because of all the small towns and lower speed limits, and it takes longer, when we use U.S. or state highways rather than the interstates, but we get to see so much more of the countryside and Joe really enjoys looking at all the crops.  We are definitely in the farm belt, and came upon more than one wide load.  It's always interesting to see what is being moved down the highway.  This was a dump bed for the trucks they use in mines.   We saw these in use in the copper mine in Utah a few years ago.

With our little mechanical problem and the detour, it made for a long day.  We arrived in E. St. Louis about 6:30 p.m., which is 5:30 local time now, so we gained an hour.  Joe, and I, together drove 401 miles.  As soon as we got parked, we had to replace that spring, which takes all the strength we have together.  Joe crawled under the RV, and I tried to help apply pressure from the outside.  After several attempts, and a variety of tools, we finally were successful.  Joe exerts 95% of the pressure, and I throw in about 5% to get the foot back on the hydraulic jack.  It only took about 20 minutes, but we were both hot and tired when we got it done.  After a short rest, while he took a shower I fixed dinner, using some of our Indiana produce.  Then we went over to the casino for a couple hours (yes, we are at the Casino Queen in E. St. Louis again).  Just as we were about to leave, on my last pull of the slot machine, and with 21 cents left of my gambling money, I hit a jackpot and won $97.70, so we left there happy.  Winners finally (I think we came out about $20 ahead for the night, but we will take it.)

The weather was a mixture of clouds, misty rain and finally sunshine. but it was in the 70s all day.  It was nice not to have the air conditioner on much as we drove.   Tomorrow we are going to try to make Branson, Missouri!

Visit from Vincennes Nieces (Mon.-Tues.)

Monday we were blessed with a visit from some of our Vincennes relatives.  Rachelle drove up with Jaclyn and their 4 kids, to see us and to see Grandma whom they have all missed since she has been staying with Dixie.  Lucky for us, they brought Knox County produce with them -- tomatoes (none better), corn on the cob, cantaloupes, watermelons and fresh peaches.  Dixie had fixed a great lunch of ham and beans for her brother Joe, and when the produce arrived, she whipped up a great dinner with all this produce.  We brought in chicken, but the rest was Dixie's doing (she retired from cooking when she retired from nursing, so this was above and beyond).  She even bought a birthday cake for Clayton so Grandma and Uncle Joe could share in his birthday since we missed his party on Saturday (he said, "Grandma never misses a party.")  Angie brought Sonia over to play with the girls and she stayed for dinner, but had to leave immediately after so she could get some sleep before her nursing shift started at 3:00 a.m. on Monday.  Lori also stopped by a couple times, and joined us for dinner.  She even brought me and Joe a beautiful bouquet of a dozen roses to travel with.

So we got to spend some more front-porch time with all of them, while Jaclyn and Adalyn helped Dixie shuck the corn.

It was a nice day, a little cloudy, but Joe and I wore our jeans all day.  The kids played outside, burning up some energy after their 4 1/2 hour ride.

 A little jump rope.

 Jayden, a bit unhappy.  He got hit by a ball shortly before this.

 Sonia, one busy gal.

Mallory, the fashion princess.














Eventually, the girls took the kids back to the motel for swimming.  It was not very warm today, and the water was freezing (apparently not a heated pool), but they braved the water for a little while, until they came out shivering.

Adalyn tried out some goggles for a while, but she never did get her hair wet.  Mallory and Adalyn were the heartiest, they stayed in the water longer than the other kids.

When the kids started turning blue, Lori mercifully offered to take them to her house to play ping pong, and give Rachelle and Jaclyn a tour of her house, so Joe and I headed back to the RV for the night.

Tuesday morning we got to Dixie's to find Lucille already on the front porch, waiting for her fans to show up.  She thought the girls would have to check out of the motel by 8:00 a.m., so she got up early.  However, they didn't get over there until almost 11:00, just after Joe and I showed up.  It was another lovely day (Joe and I didn't wear our jeans today), so we spent more quality time on the porch.  Rachelle introduced us to another time-waster on the SmartPhone -- "Dice Buddies" (same as yahtzee), which is just what we needed.  Dixie fed us lunch again, and Lucille mentioned a couple of times that maybe she should ride back to Vincennes with the girls, but Dixie managed to convince her to stay for another few days.  Goodbyes were said, and they headed south about 3:30.

I promised Dixie that we would eat out Tuesday night for dinner, after her marathon cooking this week, so we eventually made our dinner plans.  Dixie thought Lucille might enjoy stopping by the RV to see the campground, so we went on over and they followed shortly thereafter.  We showed Lucille the baby pictures and videos on the computer screen (thought it might be easier to see than the smartphones or the Notebook), and we even showed her the video of Andrew rolling over, with sound effects.  We had a nice dinner at Triangle Park, one of their local favorites, and then said our goodbyes.  We intend to pull out first thing in the morning (before Dixie and Lucille even are out of bed, hopefully), so this was our last visit for a while.  We really enjoyed our time here in Ft. Wayne, and especially appreciate Rachelle and Jaclyn driving up so we got to see them again.  They arrived back in Vincennes around 10:00 p.m. (after stopping in Indianapolis for a short visit with Rachelle's grandfather), so it was a quick trip and lots of miles for them. 

It was great visiting with everyone and seeing first-hand that Lucille is on the mend from her bronchitis.  Even though we had to chase her down clear to Ft. Wayne, it is always a blessing to get to spend time with her.  But it is time for us to head west, and when we leave here tomorrow, we will finally be heading toward home.  And would you believe -- gas prices jumped almost 40 cents today in Ft. Wayne, from $3.36 to $3.75.  How do they know when we are ready to hit the road???????

At the Croxtons (Sat.-Sun.)

Saturday was a lovely day, and we spent several hours on the front porch just enjoying the weather.  It was probably the nicest day we have had all summer.

Joe spent some time trying to convince Dixie that she needed to become somewhat computer literate, but I'm not sure how much progress he made.  Jim is in the market for a new laptop, so maybe that will be the trigger, but he probably won't buy that until after we leave.

Joe has been bringing his Notebook over to show his mother the pictures of Andrew that we have downloaded, so John and Bridgette -- keep those pictures coming.

Rick and Lori graciously invited us all over to their house for dinner, and she made her famous turkey burgers (delicious).  We sat out on their screened-in back porch for a while until it got too cool.  They have a beautiful back yard, but it doesn't get much sunshine.

Dan and Zach happened to be home, and Zach played a song he had recorded at music camp.  Both boys work as lifeguards at the Y and are in college now, so their summer is about over.

Sunday morning we met Jim at church, but Lucille wasn't feeling up to attending so Dixie stayed home with her.  We had lunch with some of their church friends (their normal weekly outing), then spent the afternoon at their house.  Joe got to watch the race.  Angie and Tim stopped by with Olivia, Xavier, and Sonia, so we had a nice visit with them.  The kids were playing ball out in the front yard, and it brought back memories of when John and Angie were playing out there and he broke his arm (his second arm, his other arm was already in a cast from a break 3 weeks early).  That would have been November 1987, if anyone wonders.  Fortunately, no bones were broken today.

Rick and Lori wanted to stop by the RV and get a tour -- they (especially Rick) hope to do some RVing in a few years.  We met them at our campground and spent some time educating them on the things to look for.  Our campground is located on H.W. Baals Drive (pronounced "balls").  Jim told us that Harry Baals was mayor when he was growing up, and was jokingly referred to as "fuzzy nuts."

That was a cruel set of parents who named that kid!

We had intended to go back over to the house but it got late so we decided to call it a night.  We are hoping everyone gets a good night's sleep tonight. It was cool all day, we got the jeans back out.   It was 66 degrees when we went to bed, and we had to kick the furnace on.  It got down in the 50s Sunday night and I did hear the furnace run a few times.  Nice.  Very nice.

Heading North (Thurs.-Fri.)

Thursday:  We pulled out of our very nice Nashville campground about 10:15  after doing a few chores.  Joe had a large bird deposit on his windshield, so he got the ladder down and cleaned windows.  I vacuumed while he was outside complaining, then we pulled in our slides and headed to Ft. Wayne.  We traveled interstate highways today, thinking maybe we would stop for the night around Columbus, Indiana (that seemed about halfway), but Joe just kept driving, and we ended up in Ft. Wayne about 6:30 p.m.  Traffic around Louisville and Indianapolis slowed him down a bit, and there were lots and lots of semis on the road, but he tried to keep it around 70 mph and we rolled.  He found a White Castle a little south of Louisville, so that was our lunch.  We fueled in Whiteland, Indiana for $3.529, and the price got worse after that.   The Indiana highways could use a little Obama money, they are pretty rough.  Joe had the CB on, and even the truckers were complaining to each other about these roads.

After we got set up, we went out for dinner but then we called it a night.  We are at the Johnny Appleseed campground in Ft. Wayne, a nice woodsy place right on the St. Joseph river, and only about 10 miles or so from Jim and Dixie's. They have electric and water at the sites, but apparently it took some engineering to provide the water hookups.  But we give them credit, they got'er done.

Friday:   It was really nice when we got here last night, in the 70s and low humidity.  When I got up Friday morning, it was 66, expecting a high of 80.  That sounds good to us. I walked over to the river, waiting for Joe to get up.  The river seemed pretty low, but it is a nice setting here.

We stopped for a breakfast sandwich, then got over to the Croxtons.  Dixie had just finished helping Lucille with her bath, so Mom was all cleaned up for Baby Joe.  Lucille did mention that Dixie scrubbed pretty hard, and also that she had taken a shower by herself the other day, just so we knew.  She immediately wanted to know all about the baby, so Joe sat her down at the table and got out his Notebook so he could bring up the pictures that have been posted online.

Even as poor as her eyesight is, she still sees some Froeschke in Andrew.  Joe pointed out his hairline, so we know that is a family tradition being passed on down.

Dixie has developed a passion for gardening, and her yard really shows it.  When I walked out the front door, I was engulfed with the wonderful smells of her flowers.  She has really done a beautiful job of landscaping, and the flowers go all around the house and even into the flower bed that used to be a vegetable garden in back.

Eventually we all gravitated to the front porch and just enjoyed visiting and soaking up the beautiful day.  We went down to a coney island hotdog place for lunch, and after a trip to the grocery store, we had a delicious ham dinner that Dixie had prepared.  We ended the evening playing some Mexican train, then finally headed back to the campground.

Lucille is still coughing quite a bit, although it is probably not as hard a cough as it was earlier.  She has been on medication for bronchitis for a couple weeks, so we are all hoping she is on the mend.