Summer Update – Part III

So I’ve told you all about our efforts to fish and all the RV problems. It’s time for what else we’ve been doing.

Our weather has been very hot and very dry. I think most every day of the past month (July) has been at least 100 degrees. We have an outdoor thermometer and can watch the real temps during the day. It’s oppressive. Outdoor activity is almost non-existent. We have been able to spend a few early evenings outside on days when it isn’t quite so hot and there is a consistent breeze.

When we must stay indoors, we’ve played a lot of Wii golf and bowling. We’ve had our ups and downs with those games, but have enjoyed that quite a bit. We also play cards some, but not as much.

We tend to go out in the mornings, if we go out at all. As you know we’ve done some fishing with very limited success. We do our shopping and errands in the morning and then have lunch somewhere while we’re out and about.

We’ve had some really good meals, too. Everything from Italian to Thai, from Mexican to Irish, and a couple trips to Chili’s. (We discovered a great sandwich there – the California Club. Yum!) But yesterday, we stumbled onto “the meal of the summer”. OMG! Good!

As part of our Coast to Coast membership, we have access to the Entertainment Book coupons throughout the country. Julian decided to check on what was available in Springfield since we were planning to go up there on a couple of errands. We found a place called “Trolley’s” and printed the coupon. But when we drove by, it was some other named restaurant. So I called the number. (We’ve been sent to closed restaurants before.) Yes, they were opened with a new name and menu and yes, they still honored the coupon. So we went in.

The ambiance was nothing special, though nice. Shortly after we ordered our drinks, they brought us a small sampling of beans. Strange, you say? Yeah, maybe… but they were awesome! Then we ordered our “sammiches”. It’s a 3-step process. You choose your meat from chicken, pork, beef, boneless ribs, or burnt ends. Then you choose your style – I had ribs with bourbon glaze and cheese and onion rings on it – Julian had burnt ends with a mushroom concoction. Lastly, you choose your side – we both ordered home made potato chips. When we started in on our food, we thought we were in heaven. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed it. So if you are ever in Springfield, MO, go downtown to “Ry-Mac’s Rub N Pub”. You won’t be disappointed.

We’ve been out to “Ride the Ducks” twice since being here. Our first trip took us through historic Branson and to the College of the Ozarks in Hollister. This college is also known as Hard Work U – all students literally work their way through this school, putting in at least 16 hours per week above their classes and studies!

The campus was very pretty, very well kept. We’re planning to go there tomorrow for Sunday Brunch on campus. Much of the food is grown on site, so it should be an interesting experience.

If you are familiar with the “Ducks”, you always go into the local water. So after the city tour, we splashed into Lake Taneycomo. And I do mean splashed – we got wet! (It’s been so hot, though, that we really didn’t mind.)

Once off the Duck, we walked up and down Branson Landing, a new shopping area right on the lake. We had a very light lunch and then splurged on the biggest single dip ice cream cones I’ve ever seen.

Our second trip on the “Ducks” took us through the entertainment district. We crossed Table Rock Dam and then we splashed down into Table Rock Lake. And I do mean splashed! We were in the very back of the Duck and got a pretty serious back splash when we hit the water.

After a quick spin on the lake, we drove up to a clearing where they had a lot of old military vehicles on display, including an original duck used in WWII. The only picture I took was of this medical truck. They told us that this exact vehicle was used in the M*A*S*H TV show.

We haven’t done any of the shows here. A few years ago, we were here in December with a Good Sam group. We saw most of the big names then, including Andy Williams and Yakov Smirnov. We looked over the list and nothing jumped out at us, even though we know we would enjoy most any of the shows.

We’ve taken several drives to see the area. It’s very pretty here, even though the drought has the grasses pretty burned up. While driving around, we found two campgrounds that we are planning to spend a little time at before leaving the area. One I’ve mentioned is on Lake Taneycomo called Cooper Creek Resort & Campground. We’ll be able to fish for trout while there, which should be fun. The second is Mill Creek, which is a state park right on Table Rock Lake. Our site (#40) is parallel to the water and we can walk right down to the lake to fish. We’re hoping for cooler weather while there so we can sit outside more.

We’ve enjoyed the game room here at the campground. We have played pool in there a couple of times. It’s not a very good table, but I look at that as an equalizer against my very talented, pool shark of a husband! It’s fun and indoors with air conditioning, so that works.

We drove to Hollister, to the Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks for a Sunday brunch. (Check out the link to see the cool building.) The food was very good, especially the desserts (Oreo Butter Cake = to die for). The staff (all students) were so friendly and helpful. I’d recommend having a meal there when in the area.

We hang around the coach quite a bit. So there’s always time for reading books, napping, whatever we feel like in the afternoons.  I’ve been making cards – I’m doing a craft show in early November. We’ve been watching the Olympics some – go Team USA. And then there’s all the normal stuff: laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning and the like. I had planned to do some knitting, but my tendonitis just won’t allow it. (I’m very seriously planning on getting a shot when we get home.)

We’re having visitors tomorrow. My brother and his wife will be here from Lincoln, NE. It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen them and we’re looking forward to a great visit.

We won’t have wi-fi for the four days we’re at Mill Creek. And once we leave there, we’ll be heading back towards Florida with an ETA of August 27.

That’s all the news for right now. You are pretty caught up with our summer if you’ve read this and the last 2 posts.

Happy trails!