Branson, Missouri

We stayed at a wonderful campground called Branson Shenanigans RV Park in the heart of Branson. It was within walking distance of several shows and the main strip. The campground was in a forest setting and you could not see any of the city that surrounded the campground. There was a tree blooming just outside our door.

We went to see Tony Roi and the Elvis Experience and yes he was an Elvis impersonator with the looks, the moves and the voice. It was one of the best performances that Joe and I have seen. There were so many different shows that it was really hard to pick.

We also went to Table Rock Lake which is very near Branson. We took the dogs on a walk along the Table Rock Lakeshore trail and had a picnic lunch there too.

Next stop will be Colorado Springs.

GRAND OLE OPRY

We attended the Grand Ole Opry on Friday night. The Opry is the longest running live radio show in America. The Opry was originally held in the Tom Ryman Auditorium, and moved to the current building in 1976. One circular section of the original wood floor was moved from the Ryman Auditorium and inlayed in the current stage floor. As Vince Gill explained during the preshow, this was to insure the circle of great performances would not be broken. The live radio show included the commercials just as they were aired on 650 AM and can be heard in 38 states and parts of Canada. The show is a four half hour segments with a host for each segment. The host preforms during the segment and introduces the other performers.

John Conlee was host for: Bobby Osborn & Rocky Top X-Press, and Lee Brice.
Riders In The Sky were hosts for: Jean Shepard, and Del McCoury Band.
Mike Snider was host for: Jan Howard, Jack Greene, and Holly Williams.
Vince Gill was host for the final segment: The Whites, and The Time Jumpers.





YES, Holly Williams is the granddaughter of Hank Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and brother of Hank Williams III. She is a great singer and is pictured on stage.



Vince Gill played the guitar with the The Time Jumpers to close the evening show.

You can get additioanl information on the Grand Ole Opry at the web site: www.opry.com

What are the Odds?

FCRV stands for Family Campers & RVer's. Their motto is "Where strangers become friends and friends become family". Please understand that at no time was plans of any kind discussed. We met 3 families at the first dinner of the rally. They had a marble game and Joe & I decided to learn how to play it. After the second dinner we decided to play the game again. At that time George & Betty asked us if we knew Don & Kay McDermed out of Colorado Springs that we met at New Braunfels? Now the world is getting a little smaller.

After the rally we went to Alanta, GA for the night then on to Nashville, TN. We were headed for a KOA, but came across a campground called Two Rivers and decided to stop there instead. Two days later guess who stopped at the same campground and parked 1 rig away from us? The other 2 couples from the rally. They are Chris & Warren and Brenda & Wayne and they had just come from spending a couple of nights in Savannah, GA. They had one of the games that we just learned, so of course we sat out one evening and played it. What are the odds?

We had gotten tickets to go to the Grand Ole Opry for Friday night with shuttle service when we got here. They asked if we were going to the Grand Ole Opry and we said yes. They had gotten their tickets for Friday night when they got here including the shuttle service. What are the odds?

We were outside of the Grand Ole Opry and we starting asking where everyone were seated. If you guessed we were seated together, you would be correct. Again what are the odds?? Unbelieveable!!

Nashville Tour

On our first full day in Nashville we took a local tour buss through downtown and the subdivisions where some of the stars live. Downtown we had a stop at the Tom Ryman Auditorium.

Thomas Green Ryman a prominent riverboat captain and Nashville businessman, Tom Ryman was known for his generous contributions of time and money to the construction of the Union Gospel Tabernacle. In 1904 the Tabernacle was renamed the Ryman Auditorium in his honor. The Ryman Auditorium is used form many shows and concerts. Sandi is standing by the statue and monument in front of the Auditorium. The sculptor was Steve Shields.




This is a picture of the Auditorium Lobby.










The tour also took us through some of the homes of the stars, some of these make Cherry Hills in the Denver area look like starter homes.




Friday night we have tickets to the "Grand Ole Opry".

Family Campers & RVer's Retiree Rally

We spent the last week at the Ladson Exchange Park Fairgrounds in Ladson, South Carolina. Ladson is northwest of Charleston. There were over 300 RVer's including at least 2 tenters from as far away as Canada and there were 10 families from Colorado at this retiree rally. We spent the time doing things like playing games of all sorts, programs, eating, evening entertainment and meeting lots of new people. The rally had two evening dinners included, also a red hat luncheon and these were all catered by a local restaurant. The entertainment included gospel singers, a blue grass group, an Elvis impersonator and our own FCRV talent show. The rally was a week long and ended with a international parade of states and provinces that had attended the rally. Each state or province would parade across the stage and recited a cheer or song representing their state or province while making as much noise as possible. It was definitely a noise parade. A person had a really hard time hearing anything else since it was indoors. And of course that is the time that Tiffany called from Samoa. I had to exit the building to hear her and she opted to call back on Monday night.

We had a very good time and met famlies from Colorado, Canada and Illinois. I do believe that we will be doing this again next year which will be in Canton, Texas in March 2011.

Next stop is Nashville, Tennesse.

Augusta, Georgia

We spent a few days in Augusta, Georgia. We got to see a little of Augusta before the big event "The Masters". We visited Sandi's Aunt Nina and Uncle Wally who live in the town of Modoc, South Carolina which is not far from Augusta across the Savannah River. Modoc boosts a convience store, a gas station, post office and a soon to be paved road to the J. Strom Thurmond Lake. Nina & Wally gave us a guided tour of downtown Augusta including where the Masters will be played next month. It is good that we will be gone before the golf crowd comes to Augusta. Neither Joe nor I play golf but I like to watch it a little on TV but not get out there and actually swing a club.

Next stop is the FCRV Retiree Rally in Ladson, South Carolina which is just outside of Charleston.

Savannah, GA

I took the dogs for a walking tour through some of the downtown parks in Savannah. They are called "squares" and are located about every four blocks, and are surrounded by colonial houses and buildings. The squares have a lot of trees and spanish moss shading the walkways.

Back on Tybee Island we went to a restaurant called "The Crab Shack" they supposedly had 78 alligators, but we only saw a few baby alligators. The crab shack also had a "Cat Shack", and the cats actually used it. The cat shack was outside of the restaurant and the cats used it for dining just like people. We assume the restaurant worker feed the cats. The restaurant featured southern boils as thier speciality.

I went on a tour of the light house and old fort that has been on the island from colonial times through World War II. The last night on the island, and I took some pictures of the light house at night.