The Last Summer Chapter – Show Time!

We just finished our return leg east from our Colorado and Utah summer journey.  After a quick stop in Kansas, we arrived at one of our favorite stopping spots, Branson.  If you like music, dancing, comedy, and entertainment in general, visiting Branson is a must.  I’m not sure there is another location in the United States that stands behind the courage of their conviction when it comes to God, family, and American patriotism.  Our kind of place.

There is more talent in Branson than seems possible to have in one place.  You can easily attend at least two shows daily.  Each is so much different than the other, but they all have a commonality that is infectious and addicting.  Most are audience interactive, and all make you feel valued for spending your time with them.  This year Anna and I both were pulled from the audience to dance onstage at the #1 Hits of the 60’s show in different routines.  Anna danced to Chubby Checker’s “Peppermint Twist” Medley with a group of people and I danced to “These Boots are Made for Walking” with the three female show performers.  It was great fun!

Our favorite Branson shows are SIX, Clay Cooper, The Pressleys, and the Haygoods.  We also thoroughly enjoyed the Liverpool Legends, and #1 Hits of the 60’s, and Shoji Tabuchi.  Dancing Queen was a salute to ABBA and the 70’s, and Legends in Concert were good.  Legends rotates their tribute performers with some being great and some just OK.  You can click on any of the show names here to find out more about each show.  There are three negative items everyone should know before going to Branson – traffic, traffic, and more traffic – but is not too difficult to get around once you discover the back roads.

Our next stop was Nashville where we spent a few days with our daughter Sarah, her husband Justin, and our grandson, Langston.  Needless to say, this was Anna’s favorite stop of the summer.  I love to see the way she lights up around the grand babies.  I can still remember those days when she use to light up around me, well… maybe not quite as much as she does around the grand babies.  Maybe that special spark can be rekindled when my diaper wearing days begin.  On second thought, I don’t think that will make her smile as she does when she is taking care of the little ones.

We  had a couple of small outings on this Nashville visit, but we didn’t take in any of Nashville’s main events and sites.  We did attend a Nashville Sounds baseball game while in town.  I love attending baseball games, but the Nashville Sounds experience was neither a great activity, or one that I would even recommend.  We also went to the Arrington Vineyards, owned my country music performer Kix Brooks.  They offered wine tasting and we had a great picnic on the lawn while we enjoyed a jazz band playing nearby.   Soon it was time to go.  Anna and I continued east with an overnight stop in Sevierville, Tennessee and our final leg home, while our friends (Curt and Cathy) decided to remain in Nashville for an extended stay until Carrie Underwood makes her appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.  We spent a couple of days in Sevierville, Tennessee where we enjoyed one of favorite rib restaurants, and made an evening cruise through Cades Cove.  I managed to get a couple of good photos of white-tail bucks and Anna spotted one black bear.  The bear was too far away and dusk was long gone so photos of the bear were a no-go.  We left Sevierville a day early to beat the incoming rains which were forecasted to be heavy.

It was a great summer trip.  Our adventures in Arches National Park, and the Rocky Mountain National Park were probably the highlights of the summer.  By the time you are reading this, I will be on my way to Red Bay, Alabama to have Tiffin Motorhomes look over a few items on the coach, and Anna will be back in school.  Next activity on the agenda… Clemson Football season will begin in a couple of weeks.  Our Clemson Tigers will have a tough season this year with bookend games against #5 Georgia for our home opener, and #7 South Carolina for our final game.  Clemson is going into the 2013 season ranked #8.  Go Tigers!

We hope you enjoyed us sharing our summer with you.  We would like to thank our friends, Joe and Joy, Gene, Mark and Denise, and Flay and Glenda for keeping an eye on the homestead during our absence.  Our extended summer journeys would be difficult without their help.

We don’t have a photo page associated with this issue of our blog, but don’t forget to click the links at the top of our blog to view the other features of our website.

As always, we hope to see you down the road!