Missouri Route 66

Good morning,

This display was at a rest stop in Missouri.  We were on the expressway, not on the old Route 66, but this was so cool!  The inside of the rest stop had a huge map on the floor of the entire Route 66.

I'm very impressed with these play areas for children at rest stops.  It's great to give the kids a chance to get out of the car and unwind during long road trips.  There were no kids here when we were there in early May, but I bet it gets busy when school is out!

Lois

Branson Scenic Railway

Good morning,

The highlight of our trip to Branson, Missouri, was our ride on the Branson Scenic Railway.

We arrived at the station early in the morning, bought our tickets, then enjoyed sitting there watching the activity in downtown Branson as others arrived and bought tickets.

The historic engines pulled cars that had been in service during the heyday of rail travel in the USA.

Have tickets, will ride.  The cost for this trip was very reasonable!

And, off we go!

Across rivers...

...past small towns...

...and the ruins of buildings from the past. 

Our conductors were great fun...

...and obviously enjoyed their jobs!

We moved into hilly farmland and crossed tressels high above streams.

I snapped this image just before we returned to the station at the end of our ride.  What makes this rail road crossing unique is the speaker on that pole just above the lights.  That speaker blasts the sound of a train whistle when our train approached and was crossing.  Brilliant!  There was no excuse for traffic to miss hearing that whistle!

What a fun trip!  This was just fantastic!

All the best,
Lois

Happy Father's Day and Dinner at The Fish House - Branson, Missouri

Good morning,

Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads out there!  We're celebrating all the men who are special to us today.

And, continuing with our images from our recent road trip:

We hadn't been to Branson for 13 or 14 years and, wow, have things changed there!

The first evening in town we went to dinner at the Fish House.

The restaurant is on a boat over the White River.

This was the chowder.  It was tasty, but way too spicy for me.

I had the same reaction to the bread.  There were hot peppers in the corn bread.

This mushroom appetizer was quite tasty!

 We each ordered the shrimp and scallops for our main course.  This, too, had way too many spices.

So, we enjoyed the view, but wouldn't eat here again.

If you really like lots of spice in your food, you'll like The Fish House in Branson.

:),
Lois

Arkansas Rest Stop

Good morning,

This is one of many rest stops that we visited on our road journey.  It was evident the area needed rain.  The facilities included not only clean and convenient restrooms (that building not pictured), but a picnic area with plenty of room for the kids, dogs, and even adults to get some exercise.

When I was a child and our family took road trips, rest stops were barely a place to pull off the two lane highway and were equipped only with "outhouse" rest rooms.  There was usually a pump where you could pump your own water and perhaps a picnic table.

;),

 Lois

Road Trip Crochet - Baby Blanket

Good morning,

As we moved along on our road trip I worked on a large Christening/Naming Blanket.  It's amazing how fast it goes when you're in the car for hours. 

This pretty blanket is finished now.  To see more views of it, click here.

All the best,
Lois

Flag Day - United States of America

Flag Day - United States of America

Show your colors!  Fly Old Glory!

Branson, Here We come!

Good morning,

We were looking forward to this part of our vacation.  We had been to Branson, Missouri, twice before when we were sailing out of Galveston on Splendour of the Seas.   We went slightly off the fastest route home so we could stop here this time, too.

More to come!

Lois