Branson and Beyond

Jeez! I just realized it’s payday. Sometimes we lose track of time. I was pretty certain it was either June or close to it. LOL!! Just yesterday we were in Sams Town Casino and Gambling Hall in Tunica MS, going up the escalator to look around and I put my arm around Kat and said, “we sure are fortunate! How tough is it to run around the country going different places and doing neat stuff?” Just so y’all know we don’t take our travels and lifestyle completely for granted. We are very lucky to have found each other and to now have the ability and means to do what we do. Very lucky indeed!
Well! We did go to Branson. It was alright I guess? We saw some shows and did some looking around. We went to a Broadway Review show that featured Merle Osmond. One of the Osmond brothers for those who didn’t know it. He was better than I thought he might be. Kat thought so too! Pretty good really. And we went to a “50’s” show. Kat liked that a little better. I liked the Broadway stuff better. Just personal preference. The last two days we left Branson proper and stayed at a State Park. But from there we went to see the showboat “Branson Belle” and took the dinner cruise. And in Branson we did lot’s of walking around and looking and eating. It almost seems like we are trying to sample every buffet on our line of travel. It was hard to find an eatery that wasn’t some kind of buffet in Branson. I would like to report that the walking balanced out the eating. I’d like to……. But I’d be lying through my teeth. And I should point out that walking in Branson is not an easy think to do. The sidewalks are very poor or non-existent and the crosswalks were the same. I guess that’s somewhat of an excuse. And any excuse in this case is better than none at all.
We spent some time in Memphis and I met Eddie. That’s Kat’s cousin who lived with Kat and her family for a while when they were in their school years. Eddie and his family were very gracious hosts and made sure we saw plenty of Memphis. He even loaned us his pick-up while we were there. According to Eddie there are three must do’s in Memphis. You have to do barbecue, see Beale Street, and go to Graceland. I’m going to give us credit for all three. In actuality we only drove by Graceland and looked. For us that was close enough. But I’m not trying to pick a fight with any Elvis people. We just weren’t that interested in Graceland. Beale Street was interesting! We went to the Club 152 to see an Elvis impersonator. Eddie’s wife Lynda is VP of his fan club. Rafter something is his name I think?? (Sorry Lynda) So we had a table right up front for the show. I must tell you that Rafter put on a good show. He said that he was not an impersonator but did his show as more of a tribute to Elvis. But! If you sing Elvis songs, dress like Elvis, act like Elvis, wear a whadayacallit hair styled wig like Elvis, mimic facial expression like Elvis, talk like Elvis, move like Elvis, and do it very well, people are going to think you might be impersonating Elvis. Which we did, and we enjoyed. So if you’re ever on Beale Street stop in and watch Rafter. He treated us nice and it’s the least I can do. He even came up to our table to sing a song for Kat, much to her delight. We walked up and down Beale Street to see the sights. Kat was surprised to see drinks being served on the street. You can buy beer or hard liquor in open containers right on the street. I guess in that respect it’s not much different than Las Vegas. But there the similarities end. I suppose if you imagine an old part of a southern city given over to music like the “Blues”, lots of drink, lots of tourists, lots of revelers, lots of locals trying to make a living off the tourists, and then you throw in some ethnicity and racial mix, well then maybe you have a picture of Beale Street. Or maybe you could go to Bourbon Street if it’s open yet. We had barbecue several times and it was all good. Here it is all pork and not so much sauce as I/we think of as typical. Pulled pork really, or ribs, and it’s treated pretty seriously down here. I think they would give you a recipe if you asked, but then they probably would have to kill you! We were coerced into trying the barbecue sandwiches with Cole slaw and found that it was very good and now eat them that way because we like it. Next it will be “slaw dogs” just like cousin Eddie! I think ‘cuz’ would be proud
Tunica in Mississippi is a casino town just south of Memphis. Eight or ten casinos along the Mississippi river and nothing really special. Maybe it would be for those who like to gamble. But that is not us. We lost a few bucks, $20 or $30 maybe but that took two nights and we had several drinks while we were losing it. Real big spenders!!
We went to Montgomery Alabama to meet Kat’s uncle Rupert (Charlie). Charlie is 92 years old and a real piece of work. He still drives and gets around very well, has a rapier like wit and is just about as curmudgeonly as can be. He kept us smiling for a couple of days. He and Kat’s cousin, Shirley took us to dinner and had barbecue take-out on successive nights. He paid the bill at the seafood buffet (what else) we went to and was joking with the young and cute cashier. She was too flustered to do the math and when she finally was able to tell him it was “$65. He said, “$65 dollars!!!!!, Oh, I thought you said $55.” Then he was describing a car trip from some time in the past with Shirley and another person who was driving. The driver must have had problems navigating because Charlie said “by the time we figured out where we were we were three niggers short of Chicago!“ Kat and I really did crack up at that. And that’s the way it was for two days. Kat did learn a great deal about her family from Charlie and Shirley. All her family except her mom and dad stayed in the Memphis area and she knew little about them. So now both of us are a little into genealogy.
On the wildlife front we haven’t seen too much. There are lot’s of turtles in the area and we’ve seen many. Not long ago I was driving down a country road and saw a turtle up in front of us. I managed to miss it by driving over it but I could just see it as we passed over. I still see the poor thing sucking in his head just as a very large bus type vehicle passes over and sets him spinning. And when the spinning stops he comes out of his shell and serenely walks back the direction he came. Or so I thought?
We went thru Hotlanta and saw Doug from the old neighborhood and had a nice visit. And we stopped in Sanford NC to see nephew Mike and Phyllis. Are all well. Now we are on the way to the Carolina Beach to join up with Mike and Phyllis again. Mike has a working vacation and Phyllis is going down with Garrett who is taking one of his friends. We’re staying at an RV park in the vicinity.
So……….. It’s into the teeth of Alberto!!!!