You know I'm here for the party.......

Yesterday did NOT start out too well. I went to the Recreation Department first thing in the morning so I could purchase tickets to the Christmas show at the Carolina Opry. I was there about 15 minutes before they opened, so, I stuck my credit card in the back pocket of my jeans and Salt and I decided we would take a walk down the beach. We walked for probably a mile and a half and of course I had to bend down a half a dozen or more times to pick up shells or examine some sea urchin. When we went back to the rec department my card was GONE. I have never lost a credit card and I panicked. I of course envisioned that someone had already purchased a new BMW or something like that with it.



Salt retraced the entire route while I put out the alert at the offices. Finally after about an hour I called Smith Barney and had a hold put on it still hoping it would show. Soon after I had placed the hold, the girls from the office showed up in their golf cart with the card. What a relief! I know I have a guarantee that if anyone did use it I wouldn't have to pay but it is just such a hassle to get a new one issued since I pay all my bills on line with that card.



The day did get better. We decided to go catch the new show at Legends (impersonators). The stars last night were Jerry Lee Lewis, Louis Armstrong, Garth Brooks, Barbara Streisand and of course Elvis. The guy that impersonated Jerry Lee Lewis was better than Jerry Lee...amazing! Louie Armstrong was very good but Barbara Streisand was not good at all. She wasn't really a bad singer, she just didn't sound much like Barbara (my personal opinion). However, when you think about it anyone who takes on the role of imitating Streisand has got to have some guts and a LOT of talent. Garth Brooks was good, very comical but not great. I think maybe one of our problems is was we saw such great talent in Branson, we are being critical. Elvis was of course, perfect!



We rushed home from the show so we could see 48 Hours since they were going to do a segment on the Michelle Harris case.... A woman who mysteriously "disappeared" from my hometown. Bill and I were friends with her husband Cal's father, so I have been very interested in following the case and wanted to see what take 48 hours had on it. Michelle's husband is (was) sentenced to life in prison, even though they had no body and really no tangible evidence. He was released just a few days ago and will have a new trial. Very interesting case!!! Anyway, the football game on CBS ran into overtime so the program was cancelled until next week, when of course I won't be home. Hope Betty knows how to program our VCR since we have no instructions for it.....



Here is a picture I received from Betty this morning. Emma is modeling the outfit we bought for her at the Dick Clark Theatre. No ham in her is there????

We went to church this morning at the RV resort where we are staying. The service is held in the recreation hall right across the street from our motor home. We absolutely love it. It is nondenominational and all the offerings go exclusively to a children's home. The church is maintained by the owners of the park and they do not ask money for upkeep.

After church we grabbed a latte and the Sunday paper, headed for the beach and a great afternoon with some of our new friends.

It should be illegal it gets me so high.....

Last night we received a phone call from my cousin Shane. I forgot I had promised to post a picture of the fish he caught while at the river this summer. He took it home to have it mounted and mentioned he had just picked it up from the taxidermist. Shane is the ultimate bass fisherman. He cracked me up after he caught this one. He called me and asked if I could do him a huge favor, as he had a big problem. I of course thought he had either hit a shoal or run out of gas. His problem was he had no one to take a picture of him with his fish!

Shane held the privilege of being known as our favorite cousin....until he brought his brother Daryl to the river....now we can't decide which one is the favorite. We have opted to call it a tie.

This is Daryl trying to manage Salt and Shane in the construction of Salt's new shop. You know darn well there is no way anyone gets to be the "boss" when these 3 are working together!

We always look forward to the boys' visit...they are wonderful guests!

Doctor, Doctor give me the news....

For the last 3 weeks I have been dreading going to a doctor and having a rather large lump on the left side of my face checked out. I wanted to wait until we settled in Myrtle Beach so if I needed more than one appointment I would be able to follow up.


It turned out to be a cyst which has to be removed surgically. The doctor says they are common and they don't know what causes them???? So...now I wait until they clear it with the insurance company and the surgeon calls me with an appointment.

Run, run, run into the sun....

Today for the first time since September 9, when we left Clayton, we did ABSOLUTELY nothing but lay in the sun and fall asleep listening to the wash of the ocean!

The End

I aint as good as I once was...I got a few years on me now...

Yep....got into all this exercising yesterday; walking, swimming and biking. Too much too fast; I hurt! It felt good at the time. It just seems so good to be in a place where we can do it all with such convenience. These are the houses right across the street from us....they look like the one that burned with all the college students in it. Salt took the picture as I was coming home from my morning bike ride.

We are off today to Camping World where we will have our new screened room installed. We have been wanting one since we got the motor home so we are really excited. They are pretty cool, as they have privacy flaps so in nice weather it can also be used as another bedroom (Aero bed). One of the first things I will do is get a reading lamp so I can sit outside and read in the evenings.

We spent most of the afternoon at Camping World waiting for the installation of the patio room. It is installed and we are very happy. I think the kids will love it too....lots more room for them. Now we can also have a nice big Christmas Tree and room for Santa to leave more presents.

Salt finished washing the rig today....he is on his "Work for Food" kick....so I took him to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

We are supposed to have a lot of wind tomorrow and Thursday; residual from Noel? Will be interesting to watch the ocean!

If everybody had an ocean across the USA.....

OK....here are a couple pictures of our RV Resort. Along with the fact that it is right on the ocean, one of the things I like about the resort is that the RVs and beach houses are all intermingled. Check out this neighbor....the rig is worth about $650,000...puts a whole new slant on "trailer trash". Last year when we were in Orlando we were parked right across the street from one that cost 1.2 million!

T his is one of the many ponds within the resort.

The outside pool......

This is not a ChuckECheese but is exactly like one. Great when the grand kids are here and it's raining!

Inside pool (80 degrees)

Recreation Hall and library......

I am the shadow of the moon at night...filling your dreams to the brim of fright...

We are now in our permanent lot for the month. We are a few spots down from the beach and right across from the indoor heated pool, library and recreation center (which is also used for the church). We absolutely love it here....if the winters were just a little warmer we would stay right here for the winter.

Salt took some time and got the bikes put in good order earlier this evening. We took a ride along the ocean right at sunset and then bopped over to the pool for a few laps.

We went to church this morning and by time we got the rig moved and set up, I didn't get a chance to get out with the camera. I did however get the photos from last night put on the computer.

Here are some of our favorite "kids" from last night.

Twin witches...my favorite!!



First prize most original teenager.....The Headless Horseman

The annual Pie Eating contest....these guys must still be hurting. The one in the blue shirt finally won....after consuming over 2 whole pies and I don't know how much whipped cream. As soon as they would get thought the whipped cream and start to get into the pie one of the judges would come over and give them another squirt.

Most original child....an RV

Two scary guys!
This guy kept squeezing this little bulb which made blood run down his face.

Cheerleaders.... I guess I liked these girls because they reminded me of my grand daughters when they were cheering....we miss them! The adult winners....
First Place for Scariest....Chuckie

Salt's favorite ....the butterfly

This little girl was a hoot....She took a piece of candy, looked at me and asked if she could have two. I told her that would be alright and she said "maybe I will have 3". Doesn't that sound like something Emma would do?


Tomorrow at 8:00 I start water aerobics three days a week and floor aerobics 3 days. The payment for all those good restaurants!!!

Oh yes, the kids were able to go back to their home today. They have no power or water but the eminent fire danger is over and they just wanted to be out of the motel room. Fortunately about 2 years ago Salt and I bought them a generator (there was a hurricane threat while they were in Virginia Beach). They will haul drinking water and just try to do the best they can. We are still not sure when they can go back to work or the kids back to school. Mike said their house was in good shape but there was a lot of damage right across the street.

Thank all of you who offered concern and prayers!

They are not totally out of the woods, as there is a concern about the winds picking up again this week. However, the Grass Valley at this time is 90% contained so it would appear the eminent danger is over.

Happy Halloween....

Paige Durdon and Emma at the Halloween party on Grindstone. The picture is from a phone so it's not the best but we were still glad to get it!!

We are in Myrtle Beach.....home for a month. I have not had any time to blog since we have been on a dead run since we arrived. We are trying to get organized before the kids come down. It has been raining for the 3 days we have been here....actually not raining.... POURING!

We just returned from the big Halloween party they put on here at the RV Resort. I will process the pictures of both the park, the "Trick or Treaters" and costume winners and post more tomorrow. Just wanted to let everyone know where we were and that I should be back on the computer tomorrow.

Mike and Rob and girls are still in the motel waiting for news on what is going to happen with getting back in their home. Their fire is about 70% contained now but there is still danger of the winds picking up again.

There's a mighty fire on that there hill....

We went to bed last night pretty confident the kids house would be spared. When we switched on the news this morning we heard that 10,000 more homes in Grass Valley were being threatened (the kids live on Grass Valley Road). I hate the 3 hour time difference between us and Mike.

When I finally got in touch with Mike, he said they were hurting for information....everything is such a mess. They did find out that even if the house does not burn it will be at least 3 weeks to a month before they can go back to it and to work, due to downed power lines and devastation.
I am sure they already have a lot of smoke damage. Right now they are considered the third largest of the fires.

Happy Anniversary.....

Happy 2nd anniversary Mike and Robin!!

Aren't my granddaughters beautiful!

I can't stop loving you.....

And it seems that is how all of Elvis's fans still feel, 30 years after his death.

Yesterday was a rainy Monday and the lines were still long. It is also amazing how many flower arrangements, teddy bears and notes still come in on a daily basis. The man will never really die.

Which of course brings me to this story. You all know, I am always kidding about Elvis still being alive...well, I met someone crazier than myself (hard to believe isn't it??). I was standing in line waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the car museum and this woman started talking to me and I swear to God she was dead serious when she said..."you know I REALLY believe he is still with us". After that she went into all the reasons she believed it. I of course listened and hung on every word, assuring her I thought she was right....huh????

You almost forget what a phenomenon the man was. I know Colonel Parker did an amazing job of exploiting Elvis, but he was a tremendous entertainer. It's pretty impressive to look at the number of gold and platinum 45's and albums he was awarded.

I particularly loved the displays of all his clothing through the years. Who could forget his most famous (I believe) jumpsuit. They show a movie of him singing his trilogy at one of his last concerts and when he sings about all his trials will soon be over....the whole room is still and full of watery eyes!Entrance to the Car Museum
And the pink Cadillac he bought his mother

He spent SO much money decorating and it was SO tacky.

Loved the Lisa Marie with the 24 karat gold seat belts, gold sinks and this elaborate dining table.

Off to Atlanta, Georgia for the night and on Wednesday we will land in Myrtle Beach, SC where we will put down some roots for a month.

And it burns, burns, burns....the ring of fire...

Just to bring you all up to date....this is a picture Mike took as they were coming off the mountain (Lake Arrowhead) after a mandatory evacuation. They were one of the lucky families who found a motel room. I will keep you updated as I hear from him. A lot will depend on the winds.

Oh midnight in Memphis Well, ya take me away...

We made it to Memphis, but not without some #$%#$@! from Salt!! First of all, Dora and I (Dora is our GPS as in Dora the Explorer) wanted to take the scenic route through the mountains. Well, the route was BEAUTIFUL but Salt didn't like the narrow, winding, steep roads. He got over it once we got out of the mountains. However, coming into Memphis he made a wrong turn (not listening to Dora) and ended up about 3 feet in front of a tunnel that had a 7' 6" clearance. We are 12 '....uh oh!! Fortunately there was a place that once we unhooked the jeep we could turn around and hook back up. We don't usually drive the motor home after dark and I guess we won't again.....at least not in cities. Actually for having going over 7,500 miles I think this little incident being the first is pretty good!! Salt does a great job!!

We pulled into a WalMart since we had been in a park for the last 4 nights. We decided to go out for a nice dinner and get some rest before venturing out to Graceland tomorrow. We will also hit downtown Memphis for some good ribs.

I wasn't going to post until we returned from Graceland but I wanted to let those of you who have been concerned about Mike and Robin know what is going on. We received a phone call from Mike early this morning. He, Rob and the girls were on their way out the door in a mandatory evacuation. He said the fires are right across the road!

They say it's your birthday......

First of all.....Happy Birthday Janna...15 yesterday. Our beautiful A+ student with a Volleyball team that can't be beat. I believe they are 17-0 at present.

I am probably in trouble with her dad but last night when we were at the Beatles concert they sang "They Say it's Your Birthday". We called Janna on the cell phone, held the phone up to the stage and had the Liverpool Legends sing to her. Janna loved it but I am not sure we didn't wake up the rest of the house. Hopefully she was in her room with her phone!!

So we ended our stay in Branson with the Liverpool Legends. We were shown to our seats by ushers dressed as Bobbies (English police). Once the show began, who better to introduce the Beatles than Ed Sullivan! I don't know where they come up with these comedians but they are so good and so funny!This particular show was awarded the "Best New Show" last year and awarded "Best Band " this year. What more can I say....Fabulous!

Louise Harrison, George Harrison's sister picked the band members and organized the group. She took the stage at the beginning of the show and promised "magic". After intermission she came back to the stage and took questions from the audience. She also had a book she has published with never before published pictures of George as a child and teenager. Put a nice personal flair to the performance.

Before we left Branson we did a little shopping. Check out the outfit we bought for Emma...at the Dick Clark gift shop of course!

This is the gentleman who lived behind us at the RV park. Salt had several conversations with him during our stay. As we were getting ready to pull out he came to the door with these souvenir bells. They came from the Mickey Gilley Theatre where he had worked. He was so nice. We really felt bad; that same morning his 18 year old dog had passed away. He was so upset. The people here are SO nice!

We are headed for Memphis....looking for Elvis, of course!

I should probably quit joking about cowboys and Elvis and at least comment on some of the "intelligent" matter I am involved in....Have been reading some great books (12 so far). Right now I am finishing up the Zoo Keeper's Wife. It is a great read about a couple who hid over 300 Jews during the war!

I fell into a burning ring of fire.....

A tribute to the Man in Black.....

I have to tell you, I saw Johnny Cash in concert and this was like going back in time. This is Jackson Cash (no relation) who actually had his last name changed. What a job he does. I know you have to be good to have a show in this town, so it's really tough to pick a bad one. Salt and I think we picked the very best.

I wish my little 5 year old nephew Asa had been with us. He wouldn't been able to stay in his seat. Now that I think about it I bet his Grandpa George would have been singing right along too. Maybe we should have a family reunion in Branson!!!

Tonight we will end our stay with a trip to the Liverpool Legends....you all know who they are!!!

I never liked the sound of sound advice....

Thursday night we went to see Pam and Mel Tillis.

They were also joined by Mel's youngest daughter Carie April... she refers to herself as the "black sheep" of the family. Not only does she sing country and appear on stage in musicals, she is also an opera singer.

Mel, Jr. also appeared with them. Mel Jr is a noted songwriter, writing songs for the likes of Trace Adkins, Lee Greenwood and Reeba McIntire. What a great show.

Pam and Carrie had fun picking on their dad. Pam gave out her web address http://www.pamtillis.com/ and said if you wanted to go on her dad's site it would be wwwwww.meltillis.com joking of course about his stutter. When Mel came on he said he had been working very hard to correct the stutter and had even been getting some therapy but told the doctor he didn't want to get too good as he was making a lot of money stuttering. Needles to say the humor was almost as good as the singing.

Friday we went all out....we saw THREE shows (have you figured out yet that we LOVE Branson?).

The morning show was the Lowe family. A musical mother, father and 5 of their 7 children. The other 2 children who were not performing with them are also into music...one a violin teacher and the other in college studying music.

An unbelievable show....all of the 5 children, dance sing and each play about 6 instruments (that we saw). Incredible fiddlers and violinists. Lots of step dancing, bagpipes, etc. Classical music, Country, Irish, etc.

We left that show, went to Mickey Gilley's for lunch and then went to see Pierce Arrow. They are 6 clean cut guys with a lot of talent. Their bass singer holds two Guinness records. One for singing the lowest note....15 notes below the lowest piano key. He also holds the record for the largest octave range, 6!

Their comedian was a hoot. We had a lot of laughs in between some good singing! http://www.piercearrowtheater.com/

To end the day we were able to get tickets to the show voted #1 in Branson. SIX www.sixrealbrothers.com is the Knudsen Brothers.....the brochure reads "You won't believe what comes out of their mouths!" percussion, instruments, harmonies (and that's just the first 30 seconds. Your eyes won't believe our ears. They have NO instruments, back up of any kind.

All the music is made with their mouths. I have never seen anything that even comes close to this type of entertainment. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures...I got so engrossed in the show I forgot! DUH.....