MO to OK

Thursday, 11/04

Life on the road continues to be good as we leave Branson, MO for Oklahoma City, OK, or "OKCity" as the natives prefer.  329 miles later, with Doris driving half of them, and we're hunting for a Blue Beacon Truck Wash, so well concealed that we enjoyed(?) some extra "touring" to locate it.  "Betsy the Bus" definitely needed a full shower and waxing after nearly 7,000 miles of being assaulted by everything the roads and weather of America can toss at her.

With a shiny "new" look that made us look less like trailer trash, we made our home at the nearby Elks Lodge which provided a pool, playground and 10 acres of prime OKCity land on which to park for the night.  Lodge members so ingratiated themselves that it was hard to leave, except for the smoke.  That's the one thing that has bothered us with so many establishments in the east/midwest:  Smoking patrons and members.  Whew!  At least we made new friends and had a fun time doing it before retiring for the night.

Our farewell to Dolly Parton's Branson Show Place.

A Dolly Parton Merry Christmas

Wednesday, 11/03

Doris found her special boots and jacket while I blog, do housework and enjoy the solitude.  It is becoming more enjoyable to watch TV, now that the political cow patty tossing commercials are gone.  Now, it's the near continuous analysis of the election results which means I'm watching the weather channel more intently, especially since we plan to leave tomorrow and head toward higher altitudes in New Mexico and Arizona, using familiar I-40 as our route.

This afternoon, we ride our rental car to Dolly Parton's "Dixie Stampede", one of the most extravagant Branson shows, complete with horse riding, camels, lambs, goats and assorted other creatures involved in Dolly's version of a Christmas celebration.  Oh, and ringside dinner thrown in as well. Three hours of our time and $54 each, the most expensive show of this trip.  Other shows have been $25, with some free tickets for the second person.  We've already concluded that Tahoe and Las Vegas shows, some only 30 minutes for $100 to $250 each are ripoffs in price and quality.  We've never been so impressed, nor enjoyed so much entertainment for so little.

A Dolly Parton Christmas show performer "laps up" Doris's affection before he has to go to work.

The Christmas edition of Dixie Stampede left us on such a "high".  Our seats were among the best in the house, center of the arena directly in front of us.  Incredible horsemanship, toys that come "alive", the birth of Christ and the manger scene was the best I've ever seen.  Trained doves flying to the angels floating above; 3 Wise Men arrive on camels which kneel for the dismount.  Sheep and goat herds enter and (I've never seen this before) trained to halt and stay still during the singing of praise for the newborn child.  Never once did there seem to be an error on the part of the singer/riders and their steeds.  The dinner served was fine, but the audience of 1,000 found this to be non-stop superior entertainment.

Santa's non-helper at Dolly Parton's Christmas Celebration.

Leaving the Christmas holiday decorated building, we could only say to each other that these 3 days of being entertained in so many ways were 3 of the best provided by all of the US entertainment capitals. Interestingly, some one mentioned to us that never once was a curse heard in any of the shows they attended.  That was true for us as well.  Humor can be "clean" and still tummy-hurting funny.  Also, music can be exceptional without mentioning acts of violence, something that has become commonplace.

 It will be difficult to leave Branson, but we will do so in the morning as we recommence our journey toward our "other" home.

Two Shows. Two Winners.

Tuesday, 11/02

The rental car arrived at our coach and we were off to explore whatever Branson had to show us.  It may be a bit tacky, but everyone was so friendly, constantly asking with a smile, "How ya'll doin' today?"  Well, just fine thank you.  A little Christmas shopping a killer lunch, and then it was time for an afternoon show, "Legends in Concert" at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre.  As with last night, front & center seats for another remarkably enjoyable two hour program.  George Strait, Marilyn Monroe, The Temptations, Patsy Cline, The Blues Brothers, and Elvis!!!  Yes folks, we got them all and all of them were terrific.  OK, so we didn't get the real ones; that would've been great in some cases, and a bit ghoulish in others.  What we DID watch and listen to were impersonators that looked and sounded so much like the real ones that imagination took over and the audience responded like we did, with stand up ovations.  During each presentation were videos of the real people performing, supporting the notion that what we were seeing and hearing were the original entertainers.  Another exceptional show.

Home for dinner, after buying tickets to Mickey Gilleys' show in his own theatre, and then to our THIRD show!

This was, without a doubt, the most emotional show yet.  Seems Mickey was carrying some furniture from his house one day about 16 months ago, and fell backwards, resulting in paralysis from the neck down, due to swelling within the back's nervous system and injury to the neck's C2, 3, 4, 5, 6 vertebrae.  Intense will to return to the stage, sing and play piano, plus therapies that are ongoing, he presented himself, walking with the aid of two of his singers, to sit down in a real office chair ... and began to sing as if nothing had happened.  What a voice!  What a repertoire.  While it was very obvious that he could not play the piano ... yet... he still had entertaining stories of his career, the accident, the future. 

If you don't know Mickey Gilly, rent the movie "Urban Cowboy".  It was his bar/dance hall in Pasadena, Texas used as the movie site, with Mickey being in the movie with Debra Winger and John Travolta.  This was also the first movie Doris saw after coming to the US for college.  Special for was the movie and the music from it.  Special for both of us was getting to know the man who wrote and sang some of the best country music still heard.

And comedy?  Too funny was Mickey as the straight man for his sidekick who kept us all nearly rolling in the aisles.  Our third show, and now we want more.  So, we stay another day, for an even bigger event.

And did I mention that it's Christmas in the Ozarks, especially Branson?  It is, and that's an Ozark tradition that Christmas decorations and music be up and ready by November 1st.  A bit startling for us as we expected it at Walmart, but the whole area??!  As one native told me, they don't place much emphasis on Thanksgiving, thus giving Christmas and religion more prominence.  (Turkeys:  Take note.  It's 50% safer in the Ozarks.)

Music & Laughter

Monday, 11/01

We're excited.  Everything we've heard from those who've been there, Branson, Missouri will be a very special experience in entertainment.  We've been to shows in Tahoe, Las Vegas and Reno, so we're going to be critical, regardless of the compliments heard and read.

Three hours of driving through northwestern Arkansas' Ozarks and into southwestern Missouri, we descend on Branson, a "nothing" town until someone chose it to be the site of Midwestern entertainment.  Driving Main Street to our RV park gave us the impression that there was little regulation as to signage and building code.  What a conglomeration of tacky and showy places!  Yet, we had made a stop at a "discount" ticket seller who gave us sufficient information and some good prices for two chosen shows and  more information about how to get around town.  The essence of the input was that there were no bad shows or entertainers.

Our Musicland RV Resort was well located within walking distance of some of the shows, perfect for us.  Even with a little rain, we headed for our first night's choice, Jim Stafford's Theatre, with Jim himself being the headliner.  Two solid hours of terrific music from him, his wife, and there sooo talented teenage son & daughter.  We laughed.  We got teary-eyed.  We had such a good time!  If all of Branson was to be like this, we underestimated the time we needed to spend here, because two shows wouldn't satisfy our new-found love of this kind of entertainment.


Branson, MO.  Our RV "resort" is located behind & down the hill from the piece of the Titanic that already sunk ... not a good sign.



Elvis Country ---> Fried Chicken ---> Clinton Country

Sunday, 10/31

We continued to be blessed with great weather.  Autumn at its best, with the foliage falling behind us.  Sunday on the road in less populated areas, especially on very good roads makes the day an easy one.  The goal is to sneak into the Little Rock, Arkansas area and visit the Clinton Presidential Museum.  Our route from Mississippi to Arkansas took us through a corner of Tennessee and a city we've explored 4 years ago.  What we didn't know then was that our computer could connect with http://www.flavortownusa.com/, hosted by Guy Fieri, seen on The Food Channel, a favorite of Doris.

As you know, on this trip, we've wallowed in troughs of Midwestern beef, corn on the cob, Chicago "dogs", Vermont syrup & donuts, Maine lobster, Rhode Island clams, Maryland crab, Virginia ham, "down home" Georgia cookin', Alabama ribs.  You'd also think that we've "oink, oinked" enough and should have started a starvation diet so that we'd be ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving stuffing ... of turkeys and ourselves.

But NO!  Tennessee said it's time for Sunday lunch.  While I'm driving toward Memphis, Doris searched the website for a good representative of Memphis dining.  She came up with ribs or fried chicken.  Memphis ribs we'd done 4 years ago and gagged.  Dry rubbed ribs meant they'd been cooked and the spices dry rubbed onto the ribs, afterward.  Yuck.

So, it was chicken this time and Food Channel's Guy Fieri said the best in town were at "Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken" on Millbranch Street.  We tuned in the GPS and soon found ourselves skirting Memphis' airport and driving into an area that most of us would not choose at nighttime, especially if one had seen it in bright daylight, just as we were.  Assuming Guy did not have heavily armed guards and lived through the experience, we slowly motored deeper into the area of less fortunate folk, finally locating the strip mall that accommodated the kitchen with the best fried chicken on earth.  The parking lot was nearly empty of cars, but not of wandering young men.  Uh oh.  A nail shop, a hair salon, an ethnic grocery selling chitlins and collard greens, etc., plus several empty store fronts.  And "Uncle Lou's". 

"Uncle Lou, Dude your chicken is so off da chart.  Keep cookin'"

Inside this restaurant with rolls of paper towels on plastic covered tables, our order taker spoke in "southern black", a language that might as well have been Sanskrit, but we got our order placed and then waited.  With a blaze of laughter, a young black man storms in and starts talking to everyone, a real charmer.  Seems he's related to the real Uncle Lou and loves to share how wonderful the food is, what a great guy Uncle Lou is, and then proceeds to serve us, adding extra chicken because we told him we traveled from California because of what we saw on TV.  Other people strolled in, some from St. Louis, others from New York, even a "local", and we all shared the same reason.  It was a fun cross-cultural experience, just talking and taking pictures together while we waited and ate.

Uncle Lou's Sunday public relations "dude" greets another customer.

The chicken?  Unbelievable.  The promotion was absolutely spot on.  We all agreed it was the best we've ever had.  (In fact, I never before enjoyed so much a meal at a restaurant highly praised by the media.)  If you don't believe us, grab a flight to Memphis, take a short cab ride and treat yourself.  Just be sure to bring home an order for us.

Chickens cluck.  After an Uncle Lou's over sized Sunday fried chicken lunch, his customers "cluck" high praise.

By the time we finished our Sunday chicken in Memphis, the drive to Little Rock took longer than expected and once again, Walmart provided overnight parking.  President Clinton would have to wait for us to inspect his memorabilia (or what remains after the XXX portion was removed).  After that fried chicken lunch, our Walmart parking lot Halloween trick-or-treaters were given free directions back to Uncle Lou's.  Someday, they'll appreciate our Halloween "treat".

Big Decision & Elvis Land

Saturday, 10/30

Early morning was spent making a big decision.  Do we continue southward and visit more friends outside New Orleans and onward into southern Texas for more such visits and sightseeing ... or begin a more westerly heading toward home.  We've been on the road 2 1/2 months and a continued pleasurable, educational and friend-filled days that includes the deeper south and southwest will add a month.  That, dear friends, puts major pressure on being home a few days before Thanksgiving.  In fact, the pace we've been enjoying would see us enjoying(?) Thanksgiving together, with fellow roadies, but without family and friends.

It became evident that we needed to delay those visits 'til our next trip when we'll cover the deeper South ... in depth.  (Oh boy!  I get to design another cross country road trip.)

Saying farewell to Georgia on a quiet Saturday, we cruise into northern Alabama.  Rolling countryside, passing the Talledega Super Speedway, filled with more RVs than any rally we've seen (big races today), and with the sun at our backs, we approach Birmingham and decide to try some southern cookin'.  BBQ'd ribs seemed in order and that is what we did ... order some.  Surely there were better ones in the South because these did not rise to what Doris can produce with little effort. 

Moving northwest, we reach our destination, Tupelo.  Why Tupelo?  I knew of Tupelo because of studying the Civil War ... and because it's Elvis Presley's birthplace.  A small, truly southern town, it was easy to find the house where he was born, and where he lived with his very poor parents 'til age 3 when Dad moved the family further south in hopes of finding a job that could support the family.  Elvis' life ended in tragedy, but he was a remarkable philanthropist.  His first gift was a home to his parents, followed by purchasing his birthplace and 15 acres, giving them to Tupelo as an historic site.

Tupelo, MS:  Elvis' birthplace.  Two rooms, 2 parents, 2 children.

Front room/living room/bedroom for 4.

Kitchen/dining room/playroom.  The bathroom was outside.

We stayed the night in this town, now populated by 36,000 people and home to one of Toyota's manufacturing plants, supporting a poor region of this country.

The Big Chicken & A Bigger Dinner

Friday, 10/29

It feels like summer with foliage and John gave us some ideas for exploring downtown Marietta, a near idyllic suburb of Atlanta, and one that barely escaped destruction during the Civil War. 

So, how do we find the plaza in the center of Marietta?  "Drive out of the RV park, turn right on the main street, then left at the big chicken."  Whaaat??  "Just don't think about it, you can't miss it".  Hmmm.  We're driving our coach and while we're good at getting around places others have said isn't possible.  But, being told that looking for a big chicken while driving in city traffic wasn't the most reassuring direction item we've heard before John, known for his humor, shared it with us.

Whatever, off we went and, sure enough, driving down the busy thoroughfare, there was a BIG chicken!  With beak opening and closing while its eyes were rolling, this BIG chicken, 3 stories tall, stood by the highway intersection, overlooking a Kentucky Fried Chicken store.

The Big Chicken, the landmark that guides everyone throughout Marietta.  Too bad all KFCs don't have one.  GPS and Mapquest aids would become extinct.

With the siting, we turned left and squeeezed our way downtown and around the ornate, tree-filled plaza.  Finally we found parking a few blocks away in front of a Baptist church, the church letting know for sure that we definitely are in the South where Baptist churches abound.

Walking throughout downtown Marietta was a special pleasure, along with having lunch in a historic building overlooking the plaza.  Sociable locals guided us about, and shopping became another pleasure for both of us.

Dinner tonight?  An exquisite, 4 course meal with intermissions between each course.  All this prepared by John & Cecile's daughter and son-in-law in their beautiful, shared Marietta home on a golf course.  What an experience with such a loving, harmonious family.  With everyone sharing stories and humor, it was nearly 11pm when we realized that it's time to leave and let those who still work get their night's rest.  This, our last night in Marietta, was a celebration of long term friendship.

Michelin would award 5 forks for this dinner.  Great food, great ambiance, great friends providing us with a farewell to Georgia dinner.