Christmas on the Trail and Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Once we arrived in Branson, we had lunch at Starvin’ Marvin’s. Their bear seemed a quite fierce!

We had so much fun visiting Branson, Missouri a couple of months ago, we came back to enjoy some of the Christmas programs. We certainly were not disappointed! We started off watching the Christmas on the Trail and then drove through the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights.

The Christmas on the Trail was a great program!

Lights 9

The Christmas on the Trail started with a fantastic meal of turkey, corn on the cobb, beans, corn bread, and dessert. For feeding a large group of people, it was very good food. I could not finish everything. The Christmas program was from a cowboy perspective of life on a ranch. There was a very nice complement of a Christian emphasis on Christmas, great singing, as well as humor and teasing. I thought it was a wonderful program to get us in the mood for Christmas.

The Christmas season is so much fun!

After the Christmas on the Trail program, we drove through the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights. This was an amazing series of lights and was extremely impressive!

Lights 5

Lights 8

Charlene Avenue

December 5, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

We found a street named after Charlene!

We had breakfast with a nice couple we met at our marriage seminar. As we were leaving the restaurant, we noticed on the GPS that there was a street named Charlene Avenue. This is the first time we have ever seen this anywhere in our travels. We drove to the street and had a chance to take Charlene’s photo in front of the sign! Charlene is a wonderful woman and it is great to find a street named after her!

Spicy Mike’s Bar-B-Q Haven

December 2, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Spicy Mike’s has absolutely fantastic barbeque! We enjoyed looking at all the rustic ranch supplies on the walls.

Today we discovered a special treat! A couple we met at the marriage retreat we attended a few weeks ago told us they liked Spicy Mike’s Bar-B-Q Haven. Today we learned why they recommended it. It is a very small independent restaurant in the southeast area of Amarillo. Charlene ordered the pork ribs and I ordered the pulled pork. The meat was especially tender and we thoroughly enjoyed both barbeque sauces. We had to ask for to-go boxes as we could not finish our meals. Their smoked meatloaf is supposed to be very good too. That will have to wait for a future visit. Maybe we will order a takeout meatloaf this weekend? I absolutely LOVE discovering independent restaurant gems!

Thanksgiving 2015

November 27, 2015November 28, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Neil, Amy, Michelle, John, me, and Charlene on Thanksgiving morning.

It is not very often when we can get together with Amy, Neil, John, and Michelle all at the same time. However, we were able to all get together and had a wonderful, but brief, time together. Sorry, this is a poor quality photo from my cell phone.

Charlene and I are starting the Turkey Trot in a cold rain. Fortunately, it stopped raining as we continued on the course. Photo by Sean Steffen / Amarillo Globe-News

Amy, Neil, Charlene, and I were getting ready to go jog/walk in the Turkey Trot. John and Michelle needed to get out of town because a large multi-day ice storm was on its way to Amarillo.

Neil and Amy are in the middle of the photo wearing blue t-shirts. The rain was really coming down! Photo by Sean Steffen / Amarillo Globe-News

Neil and Amy left Charlene and me in the dust in the Turkey Trot. Neil and Amy are in great shape. It was raining on and off during most of the run, but we really enjoyed ourselves. Charlene and I were happy because we finished the 5 K within an hour. After the run, we enjoyed nice warm, long showers and then made a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

College Football

November 27, 2015November 27, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Charlene, Neil, and I really enjoyed a gorgeous day in Canyon, Texas watching WT play football.

While in Amarillo, we went to the final home football game for the WT Buffalos (West Texas A&M University) in Canyon, Texas. We watched them play the Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds. The home team won, so everyone was happy. I really enjoy college football so it was nice to enjoy a beautiful day and watch a close game.

mascot

The WT mascot did not seem to be enjoying the game as much as we were. Many people ensure he is well taken care of. He was a fun bison to watch.

Checotah, Oklahoma and Lake Eufaula State Park

October 27, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Charlene shows the length of the fish she caught!

Today we woke to a soft rain that was nice and refreshing. We connected the Jeep and drove through the misty and foggy Ozarks into Oklahoma. It was beautiful to see the all the fall colors as we drove along. We stopped in Checotah and found a Mexican restaurant for lunch. The burro was great, but the beans were so-so.

The view from the camp site we found!

After our stomachs were full, we drove to Lake Eufaula State Park. Hardly anyone was there, but it was a gorgeous lake with several different campgrounds and marinas. We found several camp sites with 50 amp electric and water that we would love. There might be too many trees to use the satellite dish, but the views of the lake were spectacular! Since this area is within a day’s drive of Texas, we may be coming here again in the future.

Gorgeous colors along the lake.

Beautiful Lake Eufaula!

Tonight is the first game of the World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets. It was very fun to be in Missouri when the Royals won a trip to the final series. It reminded us of when we lived in Kansas City and the Royals also went to the World Series.

The path is from our campground down to a nearby lake.

Walmart and Clinton House

October 26, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Charlene in front of the first Walmart store.

Today we drove to Bentonville and went through the Walmart Museum. We really enjoyed it! It was quite amazing to see the stores that Sam Walton started and how fast Walmart expanded. It was impressive to see the Presidential Medal of Freedom that he received. Having grown up with a parents that had small businesses, it was truly shocking to see how fast Walmart grew. The miracle from Arkansas has had a worldwide impact. Not too many people can claim that achievement.

I had fun seeing Sam Walton’s famous old truck that he drove around despite being quite wealthy. I liked his truck.

Sam Walton’s old truck he used to drive everywhere.

Presidential Medal of Freedom given to Sam Walton.

After going through the Walmart Museum, we drove back to Fayetteville and went to the Clinton House. Please do not laugh at us. Bill and Hillary were both faculty members at the University of Arkansas in the mid-70s and we toured the house where they were married and lived as faculty members. How many people can say they have been in Bill and Hillary’s kitchen? Or bathroom? Or bedroom?

Clinton House in Fayetteville.

The hog statue at the Clinton House.

Arkansas!

October 25, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Penguin Ed’s is well-known for their barbecue.

Today, we started the day enjoying a pancake breakfast at our RV park in Branson. Then, we packed up the motorhome and headed south to Arkansas. We were driving through the Ozark Mountains, so we were going up and down and winding all around. We stopped in Fayetteville and got set up in our new RV park.

SEC football is fantastic, although it would be hard for me to root for Arkansas.

The University of Arkansas had a football game yesterday with Auburn that went into 4 overtimes! Arkansas won the game, but the RV park was a bit slow to empty out today as it was filled with Razorback fans celebrating their win. The park owner told us to be sure to arrive after noon so we would have a place to park.

The razorback statue is in many, many photos!

The leaves have changed colors all over campus.

After connecting the coach to electric and water, we headed out to find a place to eat. The RV park owner recommended a near-by barbeque restaurant called Penguin Ed’s. The Sunday special was a bowl mixture of Fritos, beans, pulled pork, and coleslaw. It sounded a little weird, but we went for the new Arkansas cultural experience and ordered the special. I enjoyed it, but Charlene had a little more trouble eating it. She ate the pork, but did not really care for the other ingredients. Oh well, we tried it.

The red leaves are impressive!

We next went to the University of Arkansas campus. I remember a number of years ago when Arkansas beat Arizona in basketball during the NCAA tournament. President Bill Clinton was rooting for Arkansas, so I have not necessarily been in love with the University of Arkansas since that game.

We found their football stadium and walked all around campus. We walked around their Old Main building and found their gate to the university. There were beautiful trees changing color all over campus.

This is the famous gate for the campus.

The fall leaves are so beautiful!

Six!

October 25, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Six is a very popular show in Branson!

We were able to go to the show by Six. They are six brothers that sing and dance to all kinds of songs. We really enjoyed them. They seem to be regarded as one of the top shows in Branson. The Six show was probably tied with the Chinese Acrobats and Jonah as my favorite things to see in Branson.

We always knew there had to be a place called Starvin Marvin. Now we finally found it in Branson.

We have had a chance to see some very different shows over the last several days. They were all very good and we would recommend each of them. It is funny to realize that all this entertainment is in the small town of Branson, Missouri.

After the show, we went to a yogurt shop to celebrate our last evening in Branson. This is a very fun place. We wish we could be here for the Christmas shows!

Titanic, Illusionist, and Jonah!

October 23, 2015 / Ed Armstrong

Lion and lamb statue outside the production of Jonah.

Today was an extremely busy day! We scheduled 3 very different activities. Unfortunately, none of them allowed photography. We started the day with the Titanic Museum. This was an extremely well-done museum about the Titanic ship and the tragedy when it sank. We spent 2 hours at the museum and easily could have spent more time learning all kinds of details about the ship, the people, and the details after it hit the iceberg. We highly recommend this museum!

After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed to the show by the illusionist Rick Thomas. Rick used to have a show for 15 years in Las Vegas, but he moved to Branson a couple of years ago. His show was extremely impressive. It amazed us trying to figure out how he performed so many magic tricks. He did many things to get the audience involved. It is easy to understand why this show is so highly rated.

After dinner, we headed to the production of Jonah. When I first entered Missouri (in Rock Port), the women at the tourist center told me that Jonah was highly rated and recommended show. Once we arrived in Branson, several people told us they considered the Jonah production as one of the top shows in Branson. We fully agree! It was a fantastic production and amazing to watch the huge fish swim out over the audience, the power of Nineveh, and the desire of God to show mercy. All of the activities today were fantastic, but Jonah was particularly elaborate and awe inspiring.