May 18, 2007 Branson, MO

We returned to Branson today and took another good look at the strip. As Carol says, it is everything that it is advertised as and much much more. There are all kinds of clubs and entertainment venues and many are owned by and performed at by country and other musical stars. This is a clean town nestled in a large valley in the Ozark Mountains. Views from the ridges above the town give vistas that allow us to see for miles. With all of the green trees and other folliage and the lakes and streams it is beautiful. We don't believe that there are many, if any, types of entertainment not available here. Some of the clubs had large bus type motor homes for the stars and performers parked at the clubs. We had lunch at Charlie's Steak and Ribs. We ordered lunch portions of ribs, advertised as 4 ribs, and were treated to a feast. It came with baked sweet potatoes and other sides and home made sweet rolls. The ribs were huge and meaty with great sauce. I consider myself a rib expert and rate this as, if not the best I have ever had then near the top. They had a good smoked flavor to them. One shock is the rapid rise in gas prices that we have seen here in the last couple of days. Today, in downtown Branson, the price was $3.49/gallon. Out of town it is $3.29/gallon. We hear reports that it will continue to rise until Memorial Day and then ease back down. Maybe we will just find a spot and STAY PUT, for a while. It seems like this is a national problem, not just where we are. Actually we leave here Sunday morning. We will probably go to somewhere around Kansas City for Sunday night. Our next reservation is for the Memorial Day weekend in Mitchell, SD. That means that we have from Sunday morning to Friday afternoon to get there. We are still blown away by the way that we got the slide-out cover/awning replaced by other members of the MOC. We were not injured in the original crash in Cincinnati and the only out of pocket expenses were for the replacement awning material. The MOC has taken us under their wings and taken real good care of us. Are we blessed or not? You bet we are. Tomorrow a tech will look at the washer/dryer to locate the water leak. Then it should be only "normal" maintenance. The weather was only around 70 degrees today and will go only into the upper 40s tonight.