Travels with Ch - Day 8

I have never had a desire to "Ride the Ducks." The thought of appearing on one of those ridiculous looking, noisy vehicles lumbering through the most populated areas, was absolutely abhorrent to me. That was before I rode one. It was on the agenda, so we did it.














Our, overly enthusiastic, driver / guide handed out Quackers as we boarded and the kids loved them! Charlie scored a front row, window seat and was set, Quacker in place, ready to go.














The driver turned out to be very knowledgeable about the area and gave a running commentary, spiced up up with some Oldies music, lame jokes, and challenges to be as noisy on the Quackers as possible.
The name "Duck" should actually be spelled "DUKW." The vehichles are vintage WWII, "put together by women, that's why they have held up so well." "D" = the year 1942, "U = amphibious, "K" & "W" = front and back wheel drive.














We lumbered down the main strip making enough noise to turn the heads of everyone in hearing range. Just off the strip, we had a brief sojourn into the Ozarks. Our Duck passed a number of WWII & Vietnam vehicles lined up for our perusal.
"We try to keep these in running condition," the driver said. His solemn commentary on the vehicles produced an almost reverent quiet amongst our group.
The quiet was short-lived, however, as we approached the lake. Normally, the Duck would head into the lake at full speed, but high water from recent rains required more care. We eased into the lake and the Duck carried us in a large circle around a small island. Each of the kids was given a turn at the wheel for photos. We drove out of the water just as easily as we entered.
"The Duck's land wheels never stop turning, even when we are in the water," the driver explained.






Okay, okay, it was touristy, but it was a great outing!





We did have a learning session , etc., but there was time for swimming in the afternoon.
The evening show was the Hamner - Barber Variety Show, a mix of great illusions and ventriliquism. Jim Barber and Seville appeared on the David Letterman show. Dave Hamner is a minister as well as a magician. His most amazing trick was levitating and then.....well, I won't spoil it for you. On Sunday mornings, they have a church service, on the same stage, open to everyone.

Travels with Ch - Day 7

We left STL about 9:45 a.m., heading for Branson, Missouri (pronounced Missoura by the natives). Our objective this week is attending an ElderHostel Intergenerational program in Bransom. The goal is to learn a little bit about performing in the real world.

Orientation and a get-acquainted time was held on the first afternoon of the program. We met the 12 kids and 21 grandparents with whom we will be spending the rest of the week.

Our first session on the first full day, was given by Sarah Kleinfelter, one of the tour hostesses and a former professor at College of the Ozarks. Her history of Branson was a real eye-opener. She stressed that the entertainers in Branson were very family-oriented and geared to training the next generation of entertainers. Over the next few days, I heard the theme repeated by others and found everyone we met exhibited that ideal.



Mark Young, a professor at College of the Ozarks,presented 2 classes over 2 days, focusing on giving a good performance.

His wife, Lisa, taught the importance of body movement. These were very interactive sessions and had everyone up, moving around, laughing, and learning.





An afternoon presentation by Danny Eakin, "The Life of an Ozark Troubadour," reinforced the principals of the morning lecture. He sang, played guitar, banjo, harmonica, and admonished the kids to honor their mothers and fathers. I checked his statement that musicians always took their hats off when they sang Gospel songs, and found it to be true. They also "give God the glory for their performances" and "show great respect for veterans." Yes, this is typical of everyone we met in Branson. He certainly did remind me of my brother, T.

We attended shows every evening and applied the learned information to our observations. Dolly Parton's "Dixie Stampede" was the first show we attended. Heavy on patriotism with a Civil War theme, it was quite an extravaganza. It was a dinner show that was all finger foods.
"Hold up your hands! This is your silverware!!"
Every person was served soup (to drunk from the small bowl it was served in), a small roasted chicken, half a grilled potato, a cob of corn, and a roll. Dessert was a "cow patty", actually a fruit pastry. Drinks were served in small jars. It was amazing how quickly all that food could be served and the remnants cleared away during a 2 hour show. All the while, we were watching some fancy horse work and amazing costumes.

We fell into bed, tired and full - of food, information, and Bling. In fact, we did not have the opportunity to get hungry all week.

Travels with Ch - Days 5 & 6

Baby K was not well, so Thursday, I struck off for the St. Louis Science Center with Ch & Li. Li is a born builder and always heads straight for the blocks and toys that connect. Ch preferred the computer games but had to fight his way through the adults to have an opportunity to work on the computers.







They were joined by some other children and all worked cooperatively to build a soft block model of the arch. This one stood longer than any of the others I have seen.




The whole Center, which is free BTW, is geared to children in various stages of development. The older ones can read the instructions and reasoning to get the real story. Best of all, were the volunteers which are occasionally positioned at various areas to assist the children. They encourage and challenge the children who would ordinarily race through the different areas.

Well, maybe best of all are the Science Shows. Energetic young adults share experiments and ideas with the children. We saw presentations on Peeps, Hot & Cold, and, as an added bonus, a demonstration by the summer camp cup speed stacking kids. These were located right by the dinosaurs which, fortunately for us, no longer roar.





We spent 7 hours at the Museum and had two tired little boys that night.

The next day Gordo took the boys to the City Museum (which was not free, but "worth every penny") and gave us two tired boys again.

Maybe next time we will go to Purina Farms.

Travels with Ch - Day 4

After I did some work in the garden of the House Next Door (Those roses are not going anywhere for anyone!), I took Ch to the Arch. We drove all over town looking for a parking space, but there were non e to be found. Then, luckily, we stumbled on a metered space that was free, but the sign warned there was no parking from 4-6. Not enough time, we thought. I had almost given up when we spied parking specifically for the Arch. I guess the people attending the Cardinals game had not found it.

We had a nice walk through a lovely park to access the Arch. Stopped for a photo which shows the bridge we crossed into Illinois while we were searching for parking. The Mississippi is flooded upstream but not presenting problems here.

We traveled to the top of the Arch in small cars which hold 5 small people comfortably. Not too many people in Missouri are small.

The cars travel to the top of the Arch rather like a Ferris wheel gets around a circle. Our car had no ventilation on the trip up, we fared better on the trip down.

The view from the top is awesome. The day was fairly clear but the windows were hazy from the viewing habits of our predecessors. Don't suppose they get frequent outside washing either.

We had a nice view of the stadium where the Cardinals were playing. Missourians take their baseball seriously and most of the town wears red on game days.

Wordless Wednesday- Floating Art

St. Louis, Missouri

Wordless Wenesday

Precious Moments

We left St. Louis this morning, much later than planned of course. Nevertheless, we reached our goal of arriving in Carthage, Missouri, to visit the Precious Moments Chapel. I have been there several times, so I volunteered to keep Junior and let the others enjoy the visit more leisurely.

I am not a collector and only a distant admirer of the Precious Moments collectibles, but the chapel is touching with its paintings and references to children gone from this life all too soon. I cannot imagine the deep grief of a parent who loses a child in its youth.


While Junior munched on an apple, we walked around the small statues in the park outside the main complex. We later walked around a portion of the park inside, and shared a rather incredible sunset. Check out inside photos on ABW's blog.