Memphis Trip

Well again Blogger has changed their format so I guess I will do this one day at a time. This may be kind of disjointed. Starting with the final two days.  We drove from Memphis to Murfreesboro Friday and checked into our B & B.    It was very nice and Karen was very friendly.  Here are Dan, Katlin and Connor swimming in the pool.  They really liked it cause it was deep and they could jump in.  Dan and Connor had a cannon ball contest.  Not sure who won but think it was Connor.  This picture was taken from our balcony with stairs leading down to the pool.



They were nice enough to use two blow up mattresses so we could all be in one room.  Connors is the one to the right and mine is the one with the blue blanket.  It was a very long night.  The mattresses had a pillow made into them and so was impossible to sleep any way but on your back.  My feet hung off the end and Dan and Katlin said I snored like a freight train,  Possible as my neck was pushed forward and I could hardly breathe. 




Dan and Katlin slept in the king sized bed but Dan said it sloped to the outside and was not the best bed.










This is the outside.  It really was very nice.  Fresh cookies and brownies. They even had a tanning bed you could use if you wanted. 

We got up early (for this bunch anyway) 7:30 and went to have breakfast at Buddy's Ranch house.  It was included in the  B & B and was very good.  Then off to the diamond fields.  We got there about 9 and the parking lot was already pretty full.  The B & B had equipment you could use  so we had two screen sets and a shovel.  We had brought our own bucket and trowels.  We kept to the edge cause there was some shade there. and worked until noon and decided all the diamonds were hiding for the day and took off for home.  We drove to Springdale Arkansas where Teresa met us for the evening.  Went to the Chicken House for supper and then let the kids swim for a while.  Grandma rested.  We stayed at a Double Tree Motel.  It was very nice and were running a week end special. Slept much better that night.  No neck cramps.  Up at the crack of 9:30 on Sunday for the trip home. We left about 11:00. It was about 8 hours of nothing much but driving.  The kids had watched all their movies so was a long day for them.  We dropped Connor off about 6:30 and headed on home.

Memphis Trip

We left Memphis Friday morning with a change of plans.  I had planned to go to the Metal museum but Dan thought the kids would like the Indian Mounds in Murfreesboro better so we headed out.  It was to be 102 with heat indices of 110-115 Friday so were glad to be out of the big city.  Not that is was cooler temperature wise but at least you were where the breeze could hit you.  We drove on Interstate 40 (never use this road) to Little Rock then headed south on 55.  Just outside Little Rock Dan saw a sign for a 100 foot buffet.  We laughed about it but little did I know the lure was too great for him.  When we came to it  we had to stop..  Would highly recommend it.  Browns 100 foot buffet.  The foot was very good maybe home cooked.  Lots of southern dishes, greens, fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, cornbread, really good fried chicken.  We filled up and and took off again.   Got to Murfreesboro and went to the Ka-Do-Ha Indian mounds.  There were five excavations.  The picture is a Buffalo kill.  The museum explained how the mounds were formed.  They also had a field you could hunt for arrow heads.  I went in to look at the museum/gift shop while everyone else hunted.  Dan actually found an arrow head.  It was pretty interesting.  To the B & B and then when to Buddy's Ranch House for supper.  Buddy's is one of those places where every one can sign the walls, furniture any thing you could find.  We all did that and went to the B & B.  The kids swam and I rested for a while.  Ready to hunt those diamonds!!

Memphis Trip

Front of Graceland

This is what I went to Memphis for. I didn't know it was so commercialized , but all the same I enjoyed it. It was about 1:30 or 2:00 when we got there and stood in line to ride the shuttles over to the big house. It didn't take too long and you got an audio player to tell you what you were seeing.

The Lisa Marie

Pink Caddy

Gold plated seat belt

Bar area

Picture at the bottom of stairs

Costume from Jail House Rock

Gold records

Elvis Grave

This is one of the planes the Lisa Marie. The other was called the Hound Dog II. The Lisa Marie was opulent. It had a dining table, a bedroom and office and the seat belts were 16 caret gold plated. Connor had never been on a plane but I told him this was not was the planes were normally like. We also got to see the car museum and really liked that. The Pink caddy was my favorite.This is Elvis grave. The Meditation Garden was very beautiful. They had a lot of costumes from his movies and even the blue swede shoes.

After we were done about 4:30 we went back to the hotel to cool off and rest. Dan wanted to go to Pete and Sam's Italian restaurant to have the bar-b-q pizza he saw on TV that was supposed to be the best ever. There was so much food. Dan ate half but no one else even came close. We drove in a downpour to the restaurant but it had quit raining by the time we got there. Unfortunately it was pouring when we were ready to leave. Dan and Connor went for the car. Connor didn't know Dan could run that fast. He said he only got two drops of rain on him. A good day.

Priscilla and Elvis wedding clothes

Memphis Trip

These pictures all all mixed up and I am having trouble figuring out how to get them to the right place. Anyway we started Thursday off at the Mud Island River Park. We rode a monorail to the Island. The kids thought that was pretty neat. Then we went to the museum. It tells the history of the river at Memphis. There are all kinds of wax figures representing different people of the river. They have one section that is like a paddle boat, one like a civil was army boat,one like a new river boat with radar. There are sound effects with some . It also had once section on the music of the river with old instruments like the one in the picture. Real "bones", a bottle neck slide and a cigar box fiddle. It took you through the ages up to Elvis and BB King. There was an escalator that had no steps! InterestingThis is the inside of one of the boats. Outside there was a scale model of the Mississippi River. It started in Minnesota (where we were last year) and went to the Gulf of Mexico. It is graded so the "river" actually flows. We made it all the way to the Gulf and guess what? No tarballs! Lots of Mayflies though. We had to stop once for me to rest and cool off. Then headed to our second Bar-B-Q place. This one was called Central Bar-B-Q and was quite different than the first. It was definitely in a better part of town. There was a chain link fence all around the building with barbed wire on the top. Kind of like a prison. Dan said it was to keep people from stealing the smoker. You could really smell the Bar-B-Q as soon as you got out of the car. Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld about the soup Nazi? That is kind of what it was like. There was a billboard when you came in with all these rules. 1. Know what you want to order! 2. Don't for get your number! I can't remember the rest but their were several more. I was afraid to order and wouldn't you know I was last and had to remember the number. Go figure!. The food was good and after you ordered it was OK. Next we were off to Graceland!

Memphis Trip

Day two started our trip from Perryville to Memphis. It was about a 3 hour drive. This is a shot of the Pyramid as we were coming into Memphis. It is quite impressive and quite blinding when the sun shines on it. It was about lunch time when we got there and we used Nigel to find our first Bar-B-Q restaurant. It was called the Cozy Corner and it was not in the best part of town. But it has a five star rating so we tried it. When we went in I recognized the owner from the Internet. She was sitting on a bench. We placed our order and went to sit down. As we were eating our ribs the owner came walking by to talk to someone in a booth behind us and she had a 9mm gun strapped to her hip. Now this lady has to be in her seventies but I'm guessing not too many people mess with her. We were definitely in the minority there but really never felt uncomfortable.

Next we went down town and walked around Beale Street. It was pretty interesting and I am sure at night was pretty lively!

We were a little early for our Gibson guitar tour ( about and hour) but it was air conditioned in side and they had nice comfy chairs to sit in. You could walk around their shop and take pictures but no pics on the tour it's self. This tiger Muppet fur caught my eye.

I was still pretty warm from our walk around town. (We gauged the heat by how many hankys I went through) This was definitely a 4 hanky day. Dan assured my it would be cool on the tour because he said it had to be climate controlled for the guitars. Well it was climate controlled all right. 51% humidity!!! My glasses kept fogging up. You had to wear safety glasses even if you wore glasses. I finally took my regular glasses off. The tour was very interesting and if you are in Memphis I would recommend it. Be sure to call a head for reservations.

We were done with the tour about 4:00 and our next stop was to see the Peabody ducks at the Peabody Hotel. We walked there and it was very crowded but cool (air wise I mean). Well the ducks were cool too but they weren't scheduled to parade back to their pent house until 5:30 and we thought that was too long to wait. A couple of quick pictures and we were on our way to Horn Lake Ms to spend the night. We stayed at a Drury Inn and I would recommend them also. Besides a wonderful full breakfast, they also had a free supper. We ate there that night and really enjoyed it. All went to the pool for a while and to bed for a good nights sleep.

Memphis Trip

We started our Memphis trip Tuesday night after Dan got off work. Here we are I thought I could get everyone in but missed me. Oh well! We left about 5 and drove to Hannibal. Dan wanted to eat at a place we had eaten when we were there a few years ago. Unfortunately it was closed. We drove around looking for a place and came across Lulabelle's. It looked interesting. Had been a brothel at one time. So we went in. They seated us and Dan was reading the front of the menu that told about the place and I had opened the menu up and was about to choke! The cheapest thing on the menu was $17.00 and it went up drastically from there. We looked at each other and got up and left. We ended up eating a Breaddough Pizza. Quite a come down!
We went on to our motel in Perryville Mo. The only other thing of note that happened was when we passed the Lamborghini dealership. Connor and Dan were drooling. Connor talked a lot about his Lamborghini after that. Good nights sleep at a Comfort Inn and off to Memphis.

Fiddle Camp

Check out the June entries.  I finally got  the video to download.  Enjoy!

July With Kyann

Got to spend a couple of days with Cindy, Shane and Kyann. Don't know if it is because she is older and remembers me or she was just in her own environment but Kyann made right up and we had a really fun visit. Here she is painting the ribs. She loves to help Cindy in the kitchen and they had made cookies earlier and had to change her clothes cause she was covered with flour. But they had a good time and made good cookies

Here she is smelling a sock. "Stinky Sock" she says. She is talking a lot more now.

We had a field trip with Shane to pick up some bricks and she got to jump on the trampoline. She loves that and would stay all day I think. She wanted Marmar to jump with her but I had to say no to that one. Look at that hair!!

Went to gymnastic class with her and daddy again. She still rebels about not getting to do what she wants but is making progress I think.

I had a nice visit. It was short but fun. Looking forward to next month and hope to stay a little longer.

Branson Vacation

We left for our vacation to Branson bright and early on Monday July 12th. Katlin and I went to pick up Connor and Connie and hit the road. We stopped along the way for a picnic lunch and then on to our first stop. the drive thru zoo near Stafford, Mo . I really didn't want camel drool on my car so we decided to ride the tram. Our guide I think his name was David warned us that some of the animals were aggressive and to take care. We bought sacks of pellets to feed the animals. He said that at least one person lost their bag every trip.

Connor was the one for our trip. Clyde the camel made off like a bandit withe his whole sack of food.

Clyde was quite the road side bandit. and I thought once he was going to come and ride the bus with us.

They had zebras and longhorn cattle and antelope and i can't remember what all that you could hand feed. Some of the animals were in cages like the cats and bears but a lot roamed free too.

This is a baby Zedonk which is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. This baby was only a week old and cute as could be. You can barely see his stripped legs.

I was a little leary of having a buffalo up that close to the bus but I guess they are pretty tame

This was our motel. The Yellow Rose.

It was inexpensive and comfortable. The pool was right out side our door which was nice. The kids spent quite a bit of time there in the mornings and evenings.

Here is Katlin making a splash.

Now Connor's turn to hot dog.

Tuesday morning we voted and decided to go to the Hollywood Wax Museum. I really didn't want to go but ended up having a ball. Here I am sharing a box of chocolates with my friend Forest Gump. I didn't know you could get close to the figures but we posed with all the greats and near greats.

This was one of Katlin's favorite poses.

Connie showed her naughty side. She spent some time with Hugh. Note the bunny ears.

Here is Connor hanging out with Indiana. Crack that whip.

Then we went to Ride the Ducks. Our driver ( I think his name was Dave) was very funny and very informative.

We all got quackers, of course. Here we are out on the lake after we had made our plunge.

Katlin driving the boat. Keep your eyes on the road girl!!

After the Ducks we went to the Dixie Stampede. That was probably our favorite thing in Branson. You couldn't take pictures. Oh man. There was a pre-show that was really good too. A juggling banjo playing comedian. There was no silverware so all the food had to be eaten with your fingers. My only complaint was too much food. Everything tasted really good. And the show was wonderful!

You could take pictures of the horses before the show. I think Katlin got a picture of all of them.

Wednesday was our Titanic adventure. I think Connie and liked it more than the kids. There was a lot of reading but there were also some hands on things for the kids. Katlin was a 9 week old baby from 3rd class that was handed out to someone on the lifeboat (her person just died last year for real. She was the last remaining survivor ), Connor was a con man that conned his way onto a boat, Connie was a famous dress designer and I was a remarkably faithful wife who stayed behind with her husband cause she didn't want to leave him. Go figure. I was the only one in our group who died.

Then we went to a show called Island Fire. a Polynesian dance group. They did dances from all the South Pacific Islands. One of their dances was the fire dance yo see in the picture. There were three guys throwing lighted batons to each other. One dropped his and it rolled into the stage curtains. I thought sure we were goners but they must treat everything with a flame retardant. We went next door for a Luau. It was not the best food. Eatable but not so tasty.

Thursday we decided to get up early and play miniature golf. We put the kids in the stockade and had a good time. Just kidding. Just a Kodak moment. It was pretty hot even with a breeze and some water features. went back to the motel to cool off and rest before heading to the Branson Belle Showboat.

This is the boat. It was very nice. We had tried to get tickets before we left but we wanted to be in the balcony and they fill up the ground floor first. We got some at the Duck ride and the guy assured us they were in the first row of the balcony but when we got there they were in the very back corner of the main floor. I don't usually complain but I did to our server and got her supervisor and they moved us up to the balcony. I thought the seats were very good.

The meal was the best we had while we were gone. They show was really good too. They had a variety show with singing and dancing. There were 2 guys and 2 girls and they did 29 show tunes in 10 minutes with costume changes!!! WOW.

This reminded us of Swedish Idol at Duppa.

The main show was a ventriloquist with talking dogs. It was hilarious. This is Irving.














We started home Friday morning. Don't think we were ready to go but had a really nice time. A quick stop at Bass Pro and we were home in no time. Fun time. And I think everyone is ready to go again.