Silver Dollar City

Okay, if you're in southern Missouri you've got to spend a couple of days in Silver Dollar City. This is like no other theme park I've ever been in. It's built right into the sides of the beautiful Ozark mountains. This means you do a lot of hiking up and down the pathways, but it also means the scenery is heavenly. It's so green! Trees shade almost everything. There's so much to see and do - shows, crafter's displays, more shows, killer rollercoasters, shops and all hosted by some of the nicest people you'll ever get the chance to spend a few minutes with.

If nothing else, go and try the food. Dad and I were talking after a very satisfyingly full day there and we realized our feet didn't even hurt, which is really unusual for a day in an amusement park. You spend about half your time there sitting down so there's lots of time to rest. I don't care how old you are, from little kids to grandparents, there's lots to do here. No wonder we go back every year for multiple days!

Here's the website for Silver Dollar City http://www.bransonsilverdollarcity.com/

Eureka Springs 2008

When we head to Branson we like to include in our visit a trip to Eureka Springs. It is one fun place to window shop and explore the town, architecture, nature, and springs. I'm not sure how many natural springs exist in this 'little Switzerland' as it is known, but there are certainly a plethora of bubbling springs all over. The trip to Eureka Springs which is located in the Arkansas Ozark mountains is a blast. I love driving the roads. Once when I had a slower car in front of me on a back country road I actually pulled in to a driveway, turned around, went back a mile or so to give me the chance to drive the route at a more thrilling speed. Who needs roller coasters? The town of Eureka Springs boasts more marriages in a year than anywhere in Arkansas. The architecture of the town is a blast.







Almost every building is well cared for and painted in different ice cream parlor colors. If you ever head down that direction of the country make sure you include this town in your itinerary.

This link tells a bit about the history of the town. http://www.eureka-springs-arkansas.com/Local_History.html

Awesome Famer's Market

I am so envious of anyone who can get into Kansas City on a Saturday! They have the best farmer's market I've ever seen. Vaughn and I went before we headed south to Branson. So much fun! I wandered from stall to stall just taking in all the gorgeous produce (and the terrific prices). We took lots of pictures so you can see the beautiful colors, I just wish you could smell all the delicious smells. We also bought all the fresh produce that we needed while down in Branson. Wow! The $2.00 pineapple was incredible as was the $2.00 bundle of asparagus. Plenty of free parking on a Saturday. Check out their website http://www.thecitymarket.org/ they're open year-round.

Visit with Jeff and Joann and family!

When we were back in Missouri we visited Jeff and Joann and family. It was great to see them even though they were busy preparing for a 'trek' on the following day. We missed them so much that we both independently thought of leaving Branson early and spending an extra day up north so we could see more of them. But I guess that will need to wait until next year's visit.

Flowers for You

All right, this one's for you ladies back home. Here's a few of the flowers that are blooming here in Williamsburg. Enjoy!

Ice Dream Challenge

On Monday night we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. During dinner Dad said that they had his favorite ice-cream and that they couldn't make too big a cone of it for him. While everyone was finishing eating I went and ordered everyone some dessert. I ordered brownies for Grandma and Cattie and cheesecake for Abe and I and then for Dad I told the young man at the register I wanted the biggest Ice Dream cone he could make. He looked at me like, "Is this a challenge?" and headed for the ice cream machine. After several attempts he finally had a cone he was willing to call the biggest cone he could make. I laughed and took it back to the table. Dad looked a little shocked and everyone laughed. He did manage to finish it, though it took a little while.

Riding the Metro

Hey Everyone! Yesterday Dad and I introduced our fellow travelers to the D.C. Metro. They took to it like ducks to water and were riding it like natives in no time at all. (How do you like these fancy pictures Dad and I played with this morning?) We went to the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Space and Flight. Catherine really liked the gems and minerals but we didn't go near the taxidermy exhibits in the Mammals area. I didn't mind at all - I'd already seen it all - so I hung out with her while Dad and Abraham hung with Grandma. We didn't get to spend very much time in the Space and Flight Museum because for various reasons it was time to quit. (Nobody minded this, we were all getting pretty tired.) It was the most crowded I've ever seen the place. I guess with it being the weekend and rainy and the cherry blossoms being on and everything the general population of the D.C. area converged on the museums for the day. We listened to Saturday sessions of conference on the way up and the way back. They were really good and it helped the drive to pass much more quickly.

Richmond and the 10K

We went to Richmond today. We were originally going to drive up and down Monument Ave. and look at all the beautiful old homes and monuments, but we showed up just in time for the Richmond 10K which is apparently a really big deal around here. There were a lot of participants and Monument Ave. along with a lot of the side streets were closed to motor traffic. Well, after last night's slightly criminal activity, I guess we were feeling like we needed to give something back to the community so we rolled down all the windows and played John William's 'Olympic Fanfare' for the edification and inspiration of all the tired runners. I'm sure they were appreciative. Hey, Faith! Notice the dogwoods are in bloom.

We're Here!

Hey everybody! After about a twelve hour journey by means of airplane shuttlebus and rental car we have arrived to take Virginia by storm. We were all very tired but still getting along and being reasonably polite to each other. We didn't have too much difficulty finding our resort and were happy to find it comfortable, new and convenient. We immediately made an impression (not necessarily a GOOD impression but definitely an impression) on some of our neighbors. Dad, Catherine and I went to Wal-Mart to get breakfast supplies for the morning. By the time we got done there it was 11:30 at night and we were really tired. When we stepped out of the store it was raining pretty hard and we were getting kind of wet. (It was nice and warm though, about 70 degrees.) We got back to the resort, found kind of a tight parking place and grabbed all our groceries to carry back into our place but when we got to the front door we found it locked from the inside and our keys wouldn't work! We rang the doorbell a couple of times...no response. We knocked, then knocked a little harder...still no response. Okay, by now we were feeling a little ticked. Our arms were about falling off with the weight of the groceries and the rain was running down the backs of our shirts and into our pants. Dad gave the door a half a dozen good hard bangs. At this point I looked at him and said, "Are we sure this is our place?" He made a quick check and said, "Uh, no..." You wouldn't believe how fast he and Catherine high-tailed it to the car. I would have too, but unfortunately, I had dropped a gallon of milk on this strange door step and just as I was picking it up the door was opened by a very sleepy older lady in her nightgown who really wanted to know who this bedraggled door-bell-ditcher on her porch was and why I had aroused her from a deep sleep. I explained as best I could, apologized profusely and backed away quickly. I'm just hoping she was so asleep she'll never be able to recognize me in a police line-up.

Sneak Peak at Aine's blessing dress

Okay, maybe this is cheating a little - I probably should make sure Faith gets to see this first. The dress isn't quite finished but you can see what it's going to be like. If we're supposed to post blogs about what we've been doing, this is pretty much what I've been doing. The first picture is the whole dress and then there are a couple of details of the embroidery and the sleeves.