Final Thoughts on this Trip

This was a good trip, although a short one, but we are now home for a few days.  We promised our son and daughter-in-law that we would watch our grandsons for 4 days while they went off to celebrate Jen's 40th birthday with friends and no kids.

Our visit to the Ark Experience was a disappointment, although I am not sure what we expected.  It was certainly interesting to see a boat as described in Genesis and the woodwork was beautiful.  I doubt that the actual Ark was crafted as beautifully as this one was, and I am not sure about the animals they indicate were on the Ark, since some on display were young dinosaurs.   The folks who were in charge of this project believe that the Earth is about 6000 years old, taking the Bible very literally.  I don't think all of it was intended to be taken that literally, especially since science shows us that the Earth is millions of years older than that, and if I am recalling correctly, dinosaurs and humans did not exist at the same time.  That does not mean that the Bible is wrong in any way; it just means that our interpretation of the Bible may not always be correct.

A visit to the Ark Experience in Williamstown, KY will cost the average adult $40 per person plus $10 parking per car, plus tax.  Children are a little less, as are Seniors, but it still very pricey for a few hours' experience.  There are other things on the grounds, but the restaurant and the zip lines will cost extra.  Eventually there may be more attractions on the site, as there is still construction going on.  The Ark itself is not totally finished; they are still adding exhibits on the 3rd floor of the Ark related to Bible stories after the days of Noah.  The exhibits completed include the Bible stories of Genesis before, during, and after the time of Noah, as well as reference to Christ's crucifixion.  The most interesting part of the tour was how Noah and his family might have lived while on the boat, and how they might have taken care of the animals as well, including storage of food, water, and other supplies.

We topped off our time in Lexington revisiting Red State BBQ for dinner.  The food was just as good as we remembered, and because of a mistake in the kitchen we ended up with a duplicate order as take-out.  We tipped the waitress extra before heading back to the RV with dinner for the next day.

Then it was finally time to pack up for the last time and head east to Virginia and home.  It is about 500 miles and through lots of mountains so the RV got a workout climbing hills and then handling the descent without burning up brakes.

We will do one more short trip in a week to visit Shenandoah River State Park in western Virginia and catch up with RV friends.  Then we are done for a while....until after Christmas, when we will head back south for the winter months.

Ark Experience - Part 3

Three floors to visit, all connected by ramps in the center of the boat.  The top or 3rd floor showed the living quarters of Noah's family on one side, and bible story displays on the other side as well as geological information on how the earth changed during and after the time of the flood.

More weekend fun

Saturday we visited the Kentucky Dam, which provides great views of the lake.  We also drove through the Elk and Bison preserve, even making two loops through the preserve. Although we heard an elk bugling, we never saw any elk or bison.  We did see a lot of cow paddies on and near the road throughout the area.

After a busy day out, we went to Patti's 1880's Settlement for dinner at Mr Bill's.  The pork chops, flower pot bread, and the desserts were all delicious....worth checking out if you are in the area. 

Today we had to pack up and leave LBL, say fairwell and safe travel to Dwight and Jeanine, and drive ourselves to Lexington, where we will stay for 2 nights at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Final Day in Branson

We spent the early part of the day driving through the Ozarks, through a few areas we hadnt been in the immediate area, eventually making our way down to a trout hatchery just beyond the dam.  There we learned about their process before releasing the trout into the lake and got to see the fish in various stages of development.  Then we headed over to the Army Corps visitors center to learn about the White River, Table Top Lake, and the dam, which was completed in the late 1950's.
Our drive finally brought us back into town where we stopped at Curling Vine Winery....just can't resist a free tour/tasting.  The tour wasn't much of a tour, except by video, since the winery is actually located west of St. Louis, but the tasting was great. We tasted at least 10 wines, from dry wines in red and white to sweets.  I bought 4 different bottles to bring home....if they make it that far.  I have certainly had enough today. 
We are headed out to dinner and then to our final show in Branson, Country Jubilee. 

Texas Tenors

This evening we saw the Texas Tenors, winners of America's Got Talent, 2009.  They certainly have beautiful voices and shared their music with us for almost 2 hours. Jim and I were seated on the front row, right side of the stage. I would have liked to have been in a more centered seat a few rows back, but at least we had lots of leg room.  It was a good show, although not as entertaining as Clay Cooper last night.  We will see how Ray Stevens does it tomorrow evening and will finish Wednesday evening with a variety show that is highly rated.

Land Between the Lakes (LBL)

We had a wonderful weekend at LBL with Dwight and Jeanine, visting the nature center and checking out Kentucky Lake.  We stayed at AC campground at Canal. It was $13 a night and our site as big enough to accomodate the RV and 2 SUVs.  Friday we stayed in camp, cooked steaks and corn on the grill and talked a lot to get caught up on each others lives. 

Waterfront Branson, MO

There is a lovely waterfront promenade along lake Taneycomo, which looks more like a river than a lake.  At Branson Landing there are lots of shops and two beautiful water fountains, one which is synced to music.  We enjoyed walking along the promenade from Bass Pro Shops to the other end and back, just window shopping.  It is very hot out today, so we did step into a few shops to cool down. 

Tonight we will see Jim Stafford, who earned popularity in the 70's for songs like "My Girl Bill" and "Spiders and Snakes", as well as his comedic talent.  He performed on The Smothers Brothers show, and had his own TV show for a short time.

Big Cedar Lodge- Part 2

Big Cedar Lodge is actually comprised of many lodges and rustic cabins, 6 restaurants, as well as several pools, a miniature golf course, and other recreational activities including a beach and boat docks on the shore of Table Rock Lake.  It can be found about 10 miles south of Branson in the Ozarks, and was built by Johnny Morris who also founded Bass Pro Shops.   It was free to walk the grounds (and drive around the resort), but costs about $450 a night for a room or 1 bedroom cabin.  These pictures don't fully capture the beauty of the resort tucked in and around the Ozark landscape.