Fall Foliage Train Ride

Last Wednesday, November 10th, Danny and I boarded the Arkansas Missouri Train for a Fall Foliage tour or the Mountains between Springdale and Van Buren.

Upon arriving to exchange our free passes into tickets, the ticket manager asked how I had received the tickets. When I told her that I won the grand prize drawing at a Circle of Life Hospice Volunteer Luncheon, she said, "Well, I'll upgrade you to First Class." Wow! Those tickets are $90 each! What a pleasant surprise and what a great time we had!

The first class car had tables with table cloths and comfortable chairs to sit in. Larry Long, the conductor was attentive to our needs and brought complimentary soft drinks and snacks to us. He also was full of funny stories and gave us two complimentary 5 x 7 photos of us.

Here's a shot Danny took as I returned from a trip to the restroom.... that was a different experience as the train sways and dips.

This is a photo a fellow passenger took for us. We sat side by side facing forward so that we could both see the same scenery and not get motion sick.

We traveled over three wooden trestles .... one was 125 feet over the valley and very long. Our good friend's dad helped build that bridge years ago. He was caught out on the trestle once when the train was coming.... thankfully, he was able to get on one of the extension areas to avoid being hit by the train. Those extension areas were built to hold water barrels in case the train's cinders popped out and started a fire as it crossed over the trestle.

The photo above is of I-540 as we passed under it.

Here's the depot in Old Van Buren. We spent almost 2 1/2 hours exploring antique stores and shops in Old Van Buren. I almost bought a set of Campbell's soup mugs and sandwich plates. They were so cute, but I don't really have room for them nor do I need them.

We had lunch at "Sisters" restaurant. Loved the Tuscan decor, and the plate lunch of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans was tasty. We split a huge piece of coconut pie.... YUM! SOOOOOO GOOD!!

Here's a shot of downtown Old Van Buren. Quaint!

The sun came out some as we traveled home and provided opportunities for a few neat photos.

Larry, the conductor, took me out on the last car's porch to take a picture of the tunnel as we exited it. Boy, it sure was dark for a long time as we passed through.

After an 8 hour trip, we arrived back in Springdale around 4:00 PM. I must say this train ride was a real pleasure to me. I just loved the experience and would recommend it to all. I think going first class made it so much more enjoyable, and I don't know it would have been that good if we had been riding in the coach car. Thanks, Circle of Life Hospice for this pleasant day!

Now, Danny and I are at home waiting, waiting, waiting for Courtney and Keith's call that baby Maggie Lynn is being born. Our next trip will be to Memphis for her birth.... so until then, see ya!

Andy Williams' Christmas Show in Branson

There's just no place like Branson! On November 8th & 9th, Danny and I met Carolyn and Les for a short overnight trip to see to the "Andy Williams Christmas Show".




I know, I know, he's 83 or 84, but he still has a super show and the four of us so enjoyed it that we're hoping to make it an annual trip.... that is until Andy isn't able to perform anymore. The songs were old and sweet.... the film clips from the past were touching.... the variety acts were amazing and entertaining. Maybe you have to be of a certain age to really enjoy it, because there were very few there who were younger that we are. That's OK though....... we could at least understand what was being sung, and the music wasn't so loud that we needed ear plugs!!



The grounds of his theater are expansive and beautifully decorated for the holidays! Here are the four of us just before going into the theater.

Inside, there were beautiful Christmas trees everywhere and poinsettias galore.

The stage curtain depicts a lovely snowy scene to get you in the Christmas spirit. The auditorium is huge... it will hold over 2000 people. I do believe that every seat was filled, and this was just one night of the Christmas season. You do the math.... our seats (which weren't premium seats) were $43.50 x 2000! Wow!

Waiting for the show to begin.

Here's Andy! He still has a lot of charisma, can tell some funny stories as well as sing wonderfully, and he received a standing ovation at the end

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We stayed over night at Brookwood Inn which serves delicious peach and blackberry cobbler, cookies and ice cream each evening from 9 - 11 following the shows. We had just a couple of "small" samplings before turning in for the evening.

Tuesday morning after breakfast, we shopped in the stores in downtown Branson. At the Five and Dime Store, we found a three prong towel rack that Carolyn had been searching for, and I found a cute little tea bag/spoon rest that I had been searching for. You wouldn't believe all the stuff in that store!

Here we are standing before a mural on one of the downtown stores. Just before we parted ways we chowed down on Krispy Kream Doughnuts, YUM! Great trip!

Love these two great friends! So thankful we get to spend time together even though we live so far apart!

On October 23 Danny and I hit the road again after being home 4 days! This time we drove to Tyler, Texas to attend West Erwin church of Christ's 125 Anniversary and to visit with our dear friend, Linda.

We arrived around 4:30 and met Linda at Jones Elementary School where she is the librarian and media specialist. She wanted to give us a tour of their fabulous new school! This place is as nice as most universities! The library was equipped with an online catalog, a number of computers for research and a media room where computer classes are taught by Linda using a computer generated "Smart Board." They even have a conference room where Jones' students can have live interchanges with students from other countries. Wow! Things have changed since I was a part of Tyler ISD!!

We spent the evening with Linda and her mom who cooked us a delicious meal. I gave them some laughs as I tried to walk a tight rope while playing on Wii. I never have been called graceful, but this was pitiful! We so enjoyed catching up with each other and staying in her home overnight. Thanks, Linda, for your hospitality.

October 23 - In the late afternoon we met Carolyn and Les for supper at Jason's Deli! We enjoyed the meal in spite of tornado warnings for that very area. Fortunately, the tornado passes us by. We followed Les and Carolyn to Silver Leaf Villages (at least I think that's the name of the resort) and stayed with them on Saturday night in their timeshare condo. Good friends to put us up for the night, right? Thank you, Les and Carolyn for hosting us for the evening. Does this sound like we are "free loaders"?

October 24 - Here are some pictures of the 125th Anniversary of West Erwin.

Elmer is still greeting members and visitors alike at the door just as he did when we lived in Tyler. We were so encouraged to see so many of our beloved Christian friends and be blessed with a wonderful worship service of over 800. Jay Lockhart presented another uplifting lesson and the singing was beautiful. The fellowship meal following services was delicious (Brisket and Chicken with all the fix'ns) and gave us another opportunity to visit with our friends.

Love these folks! They mean so much to us!

Maggie, Jay Lockhart, and Cathy Scroggins

Ray and Carolyn Wommack

Julie Ables, Jane and Bob Clemmons!

Jay Lockhart was the minister at West Erwin for around 20 years... maybe longer.

As usual, we were some of the last to leave following lunch.... just so hard to leave those who have meant so much to us through the years.

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Abilene, Texas

As planned, we drove to Abilene and arrived on Sunday evening in time to pick up Jason at the University church of Christ building. He was just returning from a weekend youth retreat. Was he tired? You bet! Wouldn't you be after planning, orchestrating the logistics, and leading two retreats (Friday/Saturday for Junior High & Saturday/Sunday for High School) in one weekend? So proud of our son and glad he has chosen to serve our LORD as a youth minister.

Even though we love Jason and Karla so much, you wouldn't know it from the pictures that we took.... none of the two of them and lots of Kaila and Alexa. Go figure....

Any way, here are a few favorite pictures of us with the grands!

Look who went to sleep!

Kaila working on her chair! She's such a doll!

Alexa.... now is she beautiful? She's beginning to interact with you and is such a treasure!

Nana and the Grands, or maybe I should say the wiggle worms! Thought I was going to drop one of them before Papa could take the picture.

Papa and the Grands... Kaila had an ear ache and needed some TLC. Papa could sure help with that!

We had so much fun staying with them and relishing Karla's great cooking! Papa and I even babysat and gave Jason and Karla a chance to get out for lunch one day. On Wednesday morning we headed for home. It was hard to say goodbye knowing that we won't get to see them in person until Christmas. But talking to them on Face Time is wonderful and helps keep us in contact with our children! So glad that Jason & Karla and Courtney & Keith all have the ability to Face Time now! Make the distance so much more bearable....

Well, so long until I post the next blog...