June 14 Sun - We had a more time than needed to get to our condo in Hollister so we took a couple of detours along the way.  The first was a drive through the Oachita National Forest which proved to be dusty but had some good vistas.  We did see a deer and only one other vehicle which followed us for a while.  The roads reminded me of WV.  The second detour was into the Holla Bend NWR.  We hoped to find a bench to eat our Subway sandwiches but there aren’t any.  There is a nice observation tower with scopes but in June the migrations are over so we only saw a few song birds, a hawk, and some vultures.  We ended up eating on the swing on the porch of the visitor center.  We crossed the state line about 4:15 and checked into the Emerald Point condo at 4:30.  Lois showed up about 5:30 with Cheyenne and Dakota.  Went to grocery store and ate in condo.

June 15 Mon -  Ventured into Branson and bought tickets for some shows and rides ($275).  There is a $300 discount for four if we will tour a resort tomorrow.  Lunch at Fishhouse, Cheyenne paid ($45).  Drove to the Dewey Short visitors’ center at the Table Rock Dam.  Interesting exhibit and free.

June 16 Tues - Roger and I went to the Wyndham resort tour.  It took over three hours and was very high pressure.  At the end I kept saying we wanted to leave and to give us the slip that said we were entitled to the discounts.  They were not happy that we walked away with out buying $50K or more worth of resort and hotel points.  Four people tried to convince us that this was the best thing since sliced bread.  It was exhausting and we went back to our place for lunch and a rest before going to pick up the tickets.  I think our mistake was telling them that we travel a lot.  The best thing would have been to say that we had saved for years for this trip and probably wouldn’t be making any more for a long time.  Lesson learned.  Lois drove to Springfield to take her son to the  airport to fly back home.  He just didn’t want to be here because there was nothing for him to do.  We saw the Acrobats of China.

17 June Wed - Another full day.  Started at the College of the Ozarks which requires all students to work at something on campus.  The school is basically maintained by the students.  It is an agricultural college with its own grist mill and green houses.  They make their own jellies and sell them along with the grains in the shops.  Plants are also available from the greenhouses.  There is an old one room school exhibit and the wonderful Ralph Foster Museum which is billed as the Smithsonian of the Ozarks.  

After that tour we went back to the Landing for lunch at the Black Oak Grill then too a cruise on Lake Taneycomo which ended at the fountain for the hourly display of shooting water and fire.  That gave us just enough time to drive to the Shoji Tabuchi theater where we had dinner next door at Paradise Steak House.  I had read something about this guy.  He is from Japan and was trained as a classical violinist, fell in love with fiddle playing after seeing Roy Acuff and came to the US after college to learn more about American style music.  It is amazing what sounds he gets from the instrument.  He wasn’t as flamboyant as Liberace but I think he took lessons from him with all the costume changes.

June 10 Wed - After driving through Vicksburg National Military Site and touring the USS Cairo Museum there we headed into Louisiana and stopped at Poverty Point, a World Heritage Site and the oldest known man made earthen mounds in the hemisphere dating back to 1700 BCE.  We stopped at the Biedenharn Museum in Monroe which is the story of Coca Cola bottling.  He was the first to bottle the stuff and the first to be issued a franchise to distribute.  Today we had American history, ancient archeology, and retro culture.  What will tomorrow bring?

June 11 -Thurs - Out early to Black Bayou NWR.  Walked along the trail and boardwalk that goes out over the bayou.  Gorgeous.  Some of the trails were closed because of flooding.  We could see the results of labor cuts in this refuge and in others.  Maintenance just isn’t keeping up.  Spoke with their LE.  He knows Kenny but we didn’t get his name.  Crossed into AR about 1:00 and had lunch at JJ’s Barbecue in El Dorado.  Made it to our room at the Econo Lodge in Hot Springs at 4:30.  Late dinner at Angel’s Italian.

June 12 Fri - Explored Hot Springs and learned that the the purpose of NP is basically to maintain the quality of the water in the springs.  Their visitor center is an old restored bathhouse in the center of town.  The area has been under federal protection first as a reservation and then as a NP since 1817.  It is an okay small city with lots to do.  We drove to the top of the mountain and took the elevator to the top of the tower to see the whole area and then walked through their aquarium.  After lunch at Rolando,  we went back to the room and napped before the Maxwell Blade Magic Show and another late dinner at Rolando which was too much food especially that late at night.

June 13 Sat - Happy Birthday Roger - The Garvan Woodland Gardens was our first item of the day.  We opted for the golf cart which worked out well since I had a blister from a bug bite on my toe and was having difficulty walking.  It is a pretty place managed by the Arkansas University.  Lunch was the leftovers from the night before.  Our trip on the Belle of Hot Springs involved rushing in and out to get away from the rain.  There was time for a rest before going to the Five Star Theater for a dinner and show to see The Taffetas.

6 June Sat  -   We had until 5 CDT to get to Santa Rosa Beach to visit with Roger’s high school classmate Bill Lane and his wife Carolyn.  That gave us plenty of time to explore the coastal route and detours into St Joe Penninsula SP where we took a short walk on a nature trail but decided it was too hot and turned back so we wouldn’t get too sweaty.  The first Florida Constitution Assembly was held in St. Joe and there is a state museum there that we spent an hour or so walking through.  The Cape San Blas lighthouse has been moved to St Joe.  We stopped for photos and I found a bench to take a quick nap. 

Driving through Tyndall AFB Roger wanted to look for some new sneakers at the Exchange.  We were successful and headed on west.  The traffic around Panama City was as bad as we had been warned.   My thought on that area is that someone took the worst of Cocoa Beach vicinity and Orlando and made things 20% worse.    Doesn’t interest me at all and the traffic was horrible.  I can’t imagine what rush hour is like.  The St Andrews SP is a very beachy place with lots of sand dunes.  Roger’s SP pass is coming in handy as we make our way along this Forgotten Coast.  Roger was stationed at Tyndall in the 60s and is amazed at the development and environmental destruction.  

We arrived at the Lane’s house exactly at 5:00 which surprised us all.  Bill and Carolyn are very gracious hosts, allowing us to stay in their guest cottage and providing a wonderful filet mignon dinner with lots of genial conversation.  Their house is lovely.  It made me think of the houses I see on TV that you find in Alaska and seemed out of character for FL but at the same time I think that gives it more character and speaks to their individuality.

7 June Sunday - The first stop today was Grayton Beach SP where we had a pleasant nature walk that took us through several habitats.   Towhees gave us an opportunity to study them and we also spotted a flycatcher, a finch some cardinals and mockingbirds.  This would be the most birds we saw at any of the parks.  They disappeared as the day warmed.  At Deer Lakes SP there is a long boardwalk through the dunes that ends at the a beautiful sight of the aqua blue waters.  I really got a feel of the Caribbean.  It is a shame to look past the park boundaries and see the destruction of the dunes through development.  To get these parks requires traversing 30A.  What a mess.  It is over developed and full of cars and people.  You can have it.

Camp Helen SP has a nice nature trail and we saw lots of tiny frogs and skinks and I heard woodpeckers but never saw them.  While looking for a place for lunch we tooled through Grayton Beach City.  It looks like an interesting place but there were too many people and no parking so we moved on.  Found Hurricanes Oyster Bar  and split a salad and chilichonga.   The last park was Eden Garden which has a decent nature trail but it had gotten so hot that the yellow flies were out and I was too tired to keep going.  So, we headed to Publix and then back for a rest before going to dinner at the Bay with Bill and Carolynn.  Life is good.

8 June Monday - Had lunch with Roger's sister LeAnna and her two boys along with some of their family.

9 June Tues - We spent three days in Santa Rosa Beach with Roger's Boone HS classmate Bill Lane and wife Carolyn. We enjoyed their wonderful hospitality and great conversation and are blessed and grateful to have such gracious friends. There are a lot of State Parks in the area and we used Roger's life pass exploring them. It is great that we have the state parks otherwise real Florida would be totally annihilated to make room for human habitation.

On our way to Vicksburg today we drove part of the Natchez trace.