Branson... the fun and the riding

I got to Benton yesterday morning and picked up Mom and Dad and we headed to Branson. Terri, Em and Sean were supposed to wait until 10 to leave Sherwood but they got antsy and left. They got stuck in wreck traffic in Mayflower too. We were actually only about 30 minutes behind them.

We got checked in and drove over to the building the condo is in and first thing I saw was that there were stairs. I was ticked off big time. We drove back over and the lady said there was an elevator but it's hard to find?! So we drive back over there and find it and push the button to go up. Nothing... ugh! We tried everything but the elevator is out of order. Ok now I'm ticked and mad and about to say ugly words in from of my mom. I get on the cell and tell the receptionist what has happened and that I'm standing at the elevator with 2 senior parents and one's in a wheelchair and it's 100 degrees. She realizes she has a unhappy camper on the phone and brings us keys to a walk in unit which is what I requested in the first place! Duh! So we get settled in and Mom and Dad are pooped so Terri, Em, Sean and myself go over to Mickey Gilley's to eat. I love the giant tamles there and Em loves the chicken and dumplings. I couldn't stand the idea of going back to the condo without something for the folks even through she don't bring them anything. We loaded bags with chicken and dumplings and took them back.

Terri and I went to Branson Landing which is the newest hip place to shop in Branson. It's a mile long and the set up is like the Commons in Destin. Really neat. Bass Pro is at one end and Belks is at the other but there are tons of great shops between. There's even a Joe's Crab Shack. I picked up an new looking Discovery Team t-shirt in the Discovery shopand even got a free Team Discovery gift which I'll keep a secret and give it away at the next ride. Of course as of today Team Discovery is doing pretty lame over in France.

We all got settled in and ALL of us talked about waking up a lot last night. Of course there is a little league baseball world series going on so the resort is full is 12 year olds. They are funny though. Just making memories of the summer of 06. I think today must have ended their run because they have taken over the pool with all the kids and parents and tons of pizza.

We took Mom and Dad down to show them Branson Landing which is jut down from the downtown Branson area. They liked it. We then went over to Hard Luck Diner and had a late lunch. It was fun but man is it loud. The waiters and waitresses are also singers so every now and then one of them will come walking through the diner with a mic just singing away with some music track going in the background. The folks really enjoy it. Dad and I sat at the table a tad longer while Mom and Terri got a running start on shopping the shops that are around it. Dad and I sat out in the courtyard and people watched and talked about how most of the stores were Christmas themed and it's 90 degrees. HA! we had a good time and laughed a lot but I could tell my the time we headed back to the condo he was getting tired.

We returned and I went over to Panera to have my afternoon iced coffee drink. (Hey Sherry, I had one yesterday too... na-n-na-n-na-na!!!). I really went to try and get hip and use WiFi but I could never get it going. Of course there were a dozen college aged kids in there going on there computers 90 to nothing. Gosh, I felt old and out of touch!

(Another note to my sister Sherry... We where going through Clinton and I saw a flag and belted out God Bless America and I thought Dad was going to grab the stering wheel and end it all right there! HA!)

When I got Terri, Mom and Dad were all napping. It was funny to walk into the den and see everyone passed out.

Dinner was in and Terri had to go to Chicos to shop some more. There's goes the money!

Hey, I did get up and ride this morning. It was only 14.9 miles but hibbie jibbie it was TOUGH! there is a bike route which the guy who was doing cross-stitch when I walked int the bike shop. Yep, the bike mechanic was cross stitching. Anyway, when i walked in I asked him about the map to the whole bike route. He was all gruff and said, "We don't have a bike route." I said,"Sure you do because I rode part of it this morning. There are signs that say bike route and signs that say Share the Road." "Well, that ain't a bike route. They just put those signs up but I wouldn't ride it!" I told him it was a nice ride this morning and a good challenge. He told me that he wouldn't recommend riding anywhere around here. Ok now this is a guy with a shop full of Trek and Giant road bikes telling me not to bike his town. He told me to go about 10 miles out of town to a commuter lot and ride out there. I told him I really wanted to ride the bike route again in the morning and ride to Silver Dollar City before the traffic started. He looked at me like I told him I wanted to buy his daughter or something! He said, "Do you realize that that is a long hill?" I just said yep and that's what I wanted to train on. He just said, "Well good for you!" I bought some gels just to support a local bike shop but he needs to go to customer service school! If you are in Branson and you find yourself needing a bike shop, the shop itself is good. It in The Shoppes at Branson Meadows.

But there was one really cool thing that happened in there and I got my hands on one of the Hotter Than Hell 100 special issues and ther's a story about our Fast Girls and Slow Guys bike club and a photo of Mr Funk (Yale's dad) and a group photo from when the crew went down there last year.

Well that about wraps up the day... except that FLOYD GT THE YELOW JERSEY TODAY in the Tour de France!!!!! WooHoo!

Geo out...