Branson Trip, Day Two

Tuesday, Oct. 28: We arose at 6 a.m. to a cool camper...we discovered after we returned from Branson Landing last night that the central heating unit had quit working, so Hubbie brought out the ceramic electric heater to use while we slept. And while it certainly knocked the chill out of the air, it didn't warm the camper as efficiently as central heat.

After a breakfast of Mother's homemade quick breads, served with plain and flavored cream cheeses, and a plate of sliced fresh fruits, Hubbie went to the campground registration building to get a recommendation for a heater repairman. He then called and made arrangements for a repairman to come by at 1 p.m.

By 8:15 a.m., we were all ready to go to the "Yakov Smirnoff" show, scheduled for 9 a.m. This three-hour show was very entertaining, with lots of humor, and several music/dance segments. Hubbie and I had seen the show before, but today the sets and costumes were different, and there were some new jokes added to the old routine. The whole three-hour show, of course, pivots on Smirnoff's coming to America from Russia, and eventually becoming naturalized as a very proud citizen of this country, free to find the humor in his adopted homeland, its people, and its government, without fear of reprisal.

It was noon by the time we arrived back at camp, and the repairman arrived as scheduled at 1 p.m. He worked a long time trying to locate the problem, which he deduced was in the relay. Two hours and $193 later, he finally got the heater to work, but stated that he feared the relay switch might be bad, so if the unit quit working again, we were free to call him back, and he'd try to locate a new switch and replace the old one.

The heater worked for a while...sort of...after much fiddling with the thermostat, but it was obviously not yet totally fixed. We decided not to call the repairman back, though, because our vacation time was limited, and we didn't want to spend it sitting at the camper with a repairman. We'll take the unit to an RV center for repairs later.

After the repairman had been at the camper for a little while, Sis decided to lie down on the couch to rest, where she slept soundly for the duration of his visit. When he left, she became alert and asked, "Why didn't you wake me up?" Why would we wake her up...so she join us in watching the repairman lying prone on the floor, working with the wiring in a small space beneath the refrigerator? It was riveting entertainment, to be sure, but we figured she wouldn't mind missing it.

Later, we had a supper of meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans, and salad, before getting ready to go to a 7 p.m. show. This time, we saw "The Grand Ladies of Country." There are seven artists, whose bygone era music is still great today. Only three of the seven ladies perform at a time...tonight, we enjoyed Jody Miller, Ava Barber, and Mary Lou Turner in a two-hour show that included their signature songs. Jody Miller performed her hit tune, "Queen of the House." Ava Barber belted out several songs from her days as a performer on the Lawrence Welk Show. And Mary Lou Turner, who was nominated for a Country Music Award in 1977 for a duet she did with Bill Anderson, sang several country and gospel songs. These ladies may not be spring chicks, but their voices are still strong and powerful. The audience was small tonight, but these very professional entertainers delivered as if they were performing before thousands of fans.

Back at camp, we broke out a bottle of the wine I bought at the winery yesterday to enjoy with crackers and cheese, nuts, and chocolate chips. A nice end to a good day.