Friday Outing

I skipped going to water aerobics this morning, so I could be ready at 10 a.m. to take the ladies of our scrapbook club to a nearby town to shop at a new store.

The ladies were disappointed that the fall foliage wasn't brighter in the hills along the twisting and turning highway of the 30-mile trip.

"There's not much color," one lady commented. "The trees are all just brown."

"Brown is a color," Mother declared.

We laughed and agreed. The trees might not have been a riot of yellow, red, and orange, but the hills were still pretty in autumn browns and rusts, intermingled with the green of pine and cedar trees. In the fields, wheat-colored grasses swayed in the breeze, and along the shoulders of the road glowed bright red poison sumac.

We arrived in the small town about 11 a.m. and began looking for the new scrapbook store. We traveled through the few miles of the business district without spotting it, but since we were in the right vicinity, we decided to look for a specific restaurant we intended to visit later. We were unable to find that, either.

So I turned around in an unpaved and potholed parking lot of a pizza restaurant, bouncing my passengers as I went, and retraced the route back through town, carefully checking addresses as I drove. Finally, we spotted the scrapbook shop...which turned out to be one of the first businesses we passed on the way into town. I don't know how we missed it, since it had a colorful sign prominently displayed near the highway.

We spent about 30 minutes in the store, with each of us buying several items. The prices were a bit higher than we liked, but the shop did have some things we hadn't seen in other stores.

The business is run by a lady whose husband helps her from time-to-time with various tasks. He was there today, laughing at the chatter of the women. "Do you have any idea how often women use the word "cute," he asked?

One of the ladies didn't appreciate his comment, saying later that while it was nice that he was willing to help his wife, she thought that women would enjoy the shop more if he wasn't hanging around in it all the time.

After we were finished shopping, we had lunch at the buffet pizza place...the one with the pothole parking lot...since it was the only sit-down restaurant other than a Mexican one down the road. Mother doesn't care for Mexican. The other choices were fast food joints. None of the restaurants were good for my diet, but at least I could be a bit more choosy at the pizza buffet.

As we were paying for our meals, Mother asked if we'd been given the senior discount. The manager said, yes, he automatically gives the discount rather than asking if folks are eligible. "One time I asked a lady, who must have been in her 80s, if she wanted the senior discount, and she got mad at me," he said. "So I don't ask anymore. I just guess at it." We laughed and assured him he didn't have to guess very hard to know that the five of us qualified. We are all happy to take advantage of any discounts offered.

Back in our hometown, we stopped by the fairgrounds to shop at the Extension Homemakers Holiday Craft Fair, where I bought a jar of homemade blackberry jelly and a snowman Christmas tree ornament made from a stainless steel teaspoon.

We arrived back at my house around 3 p.m., where we bid goodbye to the ladies as they got in their cars and headed to their respective homes.

Mother and I were not very hungry by suppertime, but we went ahead and joined Hubbie in eating bowls of chicken noodle soup, with canned biscuits and honey.

Thursday, Nov. 6

I decided to adjust the color and contrast in the two photos above, in order to eliminate some of the haze and more clearly show the pretty autumn colors in the hills of our little river valley town.

After several days of sunny, deep-blue-sky days, with temps in the mid-70s, we awoke to light rain this morning. But by this afternoon, it was sunny and mild again. Predictions are that the weather will be fair again tomorrow, though a bit cooler. It should be a perfect day for me to drive the ladies of our scrapbook club to a small town about 30 minutes away to enjoy the fall colors, shop at a new scrapbook store, and have lunch, before returning home.

We got up late this morning, around 8 a.m., and after breakfast, I did a session on the treadmill. I'll miss water aerobics tomorrow, since we will be leaving on our outing around 10 a.m., and the aerobics class doesn't end until 9:15.

For a change, I stayed home all day today, doing this and that. Mother busied herself at her house, and Hubbie took the van for an oil change. Afterward, he spruced the inside of the van for our trip today.

This afternoon, Hubbie and I watched a movie I'd recorded on DVR, called "Heaven's Fall." This excellent 2007 film, rated "PG13," is based on a factual court case. It stars Timothy Hutton as a New York attorney who, in 1931, goes to Alabama to defend nine black hobos accused of raping two white women. This docudrama movie is a study in the shockingly deep-rooted southern racism of the era.

Since Mother opted out of joining us for supper tonight, I prepared a shrimp pasta dish for Hubbie and me. Mother isn't fond of shrimp. Hubbie isn't fond of Parmesan cheese, either, but the dish called for both. This was a new recipe that I thought turned out pretty good. Hubbie pronounced it as "fine," his usual comment on meals.

At 7 p.m., we turned on the radio to listen as our favorite college basketball team played. At halftime, it was apparent that our team would run away with the game, so we turned it off and watched TV for a while, before heading to bed.

Wednesday, Nov. 5

Oops! Somehow, I managed to add two of the same snapshot to this blog. Oh, well...it's a pretty Bradford pear tree.

The $6 waterproof watch I bought at the WDCS several years ago finally quit working, so I picked up another one yesterday. Last night I set the time on it and put it in my swim bag. When I started to put it on in the dressing room at the gym this morning, I noticed it was no longer set for normal time. It registered 20:43 or something. I must have somehow set it in some other mode. I find it difficult to set these "Made in China" watches, with instructions that go like this:

Push C-button three times; push A-button, minute digits flash and advance by depression of A-button; push B-button, hour digits flash and advance as above (12/24 hours advancing by push of A-button); push B-button, date digits flash and advance as above; push B-button, flag of weekday flash and advance as above; push B-button and second will start for setting again. If push C-button during any changing time, Normal Time will appear. Say what?

The water was cooler at the pool today for aerobics, but it was okay once I was in it for a while. The substitute leader was on board again today. I left early, however, so I could get home to complete my morning ablutions in time to meet a cardiologist appointment at 11 a.m.

Hubbie went with me, and grew more and more impatient as time rolled around to nearly noon before I was called back to the exam room. All is well with me, the cardiologist said. He commented that he's glad to see I'm staying "skinny." I'm certainly not skinny, but I am within the normal weight range for my height and age. He is very pleased that I'm eating right and exercising...things many of his patients refuse to do. I imagine it must be hard for doctors to work with patients who won't take their advice and actively participate in a better health program.

The doctor's wife is a camera bug, so when I visit, he spends quite a bit of time discussing the finer points of photography with me. I hope no one in the waiting room is growing impatient about their appointment time while he is idling in conversation with me.

It was 12:30 p.m. by the time we got back home, and I was plenty ready for lunch. After lunch, Hubbie and I went on a photo safari again, so I could get vista shots, as well as a couple of shots of bright trees in fall colors.

After that, we stopped by a grocery store to take advantage of discount coupons we received in the mail today. There were good buys on lots of products that we use.

Supper tonight was steamed new potatoes, summer squash with onions, as well as cabbage sauteed in cooking spray and seasoned with caraway seeds. Yum. We love veggies.

Well, the mama cat and all six kittens are back. Mysterious.

Tuesday, Nov. 4

Election Day. The first thing Hubbie did this morning was put the flag out on the well house. After breakfast and a treadmill session, I got ready, and the three of us were off to the polls. When we arrived at 9:30 a.m., only two or three people were ahead of us. Ours is a small precinct, so there is never a very large turnout. Poll workers said that there was a fair number earlier this morning, though, as folks stopped by to vote in this historic election before going to work.

We have been voting at this polling site for many years, and the workers, who know us personally, and call us by name when we enter the building, find it humorous that we must, as required by law, show our driver's licenses as proof of identity. The law's the law, though, and we respect that we must follow it.

We breathed a sigh of relief as we left the poll...at long, long, last the election, whoever might win, is finally over.

Following that, Hubbie and I again ran errands. I needed to visit both of the health stores to pick up vitamins and 8-grain cereal. I get the cereal and multi-vitamins at one of the stores, and fish oil at the other one. I also wanted to go to a book/music/video store to check on the price of a DVD I'm interested in buying, to see if it'd be cheaper at that store or at an online store. Hubbie wanted to go to a couple of places, too, including a home supply store.

After lunch, Hubbie accompanied me around town to take pictures of the fall colors. Already, they are fading, but I got a few shots, including the ones shown above.

For supper tonight, we had boiled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and Lima beans. The rest of the chicken and broth will be used to make soup for Friday's supper, when the weather is predicted to be cooler.

Tonight's entertainment was the election results, of course.

Monday, Nov. 3

It felt good to get back to water aerobics this morning. Several members of the group commented on the recent Octoberfest event photos that I shot, which were published in the regional section of the state's newspaper yesterday. The ladies were particularly interested in the snapshot of one of the water aerobics members, who was a featured demonstrator at the event.

Our usual aerobics leader was out today, so a substitute took over. We were told the regular leader is suffering from sciatic nerve problems. I have not had this problem, but both Mother and Sis have, and I know from them that it is very painful. It is a malady that comes and goes without warning, but when a person is afflicted, it seems to linger for weeks.

As I arrived home from aerobics, the plumber was leaving, having unclogged the upstairs bathroom sinks. Hubbie had to call the plumber after he tried everything else last night, to no avail. It's always something around here (or in the camper).

After lunch today, Mother and I planned this week's menu, and then Hubbie and I shopped for groceries and ran other errands around town.

When we got back, Mother and I, both still kids at heart, watched two Charlie Brown shows, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," and "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown," that I had recorded on DVR.

During the evening, Hubbie and I caught up on favorite one-hour TV shows, which I had also recorded on DVR while we were gone last week, and as we watched them, I taped them for Mother.

By that time, we were plenty ready for bed, since neither of us has adjusted to the time change...even though the clock said it was 10:30 p.m., our bodies were telling us it was 11:30. Shih Tzu is having an even harder time adjusting to the change, and insists on having lunch and supper an hour earlier than the clock declares is meal time. Come to think of it, my tummy also starts rumbling too early.

Sunday, Nov. 3

After eating too much and exercising not at all last week while we were in Branson, I hit the treadmill both yesterday morning and this morning to try to make up for lost time.

Once I was ready for the day, I spent most of the rest of the morning on the computer, posting blogs about our trip. Lunch was easy today...various leftovers from last week.

This afternoon, we attended a concert performed by members of our state's symphony orchestra. As it usually is each year for the concert, today was very warm. So it was hard to decide what to wear. I settled on a lightweight, brown suit jacket and tan slacks. Mother opted for black and gray, and Hubbie wore his usual uniform...khaki slacks and short-sleeved knit shirt.

In bygone days, everyone dressed up for the symphony. Anything less would have been inappropriate. These days, though, it doesn't matter what one wears. Some dress up, some dress casually, some come in jeans and t-shirts, or, in the case of teens and young adults, even shorts and t-shirts.

I should have checked the calendar before we left, because we arrived before 2 p.m. for a 2:30 performance. Hubbie was anything but pleased that the orchestra's conductor was scheduled to give a lecture on the two featured composers...Dvorak and Schumann...during the 30 minutes prior to the concert.

Basically, the lecture reiterated program notes on the composers. The 1800s composer, Dvorak fell in love with an aspiring 16-year-old actress, his piano student. But she rejected him, and so he married her younger sister. Dvorak retained a powerful affection for the preferred sister, though, and when she died, he quoted a melody from one of his songs in the second movement of Cello Concerto in B. Minor, Op. 109, performed by the symphony today.

Schumann suffered symptoms of a nervous disorder that became severe enough to lead to "profound depression, ringing in the ears, memory loss, trembling and irrational fears of heights and sharp metal objects." He couldn't even bear to hear music, and by the end of 1844, he suffered a complete nervous breakdown. Today, we heard Schumann's Symphony No.2 in C. Major, Op. 61.

Saturday, November 1

It's hard to believe that we are only weeks away from Christmas. It's even harder to believe that the stores are already bedecked for the season, and I'm hearing piped Christmas music! I'm not ready for Christmas, and I won't be until after Thanksgiving.



Our goal this weekend was to take down the Halloween stuff and locate the cute wooden elements that turn a pumpkin into a turkey. But where had we hidden them?? We thought we knew exactly where they were, but no matter how many times we looked in that spot, they just weren't there. Nor were they in any drawer, bag, or tote we looked in. We covered the same territory over and over again looking for them. Finally, Mother decided to remove every bag hanging in the spare bedroom closet and look through them. Sure enough, she found the turkey parts in one of them. I promptly took them outdoors and mounted them on a pumpkin (see photo above).



This afternoon, Hubbie and I sat down to listen to the radio as our favorite college football team played and won a game they were predicted to lose. It was a very tight and exciting match, and we were thrilled when our team pulled out a victory.



Two of the kittens returned tonight, meowing loudly for food. We fed them, of course, but we wonder where the others are.



Tonight, we turned the clocks back. So now, even though it'll be daylight when we get up in the mornings, it'll get dark earlier in the evenings. We're not fond of Daylight Savings Time, because the winter nights seem to drag on. I always think that I should be able to accomplish lots of indoor projects during these dark evenings, but I don't. Instead, all I seem to want to do is curl up on the couch under a warm afghan and watch TV or read.



I'm not a winter person, so I'm already looking forward to spring.

Branson Trip, Day Five

Friday, Oct. 31: Halloween Day. We got up at 7 a.m. and had a breakfast of cold cereal, and then hooked up the camper for the trip home. The day was overcast, with a sprinkling of rain. This was the first day that we might have needed an umbrella, had we stayed in Branson. We were plenty prepared if there had been rain at any time during the week, though, because we ended up bringing seven umbrellas for the four of us. Apparently Hubbie had stashed two in the truck unbeknowst to me, so I put two more in (one for me, and one for Sis, in case she didn't bring one). Then Mother, not knowing there were now already four umbrellas in the truck, put another two in (one for her, and one for Sis, in case she didn't bring one). When Sis arrived early Monday morning, she put her own umbrella in the camper, bringing the total to seven.

We left the campground around 8:30 a.m., traveling the winding uphill road to the highway leading home, past streets with names like "Critter Trail," and "Bald Eagle Road." From the top of the hill, we could see fog tucked among the trees like a downy white quilt, while ghostly fingers of mist rose from the surface of the lake. Today, the trees, though still in muted tones, were somewhat more colorful than earlier in the week.

We stopped for lunch at an overlook that featured a scenic view of two bridges...one for vehicle traffic, and one for trains. Here, we had our traditional Halloween fare of chili, crackers and cheese, and pumpkin custard for dessert.

We arrived home mid-afternoon. Sis got on the road to her home shortly afterward, and we unloaded the camper, washed laundry, picked up the week's papers at the newspaper office, and just generally put things in order again.

We were sort of disappointed to find that the mama cat and her kittens were no longer here. We wondered if they'd come wandering back again in a day or two, as they've done in the past.

Branson Trip, Day Four

Thursday, Oct. 30: We got up at 6 a.m. this morning, so we could leave camp by 9 a.m. to go to Springfield to visit the big Bass Pro Shop, and to meet friends for lunch at the excellent restaurant in the store.

We arrived around 10 a.m. Bass Pro Shop has lots of interesting exhibits, like large aquariums, a waterfall, and mounted animals, as well as an art gallery, a Tracker boat exhibit, and all manner of sporting goods. There was plenty to do to fill a couple of hours before we met friends at 11 a.m. for an early lunch.

The store, which is very conservation-conscious, included information about endangered fish like the paddlefish, which is confined to the Mississippi Valley. It's only other living relative is found in the Yangtze Valley in China. Another endangered fish is the pallid sturgeon (shown above). It is found in small numbers in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

Normally, Bass Pro Shop also features a Wonders of Wildlife Museum. However, it is currently undergoing renovations and wasn't open for our visit today. It won't be open again until sometime in 2009. We were disappointed not to be able to see this museum, but we'll return when it is completed. We saw this very worthwhile facility several years ago and really enjoyed it.

The moderately-priced lunch at Hemingway's Restaurant was very good. The buffet is laid out in a circle, with salads, sliced meats, soups, pastas, rolls, and desserts (including bread pudding with rum sauce) on the outside edge, and a variety of entrees, which today included fried catfish, chicken prepared with sun dried tomatoes, and sliced pork in an orange sauce, on the island in the middle. I ate more than I should have, because I wanted to sample several of the delicious dishes.

After lunch, we followed our friends to their house for a visit, before leaving Springfield around 2:30 p.m. Interesting Adopt-a-Highway signs along the way: "Alpha Dragon Warrior Lords," and "Rubbish Rangers." I guess these days, it isn't enough to simply announce a roadside litter-gatherer's organization, it must also have a cool and memorable title.

When we got back to camp, Hubbie and I strolled around the campground, particularly along the lake shore near the marina, where I took several snapshots.

We weren't very hungry by suppertime, so we ate small bowls of chicken noodle soup, before getting ready to go see "Noah, the Musical." If we hadn't had such a large lunch, we might have considered having the chili we brought along...although Mother reminded us that if we ate anything with beans, we might be in danger of blowing the roof off the Ark.

We had reservations for the show, but were advised to be at the theater at least 30 minutes ahead of showtime, in order to get seat assignments. We were able to do that within a few minutes, so we had plenty of time to tour the large and interesting ticket sales and gift shops area (see photos above), where I took lots of snapshots, including a model of the theater set. Photography is not allowed while the show is in progress.

"Noah" is quite a remarkable show, particularly the elaborate and huge set. We were amazed at how quietly set workers are able to move the enormous 40-foot high Ark and other large set pieces onto and off of the stage. Amazing, too, are the well-trained animals. Horses, donkeys, zebras, goats, pot-bellied pigs, and others, led by cast members, ran quickly down the middle aisle of the theater and trotted right up a ramp into the Ark. Doves flew to and fro between the Ark and backstage, and a couple of goats, on their own, slid down a ramp, hopped down a couple of steps and ran up the aisle to the back of the theater.

We were seated in a middle section of the theater, with Mother sitting in the aisle seat. So she got the total benefit of horse and donkey hineys, as well as wheeled carts filled with all manner of fowl coming within a hair's breadth of her right arm and shoulder.

At the start of the second act, the lights went out, and when they came back on, curtains had been drawn all along the right and left walls of the theater, where three layers of caged animals (300 in all) appeared...some live, some animated. Camels, llamas, donkeys, horses, etc., were live, while life-size elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions, bears, and such, were animated. This wrap-around set gave the audience (over 2,000 can be seated in this theater) the feeling of being inside the Ark.

The show, which began at 7:30 p.m., ended around 10 p.m. We feared we would have trouble exiting the parking lot, but traffic flowed smoothly, and we arrived back at camp around 10:30, tired and ready for bed.

Branson Trip, Day Three

Wednesday, Oct. 29: We were up by 7 a.m. this morning, and after a breakfast of a choice of quick breads or bagels, with cream cheeses, and fruits, we got ready to go to Grand Village Shops, which houses Missouri's largest Christmas store, Kringles, along with several other specialty stores and art galleries.

The weather was sunny today, and soon warmed into the 70s, making for a very pleasant outing. Kringles, with it's dazzling array of Christmas paraphernalia, was our favorite haunt, of course, but we also enjoyed a specialty store that offered free snack and drink samples. Each of us bought both packaged and bottled ingredients for making dips at home.

At one point along the cobblestone walkway between stores, there is a giant rocking chair. Sis and I climbed into the chair to pose for a snapshot. By this time, it was nearing noon, so we headed back to camp.

After lunch...a choice of pimento cheese, deli turkey, or sliced cold meatloaf for sandwiches, Hubbie, Sis, and I went shopping at the outlet malls. We looked through several clothing shops, but found nothing we wanted. At the kitchen shops, though, we picked up several useful items. As we passed the fudge shop, a young man enticed us in with an offer of free samples from a freshly made batch of the yummy stuff. Hubbie commented that he could eat a quarter pound of of the candy, so the young man gave him a really generous portion, while only giving Sis and me tiny samples. The fudge was so rich, though, that I didn't need a bigger portion, even if I yearned for it.

We returned to camp at 4:30 p.m., where Mother had a supper of hot roast pork sandwiches, with gravy, mashed potatoes, and English peas heated and ready to eat (we'd prepared the meat and potatoes ahead of time to bring to camp). Individual cups of applesauce completed this very satisfying meal.

A little after 7 p.m., we left camp to wend our way down crowded Hwy. 76...Branson's busiest strip...to the God and Country theater for an 8 p.m. show. This time it was Goldwing Express, which is a group made up of a father and his three sons, who perform bluegrass and gospel music. None of us had ever heard of this group, so we didn't have high expectations. I'd gotten the tickets economically through a silent auction and our local radio station.

Apparently, the group is unknown to lots of folks, because there were only 15 of us in the audience, which was an obvious disappointment to the entertainers, who stated that they are used to performing before large audiences. Nevertheless, they gave us a good show, interacting with us between numbers.

At the break, one of the members of the band hurried down to the stage, saying that they needed to cut the break short, because they were to perform several numbers, which would be recorded live tonight, in anticipation of cutting a new CD during the upcoming weekend. They would listen to and choose from tonight's recording the numbers that would be included on the new CD.

So after the break (during which Sis bought the group's bargain CDs...buy one at a reduced price, and get another for $5, plus an autographed poster), the group repeated some of the tunes they'd played earlier, adding some original tunes, written by members of the band. We were told that we could leave if we wanted to, or we could stay and sit in on the session. Since we were all enjoying the group, we chose to stay. At the end of the session, one of the members announced that we could e-mail him for free copies of the recorded portion of the show, which I promptly did upon our return home.

We were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed this show, especially since Hubbie and I are not die-hard fans of bluegrass. Sis is more of a fan of the genre, maybe partly because one of her grandsons, a young teen, is skilled at playing bluegrass on the fiddle.

This group was really very good, and we got a kick out of not only the music, but the humorous jokes and one-liners told by the father. We were amazed, too, by the drawn out train horn sound effects emitted by one of the young men, in accompaniment to the numbers, "Long, Black Train," and "Little Black Train."

Since the audience was so small, several of us commented on how the whole performance felt like attending a jam session in the entertainers' living room. Apparently, the group is very well sought after, judging from a list provided to us of over 100 venues all over the southland where they are scheduled to entertain during the end of 2008, and through 2009.

After the performance, we were back at camp by 10:30 p.m., ready for a light snack before hitting the sack.

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.