A Whirlwind!

It’s Thursday morning and the last 3 days have been a flurry of activity and no wi-fi,  till now.  Just pulled into Starbucks someplace in midstate Indiana...so we’ll play catch-up.   After a few great visits we said goodbye to my brother and sis-in-law.  Sadly, we won’t see them for at least another year.   We immediately consoled ourselves with a fabulous dinner at Andy Williams’ Moon River Grill...LOL.  

Then off to the Moon River Theater to see Andy...with seats in the 3^rd row!  When the curtain rose and Andy walked on stage it was like seeing an old friend after a long absence...only this time I didn’t accost him.  : )  He sounded great, and looked amazing.  His voice is still strong and mellow even though the range isn’t quite what it was.   His warm personality and great sense of humor are the same as it was when I used to watch his TV show.  It was a pleasure to hear him sing and to tell stories, especially the one about his mother always thinking he had won 3 Academy Awards because he sang 3 of the nominated songs at 3 different Oscar Ceremonies...and they all won!  Those songs were my favorite of the many that he performed.

Oh, a note for those who asked, he did NOT lip-sync. It was a joy to see him still doing what he loves.  Next year he will be celebrating 75 years in show-biz!  He started in a quartet with his brothers when he was just a kid.  Quite an accomplishment.  For me, the only down side to the whole concert was that he shared the stage with Ann-Margret for part of the time.

We drove northeast out of the Ozarks yesterday and travelled longer than expected because of 3 detours.  They took us off the beaten path through dips, curves, narrow bridges, out cropped rocks, creeks and narrows on a roller coaster of a ride.  “Maggie” our GPS kept telling us to “Make a legal U-turn!”  I did notice some creative names for places along the way... “Old Clive Williams Road”, “Coon Creek Road”, a town called “Brown Branch”, a property called “Chigger and Tick Ranch”, and my favorite...a mobile home park named  ”Booger Holler”.

We stopped in McDonald’s and I overheard a woman talking about her daughter in Toronto and had to introduce myself.  Chatted to this amazing woman, Lisa Rollens, for some time.  She is single and lives solely and completely off the land she owns.  I have forgotten the term she used to describe her way of life, but it is something she has always believed in and is now living that dream!  I find that amazing.  She is capable, committed and industrious.  Joy exudes from her every pore. 

We arrived in Mansfield and visited the last of the Little Houses, which aren’t  places the Ingalls family lived at all...they were homes where Laura and her husband, Almanzo, lived.  This is where she wrote the Little House books, and she didn’t start till she was 65.  Guess there’s hope for me yet! 

Lastly we visited the final resting place of both Laura and Almanzo and also of their daughter, Rose.  It was a solemn time and I am grateful for being given the opportunity to take this tour, to see these places where history unravelled and where it was recorded.

Spent Wednesday going through St. Louis and then all of Illinois and are now in Indiana.  Pretty uneventful drive except the sign for Route 66.   Been wanting to travel down this historic highway since Todd and Buzz did it in the 60’s in their red Corvette convertible.  For you young ‘uns, Route 66 is an old TV show.   Another dream come true!  Am I blessed or what?   And I’m fortunate enough to have a hubby who will put up with my whims and trek with truck and trailer into these back-woods places. 

 Bye for now.  We’ll probably be home by the weekend at this rate, God willing.

Mom/Peggy

PS.  Seen along the highway yesterday...