Friday, September 28, 2012

Quack! Quack!

I've finally done it!
Ridden a duck.

Many cities have The Ducks.
I've passed them in Baltimore and read about them 
here and there.
I even watched an episode of Undercover Boss
featuring this particular company.

But, until yesterday, I had not experienced
The Ducks.

Can't say that anymore.

It was fun.

The morning was a bit nippy because it was 
overcast and so riding down the highway at 
40 - 45 mph was a bit chilly.
Not so much for me
as I am perpetually HOT these days.
Some of you understand.

But poor Chelsea was a little frozen popsicle
all snuggled up with her Papa Bear.
I think her pet name fits him pretty well.
It is official, you know, because that is how 
he is listed in her phone.

Anyway, back to the Duckie ride.

A retired Duckling.  Much smaller than our Duck.

In case you have no idea of what I speak, 
The Ducks are vehicles that can go on land or water
equally as easily.
So we hit the road and then tackled a mountain
to see spectacular views of Table Rock Lake
which was our feature destination.




Since The Ducks own the mountain...
yes, I know how strange that sounds...
they have decorated it in a rather
patriotic fashion.

They retire military vehicles up there.
I would not have thought of that one.
But they did.
And it works.

See the limestone wall?  That is what is left after a conveyor system took a large part of the mountain down to the dam building project.




This was used on the set of MASH.  Captain Gramps was pretty sure that "Hot Lips Hoolihan" had ridden in it.



Then upon coming down from the mountain 
the propeller was deployed and into the water 
we went.

Splash!

The Branson Belle.  We are not going to get to experience this during our trip this time.





We enjoyed very smooth conditions and 
were entertained by fellow travelers who took turns
at the wheel. 
We sang Happy Birthday to a man turning
a young 75 on that very day
while his wife, the stool pigeon, 
took a turn at the wheel.

Our Captain...Gramps....was awesome.

We enjoyed his banter as he drove.
What a wonderful world when a man of his 
years can share his knowledge and experience
while providing a wonderful service to those
who wish to learn more about an area.
He was full of information about the lake system
and the dams that control them.
I'm so glad we got him as our driver
and tour guide.

One special thing I will mention is that
we passed the community that Andy Williams
had called home for many years.
It was there that he passed away this week.
Captain Gramps made mention of it and I'm
pretty sure he was a bit touched as he did so.
I hope to get some photos of the signs going up around
here paying respect to Mr. Williams and his family.

Later Mom, Warren and Jonathan went to see 
Yakov while Chelsea and I explored the local 
Tanger Outlets.
We escaped without any purchases.
Whew!!
We did come close but decided that if we still wanted 
anything we would get it before we left.
Nothing seemed that important as the 
time came for us to head out.
A very good plan for saving money if you ask me.
I wouldn't have felt too badly about purchasing something
if I went to the extra effort of going back for it.

Chelsea and I went to "our favorite" grocery store here
and got supplies for dinner.
We made Spaghetti.
Yum.

Thanks for those who are so sweet as to care
to read our vacation posts. 
I know that there are many, many jokes
about being tortured with someone
else's vacation pictures....
but you don't have to look.
It's o.k.

I think we sat by Alf's Dad at a show 
the other night.
Not sure but I think since there is now 
no way to confirm or deny
I'm just going to claim it.
He looked just like he should look by now.
AND he was a wonderful man who 
sounded like him too.
Yep!
I was that close to 
stardom!

Last night we made it part of the way through
The Pearce Arrow Show.
We didn't mind it
but we were seated in the very middle of a LONG row
and the man and woman directly to my left had very 
bad colds.
I just couldn't concentrate on enjoying the show
with fears of getting that nasty cold.
Horrible, aren't I?
So we snuck out at intermission.
I really enjoyed seeing Luke Menard
from American Idol.
He is now singing tenor for
Pearce Arrow.

Well, it was all good in the end.
We went to Dairy Queen and got Blizzards
instead.  Since it was just Warren, Chelsea and I 
we hatched a story to tell Mom and Jonathan when we got 
back that involved Warren getting thrown out of the theatre.
Would you believe Mom and Jonathan had already gone to 
bed and were sleeping soundly.
Our acting debut was sunk 
just like that!

Oh well.
Probably for the best.

6 comments:

Vee said...

Load up on echinacea to ward off the first colds of the season, which reminds me to do the same. I enjoy your Branson photos. Though I've long wanted to go, it's probably not in the cards for me so I'll enjoy a vacation along with you. I thought I recognized that MASH vehicle. Oh, I hope that you are able to take some photos of the tribute signs to Mr. Williams.

Phyllis said...

I would have loved to tag along with you all, since Gma Geogia didn't go , I could have filled the empty spot. Looks like a wonderful vacation!!

JD/ Jill said...

I'm enjoying your vacation pics...I don't get to travel much...so I do enjoy seeing other people's vacation pics...because it will probably be the only way I will get to see these places...so thanks for sharing.

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

We rode the Ducks in Branson some years ago and loved it. This sounds a lot like our vacation that year, and brings back a lot of sweet memories for me. You got a lot of great photos of the WWII vehicles!

........Moon River.....Goodbye, Andy...

Sweet memories all around on your blog today!

The Crone Chronicles said...

I absolutely loved the pictures and thank you so much for sharing your trip with us!

The Crone Chronicles said...

Thank you so much for sharing your lovely pictures I greatly enjoyed them!