Geezermoon Favorite Dining Experience

Of course we had to go out for the official

We Made it to Forty dinner while on our Geezermoon in Branson!  Because I had been there before with my sis and the experience was so good, the restaurant at the College of the Ozarks ("Hard Work U") was the obvious choice. Students grow the food, make the food and serve the food.

And the setting of the campus is charming with the restaurant housed in a lovely lodge with rockers on the porch.

It was just perfect in ambiance and cuisine!

Starting off our meal with apple butter on fresh bread would have been satisfying enough on its own, but then the food we ordered came and it was out-of-this-world delicious!

Pot roast with veggies for him.

Bow tie pasta with steak and blue cheese for her.

When the reservations were made, we were asked if it was a special occasion for us, and this was delivered to our table as a dessert:

And it came with another dessert which we gobbled up so fast there wasn't the possibility of photographing it!  It was a decadent chocolate cobbler that was actually a lot like a molten lava cake. In a word we were stuffed, meaning it was imperative to walk it off a bit before returning to our car.

The campus is large, eclectic and beautiful. It's on a hilltop with panoramic views of the Ozarks, classroom buildings, student housing as well as a huge church on campus.

Plus an old one-room schoolhouse with a docent inside.

It was a great introduction to another one of our trip highlights which will be covered next on this blog - an author's home in Mansfield, Missouri.  Clue: she was a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse herself and there was a tv show Michael Landon produced about this teacher and her family's trials as pioneers.  

Food, views and history = winning combination. 

Geezermoon Hiking

Before we were married, we were quite the hikers in Colorado where we had summer jobs working at a camp in the Rockies.  Our biggest hike was to Long's Peak (elevation 14,269 ft.) - a 16 mile round trip through a most challenging boulder field, keyhole, ledges, narrows and finally the summit.

This is not a picture of us, but a good visual of the experience. It was amazing and we felt like we nailed it!

So, you now know we like to hike. However, we have toned it down----waaaay down. 

Some of our hikes near Branson would be considered child's play, but we loved being out in the woods and along the streams regardless of the elevation numbers and hike lengths. We'll leave the "impressive" to my brother, Duane, and his serious climbing prowess at an older age than we are!

(Hi,Duane!)

Our first hike was right within the city limits of Branson.

Another day, we took the Table Rock Lakeshore Trail and so enjoyed the views of the lake/dam.

Our third hike happened quite accidentally when we visited the Shepherd of the Hills fish hatchery and found out about the nearby White River Corridor Trail.

Our final hike was my favorite and also the longest and hardest (on the geezer scale) at 3.5 miles and lasting about 2 and a half hours. It was one of the loops on the White River Valley Trail system. The views, the flowers, and the trail itself made for an interesting hike.

Truly, these hikes were memorable. And because we are of a certain age now, this sign didn't bother us one bit!

And the bears let us be in return.

Thank you, bears. 

Geezermoon - Branson

The first question we got when telling people we were going on a little anniversary trip to Branson, Missouri was

(with a puzzled look, I might add) "Why???" For starters, it's a drivable destination; I'd been there before on a Nelson Sisters trip and had a blast, and we got a great deal through a Getaway pass to the Marriott Vacation resort at Willow Lodge. Plus there are over 600

(Yes, you read that right) "shows" from which to choose as well as gorgeous scenery - and hiking - in the surrounding Ozark mountains. 

Not to mention our son-in-law, Jed, had grandparents from this area who had a farm that he visited as a boy. We wanted an adventure of locating this farm on the back roads of Missouri!

We found out from Jed about the fate of a certain turtle way back then, and we found one right in the middle of the road leading up to the farm.

Sadly, the gate was locked and we thought it probably wouldn't be a good idea to trespass there.

But the country road thing related well to one of the shows we went to on our first day in Branson with James Garrett doing a tribute to John Denver.

It was so good!  Especially because we

fell in love (insert sappy here) while listening to John Denver's Annie's Song

Leaving on a Jet Plane, Country Road Take me Home, Grandma's Feather Bed, Calypso etc.

In all, we went to five shows - two due to being (friends of) *raffle winners!  

*Six

*Hamner's Incredible Variety Show

Moses (Sight and Sound Theatre)

John Denver Tribute

Ayo

You want lights?  You want glittery outfits worn on stage?  You want military tributes, flags and figurative apple pie and gospel music?  Yep, it's here!

Sometimes the simplest things help to balance the big, showy shows...like campfire hot dogs and s'mores back at our lodge.

Or just chillin' by the pool.

Or hiking. Or eating out. Or exploring.

More to come...

Combs, Records and Art

We are on the last day of our Geezermoon and heading home!  Our last two nights have been spent in Indianapolis and we lucked out by staying at The Alexander where art rules...over 60 pieces of art displayed in the lobby, hallways, restaurant and each single hotel room. The above piece is in the lower lobby entrance and is called Standing Wave by Alyson Skota.

With clear acrylic, it is a reflective masterpiece as sun hits it in different ways throughout the course of the day.

Following the stairway up to the main floor lobby, one sees these lights leading to the Plat 99 restaurant/"Mixology Lounge" by artist Jorge Pardo.

Each light is different and the vibe here is cool, cool, cool.

Now for the records - the albums, that is.

The birds flying from the vintage record player are actual albums with recording artist labels still visible.

The artist, Paul Villinski, found these mud-covered albums in the debris on the curb following the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

This piece is expansive and reaches out to two surrounding walls.

And now for the combs---3,840 of them to be exact.

Teeth of the comb are manipulated/removed to form a larger (huge) rendering of beauty empire magnate, Madame C.J. Walker who was born shortly after the end of slavery.

Yes, all combs! The artist, Sonya Clark, really sunk her teeth into this art piece!

Who would like to sleep, eat and be sheltered in an art gallery?  The Alexander is the place for you if your travels take you to the fine city of Indianaplois!!