After a futile attempt to organize for multiple destinations on our annual road trip, we basically tossed everything but the kitchen sink into the back of the Escape and headed to our first point: St. Simons Island, Georgia for the annual Scrambling For The Cause golf tournament where we joined Rob and Traci Saturday morning at our hospitality tent on the third hole of the beautiful course complete with live oak trees and the beauty of a Georgia barrier island.
Our reunion here was not only with our "boys", but also with our extended network of "boys" that we met over the years from the KA brothers who came into our lives while Kevin was a student at VSU. This year we were also pleasantly surprised to see that the participants had expanded to some Hamilton County folk. The day was busy and fun with lots of laughter and lots of good old Southern trash talk between us college football fans. There is nothing like a tee shirt, visor, and baseball cap with a team logo for a conversation starter. That's why we bring them out every year.
After the tournament and good-by hugs, we headed way cross Georgia, driving through small towns and acres of lush farmlands where we were pleased to see evidence that this year the rains have arrived when needed. Shortly after sundown, we checked into a motel in Auburn territory. The next day we started a day that we expected to end in Branson, Missouri as we headed through Alabama, into the Memphis area of Tennessee, across the Mississippi River and to the West Memphis Arkansas Welcome Center where the battery of the car gave up the ghost. By the time the good people of AAA had jumped us off and the good people of Auto Zone had installed my 46th wedding anniversary present, we were too far behind schedule to make it to Branson Sunday evening without pushing beyond our safety limits. Dark, hilly curvy roads, and exhaustion do not make a safe driver. With the help of our navigation system, we found a Days Inn in Hardy, Arkansas and called it a day.
Monday we hit the road earlier than usual, taking advantage of the fact that we had changed time zones and Klep was awake earlier. We opted to head up the road in the Spring River Area and go across the southern section of Missouri. Our first stop was Mammoth Springs, Arkansas where we stopped at the welcome center, saw the dam and springs, and got advice on breakfast which we ate across the road at the Riverbank Restaurant overlooking the Spring River. The food was excellent, well priced, and eating on the screen porch in the cool morning air listening to some of the regulars talk was entertaining. There is nothing like a good eavesdrop to get a flavor of local color! It's a little like actually getting inside of a play instead of just observing it from afar. We had the special breakfast which included two eggs cooked like Mama used to do them, some of the best sausage I've eaten in years, and biscuits (light and fluffy with crust outsides) smothered in really good gravy. We decided that this was our basic meal for the day. The cost was about seven dollars each which we considered a bargain.
After that, we slipped into the next state - Missouri, found our first back road to follow and heard the chime indicating that the fuel tank was getting low. We probably should have paid more attention to it, but instead we headed up and down hills and around curves with views of sweeping hills, rolling farm land, horses and cattle in the field, an occasional deer leaping over a fence, rolls of hay drying in the pastures, bridges over creeks, and well maintained farmhouses before finally locating a combination liquor store, gas station, deli, gift shop, and hardware store. We probably had another ten miles in the tank, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out!
Shortly after twelve, we pulled into the Comfort Inn in Branson, checked in, got tickets for shows, and headed off to enjoy our first one.
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