"What A Country"

We enjoyed a week of nice cool weather in Branson, MO. We stopped to visit friends, Bill and Lola, working at a Corps of Engineers Park near Branson. Had a fun time catching up on the last year with them at the campground and eating at Famous Dave's in Old Town Branson. Our resort has The Ducks come to the resort and pick up people for a trip around Branson and onto Table Rock Lake. Over all these years we have never ridden on The Ducks, so it was time to do it. What fun! Our Captain Mark, was a Vietnam Veteran, so we had a common bond from the start. Jo and I both took the wheel, steering The Duck across the lake waters. We are now certified as Honorary Duck drivers. We drove to Lead Hill, AR for breakfast at a highly recommended cafe. Our luck, they were out of ham (which is what they are widely known for). It was great despite no ham. After visiting with some folks motorcycling through the area, we traveled around Bull Shoals Lake and took a Corps of Engineers ferry across the lake. We were the only car on the ferry for this trip. They make 44 trips per day, taking vehicles across the lake. During our stay in Branson, we went to the Yakov Schmirnoff show. What a history Yakov has from his coming to America with his parents and how he became a U.S. citizen at the swearing in ceremony on Ellis Island. He has many letters of appreciation from folks thanking him for his comedy when laughter was needed. He did the same for us and many others during his show that evening. You may recognize the art piece showing the heart being displayed at Ground Zero at the one year anniversary in New York. This display was painted by Yakov which was anonymously displayed to focus on the loss a year earlier. His favorite statement is "What a country", and we would have to agree!