Monday, September 17, 2012

It's good to be home...

I was looking through my photos in preparation for this post and I thought I'd show you our latest portrait taken while on vacation!  Do you like my outfit?  Sorry, couldn't resist.  So where did we go and what did we do?

With the very hot summer that my lineman hubby worked in, and knowing how tired he has been this year, I decided that a relaxing vacation was in order.  (Some of you may remember he had a heart attack last summer.)   He knew that I had planned on another repeat trip out west so that is where he was prepared to go, but he left the decision up to me.  I think he was pleasantly surprised when I told him I really wanted to spend most of our vacation in Branson.  Frankly, the heat and drought this summer had made me a tired and cranky woman and I really wasn't looking forward to a car trip of over 3000 miles.  Retirement is only a couple of years away, so we'll soon have lots of time for traveling, God willing. 


We started our vacation by meandering down south through the bootheel of Missouri and going through a bit of Tennessee and Mississippi before heading into Arkansas and driving up to Branson.

Why does Branson draw me to it?  I honestly can't point to any one thing.  We do consider the condo we always stay in as our home away from home.  It's quiet and the scenery is beautiful from the screened-in deck.  It's a little pricey, so we didn't save much money by staying closer to home, but it was so nice to not be on the road every day and living out of a suitcase.  I was so relaxed and lazy that I didn't even pick up my camera very often. 


One of my very favorite things to do on vacation is to eat.  I love eating something that I didn't have to prepare!  I may have overdone the eating a bit, as I've noticed my capris are getting a little harder to button!!  We enjoyed our breakfast on the screened-in deck most mornings without flies or kitties bothering us.  I didn't mind fixing breakfast, knowing I didn't have to worry about preparing the next meals of the day!


A favorite stop is always at Mel's Hard Luck Diner in Branson.  The food is pretty good, but it's the singing waiters that makes the visit a real treat.  This visit, I was in the mood for an old fashioned chocolate ice-cream soda.  It was more than I could possibly eat and hubby was happy to finish it up for me!  The young man singing in the back of the photo is Jason Yeager who made the top 24 finalists on American Idol in 2008.  He is a very talented singer!  Btw, our son was working in Branson a couple of days while we were there and joined us at our favorite eatery at the Landing for a nice dinner one night.  Oh, yes, we had lots of yummy things to eat on vacation....I won't talk about the blackberry cobbler or the apple dumpling with cinnamon ice cream.   Just thinking about it makes me hungry and I must slow down on the food intake.  I must!!


I was amazed at how green everything looked in Arkansas compared to our part of Missouri when we left., but we've had a couple of nice rains while we were gone and it's greening up here again!  It's also much cooler.  First thing on the agenda since coming home is mowing.  I think we only mowed prior to now maybe 5 times all spring/summer. 

I have kitties to hug and unpacking to do.  Plus a lot of little fall cleaning to get started on.  I've come home from vacation more determined than ever to rid my house of stuff that I don't use or love!  I'm determined to simplify my life!   It's time to get busy...but I'll be by to visit as soon as I can!

Until next time...

20 comments:

  1. Felt like I cam along for the ride - lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SO glad to have you back! Glad you enjoyed your trip to Branson...we are headed there in April - well, to Ridgedale - pretty close. Love Branson, love the Table Rocks area! And your first photo was so cute...you look mah-ve-lous! Hugs...
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  3. glad you had a nice relaxing time away. sounds fun & loved the views. enjoy your return to norm. i'm getting back in a the norm here myself after a month long camping trip with the hubby. so there is always something to do from laundry, cleaning or whatever it maybe.... always something. take care. big hugs. (:

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad that you had a relaxing vacation. That's what vacations are all about once one gets past the suitcase packing and unpacking. Lovely photos and I thought you were especially cute.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful to hear that you came home safely. And wonderful to hear that you had a relaxing holiday. Wise lady, you! :-)

    And all the good wishes in the world, to you, to maintain your desire to rid your life of "stuff."

    You may have been away, when we hired a "Chuck It" truck and men, to come into our home and take away our "stuff." Oh it is a wonderful feeling, when it is accomplished!

    "Auntie"

    ReplyDelete
  6. welcome home, sounds like a very relaxing vacation. i gained two pounds reading about the food and looking at that soda..

    ReplyDelete
  7. Welcome back Cheryl! I missed you. Food is pretty near the top for the best things about vacation. No lack of places to eat in Branson. Now is the time to go there-quiet. Glad you had a wonderful time. I always come back all energized but I tend to lose steam... :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. welcome back, dearie! i'd be afraid i'd pack on some weight w/ the eating, too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello Cheryl, so glad you enjoyed your holiday, was well deserved. I also enjoy a good feed, yum yum. Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. Welcome Back, Francine.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Glad you were able to spend some relaxing time doing only what you wanted to do. I love Branson and we are scheduled to make a trip there in November..I can't wait!
    It's always great to take a trip, but for me, it's always great to get home too...
    Have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Welcome back! So glad you had a nice relaxing time.
    Love your portrait. haha

    ReplyDelete
  12. Well welcome back!! Sounds like you had an amazing vacation. Since we are retired.... we go a lot.... more than I care to be away from home. But... It can be so much fun seeing old loved places and finding new ones as well.

    I guess I didn't know your Hubby had a heart attack. Scary!! Keep that man healthy!! If he is like my Hubs, it is easier said than done.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome home. I'm glad your back. Thanks for showing the photos - I'll probably not get there - so this was a good trip for me too. And I agree with you - I'd rather stay close to home and enjoy good food!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love that area. It is so beautiful. Sounds like you had a wonderful relaxing time. What could be better than that?

    Hugs,
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad you had a nice time...and glad to see you back. LOVE that last shot!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well, I think you and hubby make a lovely couple...not scary at all!

    So glad you had a relaxing vacation. Branson is a beautiful place to visit. We are taking a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains next week. I can't wait!
    Carolyn

    ReplyDelete
  17. Love your fall scarecrows- so cute! Glad you both had a relaxing vacation. We just got back from Eureka Springs and it was so nice just to get away for a couple of days.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the photos! I hear so many wonderful things about this place. Glad you had a nice trip!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Cheryl
    You look so sweet!
    It sounds like the perfect vacation
    Relaxing, eating, & shopping in Branson. Is that Mel Tillis's place by any chance?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your vacation looked like a great one. I love the ones where we don't have to travel much. However, I do like to go somewhere. My husband had a 4 day weekend planned up at Park City, Utah which is about 1 hour away. Then our Dog got sick and we had to be able to give him his medications. So we had what you could call a home vacation. We did just relax, went to a couple of movies. Ate out and at home barbeques. Watch movies at home and tried not to go on our computers. It was fun!
    Blessings for sharing your fun trip.

    ReplyDelete