Stop 1 – Kilgore, East TexasJohn was here for work purposes however when he finished doing work stuff we ventured out to see some of the local surroundings. Kilgore is an ‘oil town’ and for many years had 1000 wells in the downtown area making it the greatest concentration of oil wells in the history of the world. There are still many oil rigs in the area and many ‘nodding donkeys’ in operation. We spent the afternoon with another EDN couple, John & Cheryl, and visited the nearby town of New London, the home of one of the biggest disasters in US history. On March 18, 1937 a natural gas leak caused a massive explosion, destroying the school in the city of New London, Texas. This was one of the richest rural school districts in the United States and the school was a modern, steel-framed building. The disaster killed in excess of 295 students and teachers, making it the worst catastrophe to take place in a U.S. school building. There is a large memorial dedicated to all those who died. Engraved on the pink granite stones facing the Cenotaph are the names of the known victims and the top of the monument depicts 12 children on their way to school. The guided tour of the museum was a very humbling experience.
Stop 2 – Fort Worth, North Texas
Another work stop for John and where we were invited to dinner with the family of one of the managers from a drilling company John was doing business with. We had a great night with Robin, his wife Patricia and children Carlos, Kayla and little Joseph. 10 year old Carlos was very adamant about becoming the President of the United States when he grows up – so I thought it apt to put that to print as with his determination we’re sure it will happen and he’s promised me a visit to the White House!
Next morning we hit the road towards Missouri and discovered that one of the first small towns we drove through was Lindale (about 80 miles east
Another work stop for John and where we were invited to dinner with the family of one of the managers from a drilling company John was doing business with. We had a great night with Robin, his wife Patricia and children Carlos, Kayla and little Joseph. 10 year old Carlos was very adamant about becoming the President of the United States when he grows up – so I thought it apt to put that to print as with his determination we’re sure it will happen and he’s promised me a visit to the White House!
Next morning we hit the road towards Missouri and discovered that one of the first small towns we drove through was Lindale (about 80 miles east
of Dallas) and the birthplace of country singer Miranda Lambert.
As our journey continued between Fort Worth and Branson we crossed into Oklahoma where we stopped to see an amazing little town named Caddo that looked like it was straight out of a cowboy movie! Then a little further down the road we came across the town of Checotah, the home of singer Carrie Underwood.
As our journey continued between Fort Worth and Branson we crossed into Oklahoma where we stopped to see an amazing little town named Caddo that looked like it was straight out of a cowboy movie! Then a little further down the road we came across the town of Checotah, the home of singer Carrie Underwood.
Crossing the border into Arkansas we drove through the Ozark Mountains and discovered the wonderful little town of Eureka Springs and where we stopped to see the Thorncrown Chapel. This Chapel is nestled in a woodland setting and is completely glass – a magnificent piece of architecture that has won many awards. We also stopped at Dogwood Canyon, a beautiful nature park full of walking trails and beautiful scenery. The wildflowers on the side of the road during our trip were really spectacular.
and we and weand we and we and a and and and nad nand nadn and nand nand nadn nadnand we and we and we and we Stop 3 – Branson, Missouri (driving through Oklahoma & Arkansas on the way)
We arrived in Branson just in time to meet Karyn, Mike, Sam & Rueben Fischer for dinner. The Fischer family are great friends with our friend Kristina and she organized for us to meet. We were lucky enough to arrive on Sam’s 11th birthday and were invited to his birthday dinner along with another of their friends, Jackie. We had a wonderful evening listening to Sam’s jokes and getting to know the family. Mike and Sam are a father/son singing duo and have performed together in Nashville as well as having released a CD. Sam is a very talented young man – able to sing and do stand up comedy. Karyn & Mike invited us to their house for dinner on the following night and then join them for a show at The Legends, one of the many playhouses in Branson. We had such a fun time listening to some very talented impersonators – Elvis, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, The Blues Brothers and The Temptations. Branson is a mini Las Vegas (without the gambling) – lots of theatres and lights and tourists. During the day we explored the town and visited the lookout and we actually sat in the mall for a short time and listened to another Elvis impersonator – it is such a happening place with so much to see – including the Titanic Museum housed in a replica of the Titanic.
We arrived in Branson just in time to meet Karyn, Mike, Sam & Rueben Fischer for dinner. The Fischer family are great friends with our friend Kristina and she organized for us to meet. We were lucky enough to arrive on Sam’s 11th birthday and were invited to his birthday dinner along with another of their friends, Jackie. We had a wonderful evening listening to Sam’s jokes and getting to know the family. Mike and Sam are a father/son singing duo and have performed together in Nashville as well as having released a CD. Sam is a very talented young man – able to sing and do stand up comedy. Karyn & Mike invited us to their house for dinner on the following night and then join them for a show at The Legends, one of the many playhouses in Branson. We had such a fun time listening to some very talented impersonators – Elvis, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain, The Blues Brothers and The Temptations. Branson is a mini Las Vegas (without the gambling) – lots of theatres and lights and tourists. During the day we explored the town and visited the lookout and we actually sat in the mall for a short time and listened to another Elvis impersonator – it is such a happening place with so much to see – including the Titanic Museum housed in a replica of the Titanic.
Stop 4 – Memphis, Tennessee (driving through Missouri and Arkansas on the way)
We drove straight to Elvis’s home of Graceland, just out of downtown Memphis, and did a tour of the property. It was very enlightening. Never having really been Elvis fans, we found ourselves quite intrigued with his life and left very impressed and even bought one of his CD’s to listen to in the car! The house is in a very average suburb surrounded by very average homes and nowhere near as opulent as I had imagined – in fact it had a very warm homely atmosphere and certainly not over the top in extravagance.
We arrived in downtown Memphis late Saturday afternoon on the Memorial Day weekend – a very popular weekend for most Americans and we soon realized how popular when we tried to book into a hotel only to find that the whole town had been booked out! Memphis is right on the banks of the Mississippi River so we decided to cross back over the river into Arkansas and try for accommodation there. We soon found a bed for the night and headed back to explore Memphis. Wow – this town certainly is in full swing on Saturday nights. The main street, Beale Street, is closed off to traffic and comes alive with Blues music and lots of food and lots of colourful people! The atmosphere is amazing and we had a great time soaking up all the different activities happening around us and then found ourselves down on the banks of the Mississippi where there was a huge concert underway with performances by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and The Four Tops. All this was followed by a spectacular fireworks display. It was a great day. We played in Tennessee and then slept in Arkansas!
Stop 5 – Little Rock, capital of Arkansas
We visited the Capital building and the Bill Clinton Centre & Park which includes a museum that showcases artifacts from Clinton’s term and includes a full-scale replica of the White House Oval Office. Bill Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas before becoming the 42nd President of the US.
Little Rock also had a huge “Riverfest” festival happening on the banks of the Arkansas River – lots of music, food and stalls.
From Little Rock we drove to Hope, the birthplace of Bill Clinton and also saw the primary school that he attended. It really was turning into a “This is your life Bill Clinton” day and we certainly gained lots of knowledge – it was a real life history lesson for us.
We visited the Capital building and the Bill Clinton Centre & Park which includes a museum that showcases artifacts from Clinton’s term and includes a full-scale replica of the White House Oval Office. Bill Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas before becoming the 42nd President of the US.
Little Rock also had a huge “Riverfest” festival happening on the banks of the Arkansas River – lots of music, food and stalls.
From Little Rock we drove to Hope, the birthplace of Bill Clinton and also saw the primary school that he attended. It really was turning into a “This is your life Bill Clinton” day and we certainly gained lots of knowledge – it was a real life history lesson for us.
andandandandbefore we new what we were doing womething really funny hhhajdnadjandndnanandndndnd;andnwehteksndlrthelsndejslslthwlshome anandnandbeing d Stop 6 – Houston - home sweet home!
Our week long road trip has come to an end – what a fantastic experience we had driving through the beautiful countryside of 5 different states. We certainly look forward to the day when we can drive off into the sunset in our RV with no timeframe………
Our week long road trip has come to an end – what a fantastic experience we had driving through the beautiful countryside of 5 different states. We certainly look forward to the day when we can drive off into the sunset in our RV with no timeframe………
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