WE'RE HERE! BRANSON THAT IS !

We have arrived!!!!! We got here about 3:30p.m. today. After we got set up we walked over to the BIG TENT, and signed in. We now know who's face matches what name! We met lots of very friendly people who were instantly friends. Paco (the cockatoo) has made quite a few conquests, not surprisingly Linda! She is getting her bird fix, and Paco is loving the attention. He even got his own lanyard for his cage! He is one lovable bird, but everyone must be aware, a cockatoo is a big parrot, and are a high maintenance birds. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from getting one, but one must know, that these are not throw away pets, and will usually outlive you. I have been involved in parrot rescues for a long time, and have seen lots of abused birds. Not every cockatoo is as friendly and tame as Paco, I just wanted to make sure people realized that. I will now get off of my soapbox! Seriously, I just don't want to rescue any more unwanted birds.

Rally:
We had a Welcome pizza party, and ice cream social this evening, and lots of fun. I'll try to write more tomorrow.

REMEMBER GILLIGAN'S ISLAND 3HOUR TOUR?

3 Hour Drive Turns into 8 Hours:
We left home at 10:10a.m. on Monday headed west for our 3 hour drive to TerreHaute, IN. Well to make a long story, and a very long drive short here's what happened. About 40 miles from Terre Haute I-70 had a long backup. I-70 west was closed ahead, so they were funneling everyone into the right lane, and taking them to the exit. We though maybe it was still flooded, because we had heard that they had I-70 closed east and west for a short time due to flooding. Well it turns out that they were doing road work, and there was no flooding on I-70! We were in a huge back up for miles, just crawling a few feet at a time! We couldn't get off and go a different route, because of all the traffic, and no road signs. The whole time we were looking for an alternate route on the maps. It took us 6 1/2 hours to go 40 miles, and then after we finally found a cross road that would take us into Terre Haute, everyone had the same idea! We were finally to get back on I-70 and we finally arrived at the KOA at about 7:30p.m. During our time in the back up we sat through 2 big thunder storms! So when we got to the KOA the electricity was off! No lights, no AC,no Internet, no nothing! The humidity was so thick you could have cut it with a knife too! Just about every campsite was full of standing water, and we had to wade to get into the fiver! We had some cheese and crackers for dinner, and were about to go to bed when the electric came on at about 9:00p.m. We still washed up and went to bed, because we we're exhausted! We thought we would read for a while when it started to storm again, luckily we were able to have the AC on. Then early this morning we had another mild storm, but boy did it rain hard. Enough said about yesterday!

Today, Tuesday:
After everything went wrong yesterday, today was perfect! We headed for our St. Louis leg of the trip. Today went like we planed! We left at 10:00a.m. and even though the traffic was heavy at times we arrived at the KOA in St Louis at 12:30 p.m. St. Louis time. The sky was a beautiful blue with a few wisps of clouds, and a pleasant 85 degrees. Lets hope the last leg of the trip tomorrow to Branson is as good as the leg today! Paco, our cockatoo is a very good traveler, and has been no trouble on this trip! See ya in Branson!

READY TO ROLL

Yes We're Ready:
Everything is packed and ready to go! For the first leg of our trip we're going from Medway, Ohio to Terre Haute, IN. They've had some flooding near Indianapolis and Terre Haute, IN. I- 70 was closed going east and west Friday and Saturday. Just to be sure we could get through, we called the KOA in Terre Haute this morning. They said that they are high and dry with only some muddy places in the campground. So we are going ahead and taking the route we planed. We're going to hope it's ok like the owner said. She said that I-70 is open going both east and west,so we're going to try. The first leg of our trip from home to Terre Haute is only going to be 3 hours. We plan to leave home about 10:00a.m. We are excited to be going to Branson, and can't wait to meet everyone! From what I have read on the RV Dreams blog it sounds like the ones that are there now are already having a blast! That's all for tonite, I want to get in the chat room for a bit before I call it a night.