The wonderful colors of Fall are now resting on the ground. Thankfully,
we acquired a riding lawn mower that also mulches and picks up leaves.
As much work as it requires to gather leaves, it is great to see the
lake through the naked trees.
November is a done deal and around Branson you might
never know we had a November. The town is in the “Christmas” mode from
the first weekend. We get lots of tourists coming and getting their
decorations up almost eliminates Thanksgiving. Even our neighbors have
lights up and trees inside. I being a traditionalist, removed the
Thanksgiving decorations yesterday and will dust and shine all week
before pulling out Christmas pageantry next weekend for the first of
Dec.
One day at the library a lady approached me and we
chatted. By the end of the conversation I had added three events to my
calendar. She invited me to get back into scrapbooking and I jumped in
with both feet. Scrapbooking is a never-ending job and yet I love to
work on years gone by and relive the memories through photos.
We went back to Tulsa area for a family reunion on Mom Wilson’s side.
The old farmhouse is still standing on the property line of the Tulsa
Zoo that used to be part of the homestead. We had family from five
states and four generations with Uncle Henry at 92 being the senior
attendee.
The Thanksgiving gathering of Wilsons was smaller
this year as the first of Walt’s sisters eight children got married in
Gulf Shores, AL in a Civil War fort. Trevor went to represent us.
Trevor has been traveling so much this fall. He was gone all but four
days of October and now most of November. He was in Australia, Las
Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Tampa and then Gulf Shores AL.
Greg spent the holiday with Jami’s family so we went
north towards Kansas City to be with cousins.
Walt and I have gone to three holiday concerts thus far. We saw “It’s a
Wonderful Life” and enjoyed the lights of Silver Dollar City, We
attended a choir recital from the area churches, and we went to see
Daniel O’Donnell, and Irish swooner who puts on a three hour
concert that they tape for PBS every year. They want the Branson Event
Center full so after everyone buys their $44 ticket they open it for
“area appreciation” and the locals get in for $10 with a local address
on our license. So if you find it on your PBS programming, watch for
Walt and I on TV.
Oh, I almost forgot, the biggest November event for many is deer
hunting. The deer explosion has been great so it seems everyone that
chooses is getting a deer. We on the other hand sit at the kitchen
table and watch 6-8 wander through the back property where they are
safe and not very skiddish to having people around.
And now for a wee bit of trivia-
1) During the 2009 deer season, 6500 hunters donated
322,469 pounds of venison to the food bank.
2) The name Missouri comes from the Algonquin Indian
term meaning “river of the big canoes”. Now we still have tons of
rivers but kayaks have replaced the big canoe. Walt got his kayak this
month so we can go on the many river and lake trips offered.
Hope you each had a grand Thanksgiving. And let’s
hear from you. What is your family up too?
Thanksgiving
in Canada - Ginny
Joan
requested something from me about the trip Tom and I took to Canada
during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Since the kids wouldn't be coming until Christmas,
and I thought I'd save myself the marathon cooking effort, we took off
to visit our northern neighbors. By leaving from San Francisco,
we only spent 2 hours and 15 minutes in the air, before we landed
across the border in Vancouver. Clearing customs went quickly as
did picking up a rental car directly across the exit door from the
airport. (NOTE: If you don't want to rent a car, the
Skytrain is also located nearby to take you to downtown Vancouver.)
Driving into town we were able to pass various
neighborhoods. Everything we saw was well kept and clean.
Even though it was lightly sprinkling, workers were raking leaves in
neighborhood parks. The one major difference I observed with the
houses that we passed were the high hedges in the front yards of many
of them. The hedges hid the houses from the street so you were
only able to peek at them through their driveways.
We stayed at a hotel in the center of downtown
Vancouver. The city was as clean as the neighborhoods we had
passed. The streets were always full of people so walking
anywhere always felt safe.....even late at night. Also, from the
city center one could easily walk to the port area, many shopping
areas, and fabulous dining!
One day we drove to Whitler to see the ski area, as
well as enjoy what we heard was a beautiful drive. We weren't
disappointed. The views of the water and mountains along the trip
was certainly worth the trip. The drive was very easy and took
only 90 minutes. In the town of Whistler we enjoyed strolling
along the lanes, visited the local craft fair that was in town, and
were impressed by the two mountains - Whitler & Blackcomb.
The Vancouver area is a number of connected islands
of varying sizes. The airport is on Sea Island. Granville
Island is a very small island with a Public Market that we enjoyed
eating our way through one morning. Stanley Park, an urban park
we enjoyed visiting, is at the end of Vancouver Island which connects
to North Vancouver via the Lions' Gate Bridge. After crossing
into North Vancouver one day, we traveled further north to the Capilano
Suspension Bridge which is a 450-foot long suspension bridge, 230 feet
over a river and a West Coast rainforest.
So, if you want to visit somewhere that you can
travel to quickly and easily........that is clean and safe......see
beautiful scenery.........and enjoy great food.......visit Vancouver!
