We have just returned from a wonderful time in Branson, more specifically Silver Dollar City. The Southern Gospel Summer Picnic at the park was, as always, a great time! We were blessed with good weather, great music, and some good food.
One of the highlights was participating in the biggest Hymn Sing ever!
Just imagine over 5000 voices singing Wonderful Grace of Jesus! It was beautiful. We sat down in the lower (front) seats, and we could hear those voices being lifted in praise. It was like a heavenly choir! We were sitting next to a young family and enjoyed visiting with them. They had four children, two boys, two girls. They came up from Arkansas, and those little kids knew every word of every verse of the hymns we sang. It was scheduled to last for 70 minutes, but because everyone was enjoying it so much, they went quite a bit longer.
We also enjoyed seeing the McKameys in concert, as well as Whisnants, Mylon Hayes Family, Greater Vision, Collingsworth Family and many more.
 |
| Peg and Ruben of the McKameys |
 |
| Collingsworth's at Echo Hollow |
Our home away from home was at the Meadows, a beautiful facility. We enjoyed our lodging and even spent a little time enjoying the pool. We cooked in most meals, but did have one meal out at Montana Mike's. I had the Messy Mike's Burger, Dennis had the Summit. Both very good. And both way more than we needed. We left stuffed!
We heard while we were there that a storm passed through Keokuk leaving a lot of branches and trees down and several inches of rain. The wind even took a roof off of a building on Main Street and tossed it through the windows of a building across the street.
On our way home, we stopped for breakfast at Tonka Hills Restaurant, and then tried to stay ahead of the storm that seemed to be chasing us. We did stop in Mexico to pick up a case of shotgun shells at Graf's. We arrived home to find that it had indeed rained. In fact there was 3.8" of rain in our rain gauge. We found the cows in, the fences good, and more water in the pond than when we left. The grass we'd seeded prior to leaving was making a good showing, and Rusty was thrilled to see us!
It's fun to go, but regardless of where we go and how much we enjoy the trip, it's always great to get home.
