“Here and there among men, there are those who pause in the hurried rush to listen to the call of a life that is more real… He who sees and hears too much is cursed for a dreamer, a fanatic, or a fool, by the mad mob who, having eyes, see not, ears and hear not, and refuse to understand… ” - Harold Bell Wright, The Shepherd of the Hills

I felt this quote was appropriate given that I'm in Branson while writing this and The Shepard of the Hills is the most famous book that i'm aware of set in this region. It also appeals to me as it causes me to reflect on my own feelings. And being an introvert, It's quite calming to think inwardly.  It's certainly easy to deny other's truths for our own, I would say it's the representation of "common sense."  I've found that most people I meet believe that they have common sense, and perhaps the wisest people I have met believe themselves to be foolish or are unsure of themselves. I wish I could claim to be one or the other but when I really think about it, I think when I make snap judgements, I believe I have common sense.  When I really think about an issue, I'm sure that i don't know it all or only see both sides of a story as perfectly valid. 


Today was a great day of travel. Gone are the days of stress filled driving, Striving to make it to a decently clean place to change a diaper or emergency pull overs for bathroom breaks. In fact Julianne and I got to discuss actual news topics like adults while the kids watched DVDs or played games on their IPads. I know that before electronic games my parents/grandparents must have had frayed nerves at the end of every trip. I remember fondly playing travel games like "who can yell the loudest when they find something the right color during I SPY" and "lets sing a horrible repetitive song badly!"  It's hard to think of myself as anything of myself today, but I do honestly remember doing that and at the time. It was definitely fun and not "horrible torture of the adults in my life trying to keep a metal box going at breakneck speed from crashing into the ditch."  My adult me apologizes for my child me's behavior. 

On the way we checked out the Osceola Cheese Company, way better than i expected. Julianne got many types of cheese that includes peppers that will melt your face off, or as she likes to say, "delicious."  The boys and I made sure to admire the crazy foods, everything from 4 different types of pickled eggs, to 8 different types of flavored honeys and many many types of cheeses.  

Before we could check in to our room, we went to Pirate Cove mini golf. Thanks Jerry and Doris for the room by the way! It was plenty hot but the elaborate decoration of this place was great! I've never played mini golf with water hazards before! We did have to leave after 14 holes due to the heat, but we had a great time and we got some sweet pirate gear for the boys. Preston wore his eye patch off and on all day which made us all laugh a bit. Then we just cooked up some dinner and relaxed the rest of the night, taking in the pool.

Today I learned that the ozarks are actually divided into 4 distinct geological regions. Branson is in the Springfield Plateau and specifically in the White River Hills subregion, with Karst features. I'll leave the Karst wikipedia adventure to you to follow on your own :)