Falling Into Tourist Traps -- Pictures of Butterflies
Well, with such eye-popping signs and scenes, we were naturally drawn to some of the more interesting Tourist Traps! Of course! I mean, that’s what they’re for, right?
King Kong was associated with Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and I told Matthew, (spoil sport that I am), I’m not paying good money to see another waxen Elvis. They all look dead to me, and I’m NOT doing it. I will take you and drop you off, if that is what you want to see, but I’m done with wax figures of dead/undead people. Thankfully, he didn’t want to see all those dead/undead people either—they all look as if they’ve been snatched from their coffin and dolled up. YIKES!
They give you passenger’s tickets when you ‘board’, so you wait, with baited breath, to find out if your person lived or perished. I knew, immediately, that my ticket was for a dead person. I got Ida Strauss, who stayed with her husband, Isador, (who founded Macy’s), as the boat sank. So, I was doomed. Matthew was a John Gill, who also perished, but we didn’t know that until the very end… So there was some degree of mystery surrounding him, and that was fun.
They had a ‘to-scale’ model of the Grand Staircase, and THAT was something to see. In fact, you got to climb it, (I took the elevator). I was so done in from the heat and the boat ride, that I gave up, for the first time in my life, and requested a wheel chair. They could tell I needed one, as I was walking kind of wonky, and into things… But, all the same, I’ve never done it before and will definitely do it again, if I feel like I’m going to die any second, and at that point, I did. It was 100o in Branson that day, so even sitting outside, with a fan, was too much heat. We sat outside for about 30 minutes before they let us in—too long in the heat!
The museum had lots and lots of pictures, and old letters, and “things”. While this is fascinating, and I was fascinated, I’ve just been through 7 suitcases of pictures, letters, and “things” at my mother’s house—and that was family that I knew of-- so forgive me that I wasn’t having heart palpitations over the surviving items… The gift shop specialized in gorgeous fake jewelry designed with Ida Strauss in mind—but, golly, I’ve got the same thing, from the same era, at home, so I didn’t go ape wild and buy a bunch of stuff… I could have, because they were truly lovely rings, necklaces, brooches, and ‘things’. I priced a tea pot, to add to my ‘collection’, but at $300, it just wasn’t worth yet another tea pot… (The second set I ‘priced’ was $750—I don’t really need yet another tea pot…)
They were out of photo ID cards, so I have no idea what landed on me, but a gorgeous blue butterfly landed on Matthew and he was ecstatic! It matched his eyes, and he stood very still… I bought a little magnet of the same butterfly, but can’t get the price tag off without tearing it up, so it will forever be a $3.99 blue butterfly on my tea pot cabinet in my bedroom… I also purchased a small wind chime that tinkles, like fairies, so that, too, will stay by my bed, and I can drive the cats nuts with fairy dust…
We went back to the cool hotel, and tapped OUT. I slept for 3 solid hours, which is not what one wants to do in Branson, but I was so worn out with the heat and humidity, driving and getting lost, trying to find my way with all these Lettered Highways and Yellow/Blue routes, that I literally collapsed and couldn’t stir. I had just bought Matthew a new computer game, so he was happy with the WiFi, thank heavens, and was fine staying in where it was cool…
I must say this—of all the people we met in Missouri, every single one of them, was friendly, nice, polite, helpful, and kind. I was VERY impressed, and it completely changed my mind about the possibility of living in MO, from my previous living-there experience in 1962… Yep, I was there when they laid the cornerstone of the Arch, which puts me firmly into the old DoDo category… BUT, everyone was simply lovely. Thank you, kind people of Missouri!
The next day, we headed back east—toward the Johnson’s Shut-ins, so more pictures, etc., to come!
Thanks for coming by!
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Matthew took some pictures of butterflies with his phone... We forgot and left the camera in the car-- so these are the best pictures that I could manage. Matthew has been a wonderful traveling companion! He is patient, and kind, and good to me, and that is all anyone could ask of a 17 year old. I wish he could have driven, some, but he doesn't have his learner's permit, and, in Branson, where the traffic is bumper to bumper, up and down steep hills, and winding around things, it is probably for the best.
We had such fun at the Titanic Museum! They had lots of artifacts, much of which I could not see from the wheelchair, (If I did this often, I would invest in a mirror on a stick), but he was utterly fascinated! The furnishings were so beautiful! And, since antiques are right up my alley, the re-creations of the movie sets were fascinating! Funny, how so many of those things actually live in my home, too...
It was wonderful!!!
Another neat butterfly picture:
Another beautiful butterfly at the Amazon Jungle: