Week 51 - Elvis and Elks - 08-05-2007

Hi from the hot and humid Midwest,

Yes, we finally experienced the humidity that everyone has been telling us about. But first, before we left Nashville, we went the see The Nashville King. John Beardsley (below) does a tribute to Elvis. He is phenomenal! He gave a two hour, non-stop show, spanning from Elvis's start in 1953 to the Vegas years through 1977. He performed 30 songs wearing 5 different outfits. He knows Elvis. He recited his life's story and has a voice just as incredible as The King.

At the beginning of the show, we thought that he did not look or sing that much like Elvis. But because of his knowledge, singing, gyrations, energy, passions and great personality, by the end of the show, we thought he was Elvis! (Having seen Elton John, The Association, The Moody Blues, The Doors, Siegfried and Roy and The Beach Men, I have to say this is hands downs the best show I have ever seen. And the best $25 of entertainment of any kind. Pete).

We spent a great day at the Pennyrile State Forest Park in Kentucky. As you can see we had the park to ourselves. It was hot and when we asked the groundhog, he said we would have six more days of humidity.

We left Pennyrile heading to Saint Louis, Missouri. Our intentions were to stay one night at the Elks in Cape Girardeau, MO. But when we arrived, our now-good-friend Mark B. took us to our site. We camped on their 25-acre lake, having the whole camp to ourselves. We stayed five nights! Mark, a past Exaled Ruler and friend Larry D. and many other Elks were the most amazing hosts for our week of relaxing. For Elks members, this is a must visit lodge.

Ellen was able to fish all day and kayak the lake. Ellen caught a 21" large-mouth bass, weighting in at six pounds. We saw deer, geese, raccoons and water snakes. And we spent our 33rd anniversary at our camp and on the lake in the kayak.

The Cape Girardeau 10-foot Wall protects the historic downtown from a flooding Mississippi River. For a quarter mile it is covered with murals. One series, Mississippi River Tales, is more than a dozen murals depicting life from the 1700's to present.

The other, the Missouri Wall of Fame is decorated with those people from all over Missouri who have had a profound impact on history. The bottom right panel includes Scott Joplin "King of Ragtime", Porter Wagner "King of Country Gospel" and Rush Limbaugh "King of Talk Radio".

We didn't make it far, but what a relaxed week we had to ourselves.

Love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Aug 2007