Springfield! D'oh!

As you may imagine, I have been living it up in Springfield, Missouri this week.  Besides working during the day in the old Springfield airport (seriously, Expedia here occupies the old airport, but it's all modernized with some old airport touches, like signage and escalators and a sweet runway view... it's really cool!), I've been seeing and doing some of the musts. 

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is an outdoorsman's dream come true, like a Cabela's (I imagine) but on steroids.  It's got live animals, dead animals, fish, a shooting range, camo furniture, camo clothing, camo everything else you can think of... and it's awesome.  It way exceeded my expectations.

The sign under the door reads "Welcome Fishermen, Hunters, and Other Liars"

How majestic

Great people watching!  Photo credit: David (as I got too nervous to take it myself)

We also did dinner 1 night at Lambert's, a spot famous for their "throwed rolls."  When the rolls are hot and fresh, a guy walks through the restaurant and throws them to customers, across the entire dining room at times.  I caught both of mine, naturally.  ;)

Enjoying my standard sized iced tea, which is refreshing after working hard to catch rolls

Roll-throwing action shot

Today, I drove nearly to Branson, Missouri to do some ziplining in the Ozarks at Branson Zipline and Canopy Adventures.  IT WAS AWESOME!!  I was nervous but it was really fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Pardon my picture quality, as they are pictures of the 5x7s I purchased (I had to have documented proof of this adventure!).

Arriving at a zipline platform.  Do you notice the best lurker EVER, on the left?!  He was on a nearby zipline.  Cracks me up!

They took group shots on one of the platforms, but since I did it alone, 1 of our guides hopped in my pic.

I asked if we were in the Ozarks or near the Ozarks.  The guide replied that we're in the Ozarks.  I asked, where are the moutains?!  He replied that these WERE the mountains, i.e. the hills surrounding us.  The guide had lived in Olympia for a year so he knew what real mountains were like.  He kind of laughed and said "these aren't like the mountains you're used to."  You could say that again!!  While it was fun and quite pretty, calling the Ozarks "mountains" is a stretch.

I also had my 2nd screening of Harry Potter 7.2 today.  Even though it's been out for a month, the theater was PACKED.  Seriously.  I had to sit in the 3rd row, as there wasn't 1 open seat any farther back.  If you ever wonder what people do in Springfield in their free time, it's that they go to the movies.  Even ones that have been out for a while.  But it's HP... I can hardly blame them for seeing it (again)!

My Springfield adventure will continue tomorrow, with cave tours, a crepe restaurant for breakfast, pool time, and perhaps another movie (hey, when in Springfield...) on the agenda.  Should be a good one!!  :)