The Angel Inn in Branson Missouri!

My first impression of the Angel Inn, which is located at 2350 Green Mountain Drive in Branson Missouri was one of cleanliness combined with efficiency. The are over a hundred rooms at this location. Offering everything from small singles to large suites. The Lobby is nice and professional and has an eating area with indoor pool and Jacuzzi. My stay there happened to coincide with the kind of beautiful weather you can only get in the spring here in Southwest Missouri. Seventies, sun and light breezes make for a nice day no matter where you happen to be staying. It’s just nicer when you happen to find a well run and clean hotel.

The location places this hotel very close to all the action without all the sounds of traffic during the busy season. It is only a few blocks from Thousand Hills Golf course and one block from the Grand Palace and Andy Williams Moon River Theater. There is a Panera Bread restaurant almost across the street and the Jubilee Grocery store is a half block away. Interestingly, Green Mountain Drive runs more or less parallel  the Highway 76 (aka The Strip), so you can maneuver pretty quickly from one side of town to the other without getting caught in the gridlock that is 76 most days and evenings. That’s makes a person’s visit much less traumatic, take my word for it.

The one flaw I found was the noise you have to endure if you stay in a room next to the numerous stairwells. As people come and go, the entire room I was staying in shook. A problem that was exacerbated by one overweight and flabby idiot who decided that the stairs were his personal exercise machine. He routinely ran up and down three flights of stairs for twenty minutes at a time, shaking the entire building as he did so. (I thought to tell him that he may be headed for a major coronary, but decided that the world has enough people in in already). The problem with sound could be minimized by placing all weather carpet on the landing and stairs. You’d think someone would have thought of that when the place was built.

Like most of the hotels here, check in time is 3:00 PM and checkout is 11:00 AM in the morning. Pool hours are from &AM to 11PM with a complimentary breakfast served from 6:30AM to 9:30 AM daily. I stayed here for two days and give it a solid D overall.  While it is not a bad place overall, the noise thing was a definite turnoff.

Adventure Ziplines of Branson Missouri

What combines the feel of flying with the excitement of bungie jumping? Ziplining, of course. Adventure Ziplines of Branson located at 501 North Wildwood Drive has to be seen to be believed. If you’ve never tried zip lining before and are the kind of individual that loves an adrenalin rush, this just might be for you!

Once you arrive at the facility which is now in its second year. You’ll be greeted by an experienced and certified staff that will teach you everything you need to know about Ziplines. Then, after a quick ride on an ATV, you’ll ascend a 65 foot spiral staircase from which you will soar from tower to tower with a few rope bridges thrown in  for added excitement. Want even more excitement? The facility does night runs! Earthbound guests can watch intrepid zipliners from the comfort of the climate controlled guest center.

Call Jared Story, the general manager, at 417-239-3030 to make reservations and to ask questions. They can also be found on the net at AdventureZiplinesofBranson.com. Me? I’ll stay on the ground taking pictures!

Bridge project in Branson proving to be difficult for some businesses!

I had a chance to stop in at a local grocery store for the first time recently located in Branson Missouri at 416 South 2nd Street. I used to drive by this place every day on my way from work when I headed  from Branson to Forsyth via the old bridge. The place is known as the Apple Market and today I had the chance to shop there. I was very impressed with the overall layout and pricing of the food offered there.

It’s unfortunate that with the turnaround bridge project for the Branson Landings now in full swing the access to the road has been temporarily cutoff. While this situation will not last forever, it will make survival of this and other businesses along South 2nd street very difficult. If you live in the Branson area and if you would like to see this family owned business survive, I would urge everyone to give them some business. The mega food grocery chains are doing great right now, it’s the little family owned shops that need us through these difficult times.

Gasoline at $10 a gallon. The reality of what that would mean!

Should some really bad things happen to our oil supply, then the price of gas could go into the upper stratosphere at some point. America has made it official policy to ignore the exploitation of its own reserves in favor of getting it from people who basically hate both us and our lifestyle. I think that much is common knowledge. We all knew in the back of our minds that someday, bad things could happen where the oil we buy may get partially or completely cut off. Sadly, that day is now upon us as a country!

 

Ask a person living in Arctic Village, Alaska what its like to try and live with $10 a gallon gasoline. They’ve been paying that for some time now and will tell you that while life does go on, it’s not one they would wish to have. Up there, filling up a Chevy Suburban gas tank costs about $310! So, just getting around at all is a luxury. Going to a grocery store up there is also a bit of a shock as the high fuel costs have placed even some common items off limits for all but the wealthy.  In 2008 a bag of flour costs $55 in some locations. I wonder what it costs these days.

 

In reality, such an increase would pretty well spell the end of this country and others. On a bright note, the death spiral would be pretty short.

What is Taney Services?

TaneyServices.com is actually two concepts at one location. It’s a site to promote computer help to those who need it in the Taney County Missouri area and it’s a location that will feature articles concerning other service companies that I feel are a good value.

The computer help portion of this site is intended to provide an income source for myself while at the same time acting as a support center for citizens who want or have a computer but are experiencing problems. I’m targeting senior citizens or anyone else who might need help with the ins and outs of system selection, setup and getting the equipment to do what they want it to do. I’ve found it can be extremely frustrating to have a problem with no one to turn to. Over the years, working at companies both here and in other states on computer systems, I’ve come across just about everything that can go wrong and have the resources to fix them. My major areas of expertise include; system selection, setup, troubleshooting and software instruction.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THIS SITE!

The second part of the site has to do with other services that are available that I feel offer excellent value for the money. This section which I call ‘Super Services’ consists of local home businesses that provide services like electrical and plumbing and with which I’ve personally vetted as being a company that can get the job done at a fair price. This area will be a work in progress for some time as I travel around looking for and weeding out the professionals from the ones that never show up.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THAT LOCATION!

Is the Powersite Sewer Project backed up?

According to an article that appeared in the February 19^th edition of the Branson Tri-Lakes News, the budget for some high profile projects including the Powersite Sewer Project have been cut. The article states that due to a ‘mis-communication’ between Regional Sewer District Administrator John Soutee, the county commission and County Auditor Rick Finley, the budget had been reduced from 14 million to just under ten million dollars. Such a reduction, if allowed to stand, could have significant impacts on the time table for completion. The funding has come from a special half cent tax and apparently Commissioner Ron Houseman has jumped in to correct the problem.

And those rates, they just keep a rising!

 Forsyth Missouri - Ever since last fall, I’ve been keeping an eye on the utility companies that serve Taney County Missouri. That’s when the customers served by Empire Electric got socked with a 13.35% rate increase. This to be followed in June 2011 by another whopping 9% slam dunk. Those may be added to if fuel costs rise (you mean like they are right now?).

Now Water District #2 is joining in with a 3% increase in the cost of water beginning April the 1^st. Did anyone get a memo on this when that was passed? And who was it that voted for the increase? The only mention of this I could find was a piece written on the internet by a local radio station. No mention as to why the rate increase was needed or how it is justified.

Next up this fall, will be the famous sewer projects which will affect some folks and which will add about $30 to their monthly list of bills. While this may save the environment, it is certain to sink some homeowners who are struggling now just to keep their heads above water.