Cliffhangers, Cosplay and Adventure in the Ozarks...

Greetings Earthlings!


July is soooo hot!! I've been working outdoors a lot in the heat this month and it's blistering out there!
Can't wait for October to roll around so I can cool off.


The Fam & I just returned from a few days of vacation in the Ozark mountains. Branson, MO to be specific. We had a great time.



Buffalo National River

On the way we stopped off at a little town called Gilbert in Arkansas, checked out their 100+ year old general store & post office and walked down to the beautiful Buffalo National River. I had originally planned on doing some canoeing on the Buffalo but our vacation time got cut short due to work. Maybe next time we can paddle down this cool river.

Our resort in Branson had an awesome view of Lake Taneycomo just right off our balcony porch.
If we had more time I would have loved to kayaked Taneycomo.

Lake Taneycomo

We went to the theme park in Branson called Silver Dollar City.


I had been there many times before but this was Tonya's first.






Picture a Six Flags type theme park set in an old 1800s mining town and that sums up Silver Dollar City.

The place has working characters such as a blacksmith, a knife maker, leather and wood craftsmen, a wild west saloon show and much more.






The girls rode several rides including a water ride called the Lost River.

The Lost River

The food was pretty awesome too. I had a bowl of this mixture called "campfire skillet" which had sausage, potatoes, green beans, onions, and lots of other stuff. It was great.

Campfire Skillet

While at Silver Dollar City we explored Marvel Cave...

We also went to the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson.

We had fun taking interactive photos with the statues using some of the available props.

Tonya and I took turns punching out Rocky.


He aint so tough!

We also got captured by the mighty Kong and lived to tell about it!

Our last day in town the girls went go-cart riding and got to zip line over the Lake.

In all we had a great time, although it was short. We told the girls we would do another trip somewhere in November since we didn't get a full week's vacation.


















The day before we left on vacation I put on the Calcasieu Serialfest in Sulphur, Louisiana. It was a lot of fun. It was a mini film festival featuring cliffhanger serials of the '30s & '40s. This was the 3rd one I had.

This year we focused on the life and serial films of actor Buster Crabbe.

He was an amazing actor who played iconic heroes such as Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. He was Hollywood's golden boy for a stretch starring in serials, movies and TV shows.


































We had Bill Necessary from Tyler, TX, a serial cosplay guest, in attendance wearing serial costume versions of Captain Marvel, The Green Hornet and The Lone Ranger.

It was so much fun and I can't wait to put on another one next year!

Well, that's it for this edition of The Adventures of Louisiana Bennett. Keep cool in this heat. I'll see you on the flip flop!


- Patrick Shawn Bennett

A Theory, the Devil in Georgia, and Fireworks!

Greetings!
It is hot! Louisiana summers are harsh.
Hope all my American friends and family had a great 4th of July!

Tonya, the girls & I spent part of this holiday weekend at Fort Polk for their Freedomfest.
Theory of a Deadman & Charlie Daniels performed on an outdoor stage and there was a big fireworks show.

I don't know much about Theory of a Deadman except that they are a Canadian band. Didn't make much sense to me that they decided to get a Canadian band for an American holiday concert. Should have got Skynyrd!
Anyhoo, Deadman played and some of the younger crowd seemed to like them.

Theory played for about an hour. I got some good shots of them as the official photographer. I heard of them but never listened to their music. Tonya knew who they were and seemed to like them.




There were a lot of people in attendance, but when it came time for Charlie Daniels to take the stage there were lawn chairs as far as you could see.


I heard later that there were over 8,000 people in attendance for his performance.

Seeing Charlie Daniels perform live was a real treat.
That man has some energy for an 80 year old.
I wonder how much longer he will be performing at his age.


I was the photographer at his VIP meet & greet and got to visit with him for a moment. Awesome guy. So friendly to everyone.

He played both of my favorite songs of his... Wooley Swamp and The Devil Went Down to Georgia.
Seeing Charlie Daniels play The Devil Went Down to Georgia... live... is a life highlight.


Wow. What an American icon!

Here's Tonya & I enjoying the fireworks show from the parking lot.


That's all I got this time.
I'll give y'all another shout real soon!














- Patrick Shawn Bennett
Proud to be an American!