A Few Days in Branson

We left my brothers on Tuesday 9/28 and headed closer to Springfield, MO to get our cracked windshield replaced. “They”, the insurance company, said on Thursday that the windshield would be here on this Tuesday or Wednesday. That was bad info, we called on Wednesday 9/29 and was told that the earliest will be Friday. The campground we are in has room for us until Friday. We will either be getting our windshield fixed on Friday and then be moving up the road towards home or, if the windshield doesn’t come in, we will move back to Branson and barge in on my brother or find another campground in the area.

For today we went to see the original and largest Bass Pro Shops. The aquariums and waterscapes were phenomenal. Look at this pretty duck, he has a blue bill, and it’s home in a pond with a water wheel.          These ducks had the prettiest faces. The store has waterfalls, fish, turtles, and even an alligator! Loved the lighting            and wouldn’t you love to curl up on a comfy couch during a snow storm with a cup of hot chocolate in front of this fireplace. Beautiful. To go through this store actually took a couple of hours. Forget about looking at the merchandise, the displays of stuffed animals,   the waterscapes,   and the multiple aquariums kept you there. Tommy loved to look at the vintage guns. At a mere $82,000, I think everyone should have one or two. LOL  

Yesterday, we washed to RV and Hooptie. They haven’t had a bath since Tok, Alaska in August. We have put a lot of miles on and seen a lot of places since then. You could almost hear Hooptie saying Ahhhh when we were washing her. The rest of the day we hung out at the RV park and had one of those restful – do nothing days,.

Today we went back into Branson and saw the Jim Stafford show. Do you remember the tongue in cheek song he made in the 1970’s “Spiders and snakes”? The main line goes something like this… “I don’t like spiders and snakes and that ain’t what it takes to love me, the way I want to be loved by you”. Yeah that guy. Dave was able to get us tickets, so off to a matinee. Cute show, lots of music and cheesy comedy.    I will say he can really play that guitar and banjo! After the show, we went back to Daves for dinner and Wii games with the kids.                           We said our good byes not knowing if it would be for a day, months, or years before we would see each other again. I really have such a good guy for a brother. He is so easy going and would do anything for you and he married an equally nice woman. They compliment each other so nicely. Until we see each other again, remember…I love ya.

Inspiration Tower

It was a slow start for everyone this Sunday morning. More jewelry was made and I am a pretty fashionable lady with my new necklace that Cameron made for me. And wasn’t Aly stunning after she put her make up on? After we all got a move on, it was over to Inspiration Tower where we all went up to see a great view of Branson.     This lake is Table Rock Lake that we were out on the boat yesterday. The lake is big I could not get it all in this picture.      I am not sure why I was so surprised to see that there was so many trees here, almost forests, but I was. Inspiration Tower is also home to a Zipline company and Tommy needed to take a ride.    

We stopped to enjoy some of the scenery on the way to Todd’s cabin. After I saw this cabin I said I am home. This rustic cabin, on eleven wooded acres with a stream running in the backyard, is gorgeous. This cabin is for rent if you ever come to Branson and don’t want to stay in the usual places.  Wouldn’t it be fun to stay in what feels to be so far out of the way but really so close from Branson?

We went down to the strip to see where most of the happenings are. Pretty cool sights. Dave said that if you were here for one month, saw four shows a day, you still would not have seen them all.

Back to Daves for a chili dinner, karaoke, and games on the Wii with the kids.

We have a reservation at a campground for tomorrow night closer to Springfield. We need to get our windshield replaced but we are going to cancel that reservation and stay here another day. We are enjoying our time here so much.   

The Royal Treatment

Dave and Jackie made us breakfast this morning and it was a breakfast fit for a King. Cheesey eggs, hash browns, sausage, cantaloupe, and toast. We never take the time to make breakfasts like that so it was extra delish.            The kids sure did love the cheesey eggs. After breakfast the kids were anxious for us to string beads to make beautiful jewelry. Aly’s bracelet was so pretty, I wanted one just like hers. Time was passing by so quickly, we had to pack up the jewelry making because Dave had made arrangements with his work to use one of the resorts pontoon boats to take us out on Table Rock Lake for the afternoon.                                             Do you think Aly likes the camera?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Does this face say ornery or what?                                                                            

 

 

Today was a really nice day outside with a break from the recent heat. Tommy and I love the water and even though we are on our trip of our lifetime, we did miss being out on our boats in the water this summer. So this was an extra special treat and surprise for us. What a gorgeous lake. This lake was created by the building of the Table Rock Dam and blocking the White River.  When the dam was built it was anticipated that it would take 10 years for the lake to reach its engineered water level but it only took two. While we were riding, Dave would tell us the depths of the water. At times we were in 160 – 200 feet of water. Incredible. Dave and Jackie has a dear friend named Todd who lives on the lake. We drove over to pick him up and bring him out on the water with us for awhile. He showed us a rock ridge that had Tarzan ropes hanging from trees and Cameron was chomping at the bit to swing. Aly was a bit more timid at first but that quickly faded when she saw her brother swing and splash down into the water. Todd and Dave got into the action too. Oh how Jackie, Tommy, and I wished we had our swim suits on. It was fun watching the kids, big and little, swing like monkeys! The showboat, the Branson Belle, a gorgeous stern wheeler that travels the lake throughout the summer was an elegant touch on the water to this already wonderful day. We rode around the lake for a couple of hours and I can tell you that the breeze, the sun, and the rocking of the water well, ahhh it felt sooo good to be out on that boat. This is a sure sign that a good time was had by all. Dinner time was fast approaching. We dropped the boat off at the dock and walked up the hill to the resorts restaurant. We all stuffed ourselves with great food and was introduced to several of Dave's co-workers. I guess you have ascertained by now that my brother works for a resort here in Branson. This resort was first built to house the cast and crew of the old TV show the Beverly Hillbilly’s. This part of the hotel is the original section that housed the cast and crew.   The resort has grown to include restaurants, condos, a marina, and time shares. After dinner it was off to a show and a beautiful sunset was in the making over Branson.      I loved the line on the billboard to the right of center. “You have a great past ahead of you”, a reminder to live it up and make great memories.   We are all going to the Dick Clark Theater to see the show Legends in Concert.      We saw the Temptations, Marilyn Monroe, George Straight, The Blues Brothers, and Elvis. Fun show!

What a day!!! Dave and Jackie went all out to make our visit here wonderful. It was more than we could have ever asked for. Thanks sooo much!