Back from Branson!

We got back from a 4 day vacation in Branson today.  We had a great time, even though the weather was in the upper 90's.  The below is a rundown of what we did while we were in Branson.  If you click on the blue words, you will go to the website of what I'm describing.

On Wednesday, we left our house and drove to Branson.  We checked into the Boxcar Willie Inn.  We unpacked our suitcases, then got ready to go to the Circle B Supper Show. 

We really enjoyed the Circle B Supper Show.  My son (along with the other kids) got "deputized" to hunt down the cornbread muffin bandit.  I got recruited to be a nurse to check the bandit's pulse when the sheriff shot him.  The food was really good and the music was great too.  For playing nurse, I got a certificate for 2 tickets to any show at Grand Country Music Hall.

On Thursday morning, we visited the Ralph Foster Museum at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri, which is just south of Branson.  This museum has 3 floors of very interesting artifacts, which includes historic guns, taxidermy animals, and more stuff than I can describe.  Directly to the north of the museum is an old time one room school house.

On Thursday evening, we went to see Clay Cooper's Country Music Express Show.  It was a fast paced show with lots of music, dancing and the comedy of Matt Gumm.  Clay is very personable and interacted well with the audience.

On Friday morning, we used the certificate that I got at the Circle B Supper Show to attend the Amazing Pets show at Grand Country Music Hall.  It was a lot of fun watching the pets do their tricks, but since we didn't get our tickets until that morning, we were in row R, which meant we couldn't see the animals very well.

On Friday afternoon, we went to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery.  We went inside and viewed the trout in the big fish tank and looked at some other animals in aquariums.  We then went outside to feed the trout.  You can purchase trout food in machines that look like gumball machines.  We brought some plastic cups to hold the trout food after it came out of the machine.  We usually see some really big trout in the hatchery, but they must have been put into Lake Taneycomo.  The smaller fish were happy to be fed and came up to the surface greedily when we dropped the food in the water.  We didn't stay very long here because it was really hot.

On Saturday morning, we went to Branson Landing to nose around in the stores.  Some of our favorite stores on the Landing are Bass Pro Shops, the Cardinals Clubhouse and Ridemakerz.  After we left there, we went to Walmart to purchase soda and other supplies, then went back to the hotel room to eat lunch and chill out.

On Saturday afternoon, we visited Stone Hill Winery.  This is a free tour that takes about an hour.  We first saw a film about Stone Hill Winery and their Hermann, MO operations.  We then went into the room where spumante is bottled and we learned how the bottles are closed so that the carbonation doesn't disappear.  We then went to a wine tasting room where we tasted several different wines.  My husband and I decided that we liked the semi-sweet wines the best.  The tour ended in the gift shop, where I purchased a couple of wine glasses like the ones we used for the wine tasting.  I have to have some sort of souvenir from my Branson trips!

We hung out at the hotel on Saturday evening, did a little swimming and soaking in the hot tub, then started packing to go home.  I told my husband that I didn't want to go home; I wanted to stay in Branson.  If the Lord tarries, I hope to retire there some day.

We left this morning and came home.  :(  I'm already thinking about what shows to see and what to do for our next trip, which probably won't be until next year (unless I win one of those contests for a Branson vacation that I entered).

That's all for now!  Until next time -

Happy trails!

Diane

Getting it all together

You have your lodging booked, your shows selected, and your activities planned.  It’s the day before you leave on vacation to Branson and it’s time to pack.  Here’s some pointers and suggestions.

I keep an organizer, which is a letter sized redrope wallet with with labeled file folders to keep loose items in.  It keeps all my important information in one place. The redrope wallet (8 1/2" X 11" size) fits neatly under the front passenger seat of the car. Here’s a photo of what mine looks like.   

You can’t see the file folder labels in that photo, so here’s another one with just the file folder labels.

I have 7 different file folders in the wallet.  They are labeled as follows:  Hotel Confirmation, Show Vouchers, Attraction Coupons, Breakfast Coupons, Lunch Coupons, Dinner Coupons, and Maps.  The Branson Vacation Guide book from the Branson Chamber of Commerce fits nicely behind the folders. This is a really nice guide to have - it has phone and web site listings in the back for almost all of the shows and most of the hotels and resorts in the Branson area.  It also lists other services such as shopping, outdoor recreation, radio stations, etc. 

As soon as I receive the e-mail confirming my lodging reservation, I print it and put it in the folder.  I also put my show vouchers in the folder. When I make reservations for shows, I write the confirmation number and the seat location (if they give it to me) on the envelope with the voucher in it.   I save my fast food coupons and put them in the appropriate folder.  This saves time and money. 

I keep a map of Missouri in the Maps folder.  From where we live, we don’t need directions to get to Branson, but it’s nice to be able to see what city is next on the highway, where the next rest stop is, etc.  You can pick up a Missouri map at any interstate rest stop, but if you would like a Missouri map before you leave on your trip, you can order one here.  When you check in, your lodging place will usually give you a map of Branson with the time saver routes on it. If you would like one before your trip, you can print one off here. 

We keep all our medications in a plastic box with a lid.  We also bring along Tylenol, ibuprofen, Band-Aids, Tums, Neosporin, and sinus medicine in our medication box.  I also keep a tweezers, a nail clipper, and a nail file in the medication box.  We keep this box in the back seat behind the driver’s seat in case someone gets a headache or needs a Band-Aid.  If you forget something, don’t worry – there is a Walgreens on Hwy. 165.  There are also Walmarts and a Target store. Make sure before you leave that you have enough prescription medicine to last for your whole trip. 

We have a large duffel bag that we put all of our toiletry items in like shampoo, body wash, curling iron, blow dryer, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc.  Most hotel rooms in Branson have blow dryers in their bathrooms, but I like to bring my blow dryer because it’s bigger and dries my hair faster. 

We put all our packed suitcases, our medicine box, and our toiletry bag next to the front door the night before we leave.  We pack up the cooler that morning.  When it’s time to go, it’s easy to grab everything and load up the car.


I hope this post was helpful to you.  See you again soon!  Until then -


Happy travels!


Diane