We left for Branson on a Monday about 8:30 AM. A note for those making the trip south on Hwy. 44 from the St. Louis area or points east - the first rest stop on Hwy. 44 (the one in the middle between the highway lanes) is being remodeled, on both the southbound and the northbound sides. We stopped by Culver's in St. Robert for lunch.
Our next stop was at the rest stop outside of Conway. They had a lovely Route 66 display. We picked up various brochures in the tourist area, although I unfortunately couldn't find the buy one, get one half off coupons for McFarland's, Heros, and Florentina's. There weren't even vouchers available on OzarksDeals.com for these restaurants. I guess they can't afford to give discounts this year.
We then, of course, stopped at Buc-ees to fill up the car's gas tank and empty our bladders. I picked up a 6-pack of oatmeal raisin cookies, which were yummy. When we got to Branson, we stopped at Walmart on the strip to pick up necessities. They were very busy for a Monday.
We stayed at a condominium at Pointe Royale Club Village. I have been wanting to stay there for years. I finally found a condo there that was available during the week we wanted to stay. We booked it on Vrbo, and you can see the listing here. Vrbo now allows you to pay for your condo via Affirm, which allows you to split up the total amount into monthly payments. This was very helpful. We loved this condo - it had a walk-in shower, which my husband needs, and there were only six steps up to the front door, plus there was parking right in front of the condo. It had two recliners. The condo was very clean, and there was a Keurig coffee machine and a regular coffee maker. The kitchen was well equipped.
On Tuesday morning, the son and I visited Tanger Outlet Mall. I didn't purchase anything at Bath & Body Works (amazing!), but I purchased a cosmetic case at Vera Bradley, and I purchased a new pair of athletic shoes and a pair of sandals from Famous Footwear. The Tanger Famous Footwear is a lot bigger than the ones in my area.
This year's trip theme was history. On Tuesday afternoon, we attended the Freedom Journey Experience at the Freedom Encounter complex (the photo above is from the outside of the complex). Freedom Encounter is located in the old Tony Orlando Theater on Falls Parkway off Hwy. 163. This show is at 1 PM Tuesday through Saturday. Dana, the docent, met us in front of the gift store and took the vouchers that we had purchased at Branson 2 for 1 Tickets (no OzarksDeals.com deals). We looked around the gift store and purchased two t-shirts, plus a couple of stickers. I mentioned to Dana that I was looking for a Freedom Encounter magnet to add to our refrigerator magnet collection. She said they were having the magnets made, but they weren't ready yet. During our conversation, we discovered that she was originally from the area that we live in. The Experience consists of three parts - a movie featuring Dr. Benjamin Rush (played by the same actor who played Ben Franklin in the Sight & Sound "A Great Awakening" movie, as I discovered later), a speech by a minister and also by Samuel Adams in the Colonial Church, and a visit to a one-room schoolhouse where a teacher discussed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the role of government. A quote from the brochure reads, "FREEDOM ENCOUNTER is telling the story of tyranny and freedom through the lens of faith." It was a very compelling and fascinating presentation. It would be a great place to take your kids if you homeschool, and do take them even if you don't. There was a concession stand and a display of materials. We enjoyed our visit here, and I highly recommend this presentation. Here are some photos:
Click on the OzarksDeals.com link to purchase a voucher(s) for this show. As of this writing, this deal is still available. However, be advised that if you read this post later, this deal may not be available.
There are 2 more days' activities to discuss, so I will post them in the next blog post. Thanks for reading!
Diane
