BRANSON!

Sunday – we watched The Cross live streaming.  Superb message by Zach, great music and next best thing to being there. We left our RV park around noon and arrived in Branson mid afternoon…

Branson is a place I heard my brother talk about for years, and we’ve always talked about making a trip out here, but never have till now.  It is Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge on steroids! Even has a Las Vegas feel without the casinos and clubs.  Very wholesome atmosphere and family friendly. The choices are overwhelming, both in entertainment and places to eat!  We settled into Branson Musicland RV Kampground ($40 a night for our RVing friends).  

  First of all, this park amazes me in that it’s the hilliest RV park I’ve ever seen.  I can’t imagine if I was going to develop a RV park and a realtor showed me this parcel of land, I’d have said, “you have got to be kidding me!” Seriously, it is really hilly and all the spots are on these leveled out areas.  We’re on a high spot and can just look down and see the top of the RV beside us! Definitely a perfect location as we’re just one block off the main drag so it’s so convenient to everything!

When we saw this, I immediately thought of our grandsons, Connor and Benjamin - both would love to see this guy! 

Y'all, I've only been to Krispy Kreme a few times, since there is not one close to us, but ALWAYS only when the Hot Now lights are on.  We had been here for several days and never saw the lights on (that's our policy, we never stop unless the lights are on - haha) So this night we stopped and we were practically accosted with them handing us a hot doughnut immediately upon entering.  NO CHARGE!  Whaaat???? Is that just here? We've been to one in Orlando and one in Knoxville and we always had to pay. LOL  We only wanted one, but if felt weird to just walk out after our free one!

By the way, our next door neighbor is the Mary Kay Beauty Bus with the tow car being a pink Cadillac.  Cool….

What I started to say was that we got in early afternoon, and I spent almost the entire afternoon analyzing all the brochures and information on over 100 shows, and trying to determine what we want to see.  Earl always plans our route and he told me this was my assignment this week to decide what all we’re going to see.  Well he might be sorry, as I want to see it all.  LOL Let’s just say we’re going to be “show-ed out” by the end of the week!

We went out for dinner tonight at Fall Creek Steak and Catfish House - home of the tossed rolls.  And they mean this literally! The server tosses you fresh hot yeast rolls from halfway across the room. Pretty cool.

 Monday – Oct. 12^th -  We continued this morning to go over brochures and switching out a couple of things, after getting input from our friend, Jacquie Bollinger who lives here, AND the front desk person at the park who has seen EVERY single show in Branson at least one time!  Whoa….you’d have to be here to realize how many shows that is!  Gracious!  As excited as I am about this week, I’m already looking forward to a few quiet days next week to relax and read!  Haha

I made us a late breakfast and then called my sister, Elyn.  Today’s her birthday, and we found out today that my nephew, Mark, completed his first Ironman race yesterday!  Whoa…. I am so incredibly proud of him!  He’s done the ½ Ironman events at Clermont and all over the place, really, but I know this has been a long time goal to complete a full Ironman, and in thinking about the physical and mental challenges he faced and overcame – wow! He’s definitely a winner in my book!  

Love this photo of Mark and Kelley - she is his biggest fan and an amazing athlete in her own right! 

We then rode around and explored downtown Branson a bit, got a car wash, etc. and then went to a 2:00 show of the Irish Tenors and the Celtic Ladies.

 It was beautiful!  What talent! We were not allowed to take any photos during the show, but here they are afterward.  There was a really nice mixture of Irish/Scottish, pop, rock, oldies, swing, and opera.  All were outstanding but that tiny little blonde lady has some serious pipes!

 After the show, we went to Branson Landing to a huge outdoor mall, located along the riverfront. We strolled around enjoying the fantastic weather (81 today!) and going in and out of some interesting shops. For dinner we ate at the Cantina Laredo (Jacquie’s recommendation again! Her favorite Mexican in all of Branson, so how could WE ever resist that?) We shared a fajita and while I’ve never been a huge guacamole fan, theirs would make me change my mind.  They make it fresh at your table! Perfectly seasoned and with chopped tomatoes in it – yummy!  We ate out on the patio where we could see the light show while we ate – really cool.  They do this at the top of the hour, so this was at 6:00.

We went into this hot pepper store FULL of thousands of bottles of all kinds of hot sauces.  We immediately thought of our Mark, who LOVES his hot sauces!  Their hottest they put on the tip of a toothpick, and he's had people pass out from the "trauma" - haha Seriously they've had to call for medical assistance a couple of times!  We were so hoping someone would come in who was brave enough to try it, but no luck.

Earl....enjoying Branson Landing.

 Years ago we heard Dino (no idea how to spell his last name - a Greek name starting with K is all I remember) in concert.  FABulous pianist!  Just amazing, really.  Jacquie told he be sure not to miss his bakery as we were strolling through Branson Landing.  So after dinner, we went in and bought 2 carrot cake cupcakes to take home. Oh my goodness.  I honestly thought I made the world's best carrot cake (my aunt's recipe) but these would come pretty close!!

Then we hung around for the 7:00 light/fire show – here’s the video of the opening – The National Anthem. Well worth seeing!

Tuesday -  Another busy, fun-filled day.  Not sure how we’re going to handle all this entertainment – we’re already on overload.  Haha  This morning I worked on some paperwork and records here, catching up and this afternoon we attended the 2:00 performance of Rick Thomas, Illusionist.   

 This rivals the Siegfried and Roy show we saw in Las Vegas years ago, but many of what we saw today are illusions I’ve never seen before and it boggles the imagination.  We were on the 5^th row, so very close and we studied and carefully watched (one man in the audience brought binoculars!) and could not even one time figure out how he was doing these amazing feats of illusion.  Just incredible!   He used to perform with white tigers but he recently "retired" them to a preserve at his home in Las Vegas, and now he used Pyrenees (sp?) dogs, gorgeous BIG white dogs that are so gentle and sweet.  Again, no photography allowed during the show, but these were after in the lobby.

 We felt like more simple food tonight, so came home after the show, and I worked on my blog a bit, caught up on email, and Earl’s figuring out the next phase of our trip. We are really (I am, at least) getting homesick.  I want to see my family!  Boo Hoo!!!  I won’t make it till Christmas, so we’ll probably start to mosey on our way here pretty soon.

Tonight we went to the 8:00 show of the Million Dollar Quartet.  This was extremely well attended and entertaining, I guess.  We just took the word of the lady at the front desk and she’d said it is not to be missed.  Well, hmmmm I guess if you’re absolutely crazy about Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins (I didn’t even know who he was??) and the story of how they all got their start etc.  All of them were impersonators….in my opinion the best was the guy playing Johnny Cash, if you shut your eyes, you’d for sure believe it was Johnny.  The Elvis guy was fair, and Jerry Lee Lewis didn’t remotely LOOK the part, but wow, could he ever play that honky tonk style Jerry Lee does. It’s a Tony Award winning Broadway musical, and one of the most favored here, apparently. It was the true story of how Sun Records found all those guys and the rivalry between Sun, RCA and Columbia was interesting.  This replayed the famed recording session where Sam Phillips brought together the four up and coming superstars, for one unforgettable night. It was sadly also pointed out how few of them found very much personal success – lots of tragedies in their lives.  Also interesting, was the reason Johnny Cash was not going to renew his contract was because he really wanted to record a gospel album and Sun Records did not believe it would be a big seller, so they refused.  Columbia Records was where he chose to go and the rest is history.  No photos were allowed and they didn't come out after the show, so it'll just be a memory.  

I did get this shot of Earl in the gift shop.  LOL He's so crazy.

We got home late of course, it’s a bit chilly tonight, so we’re having a coffee/hot chocolate here while we watch a DVD until we get sleepy.  Nite y’all…..

Wednesday -  we took the whole day to relax in the morning and then went into downtown Branson to eat at the Farmhouse Restaurant (mostly for Earl’s sake as they serve breakfast all day and he loves eggs!) They’re also known for their blackberry cobbler!  Yikes. I did feel better after I got this info in the photos below.

We spent all the rest of the afternoon driving and enjoying the Fantastic Caverns over near Springfield, MO.  I did not know Missouri is the “cave state”.

Can you find us?  60 degrees YEAR round in the caves. Fantastic Caverns is heralded as America's only drive through cave.

These are the actual names signed by WOMEN who answered an ad to explore the newly found caves in 1867. Talk about history!

One aspect we learned about the caverns that I found fascinating, was that there was a Speakeasy in the caverns during the years of Prohibition! It operated for years, obviously by invitation only, and entertainers performed there. Can you imagine?  It went on right under the noses of everyone until there was a shooting, and after that the police shut them down. But many stars performed there.  So interesting! The photo below is the "stage area".

One good thing about Branson that when we arrived, I was fearful it would be extremely fast paced, busy crazy week seeing shows, etc. other than one or two shows a day,  the rest of the time is pretty much down time, so not nearly as frantic a pace as I’d thought. 

I’ve lost track of the days though, (a vacation schedule does that to you!) – one afternoon we saw Jonah, the Sight and Sound production, and it was absolutely fantastic!!!  

 SO awesome and so well done! It was the most expensive tickets of anything we saw, but worth every penny!  I’m really surprised they don’t have a production in Florida, near Disney, as I’d think it would be well received.  The only other one is in PA. They do productions of Jonah, Noah, Joseph and next year Moses is coming!  I want to see ALL of them!!!  It was especially fascinating to me in light of the productions we did when I was on staff at First Baptist in Eustis, and my wheels were spinning figuring out how they were doing everything they did!  Just phenomenal, not to be missed if you have the chance to see one of their productions. 

After seeing Jonah, we went to Mel’s Hardluck Diner where the servers sing to you while you eat. Interesting experience, but lousy food.  Haha  

Right next door is one of the prettiest Christmas stores ever....

SIX was an amazing show as well.  We heard these guys years ago when we were in Las Vegas one year at Earl’s medical conference. They called themselves the Knudsen Brothers then, and we were fascinated. I think we bought every CD they had! Our family and close friends will remember us raving about them. They sound like a full orchestra and they use ONLY their voices!!! ZERO instruments! No band or back up tracks! It really is incredible – you hear rhythmic percussion, bass, trumpets, etc. They are six (of ten!!) brothers who have been performing almost all their lives! They showed a clip of their TV premier on the Donny and Marie show back in the late 70’s.  Again, no photography was allowed, but this ranks way up there on our list of highly recommended shows. They started out with 50’s music, then 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and then some very current rap and pop, then awesome patriotic section, then a bit of gospel.  After the intermission, it was rather startling to come back and they opened with “Come Home, Come Home…ye who are weary come home….”  In exquisite harmony, they sang a medley of hymns and then it was closing time.  One of the boys came out and simply said, “With God, ALL things are possible” and they proceeded to sing To Dream the Impossible Dream.  Trust me, we were all on our feet!  WOW! 

On the way to one of the shows, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset....

 While we were in Branson, I think it was Friday night, we saw Shepherd of the Hills, an outdoor drama.  It was great as well, very well done, but it had turned cold.  Going from like 83 the day before to a high of 58 that day, we were bundled up like crazy.  Took a blanket to sit on, thank goodness, the seats were like ICE and we had on about 4 layers of clothes, including hoodies and still were cold!!! I was so thankful at least, that it wasn’t windy! This show has been here in Branson for 56 years!  Based on the Harold Bell Wright’s story, it is well done and well worth seeing, with a powerful message of forgiveness!

This guy has been with the show for 47 years! He came out before the show started (we were on the 2nd row). Note the chicken on his head! People could go up and have their photo made with him, but I observed the chicken often then jumped onto the other person's head, so I passed on that opportunity.

 No photography allowed, but we could wander around the set prior to the show....

One day we had lunch with our friend, Jacquie Bollinger who used to live in Lake County, but moved away some years ago.  We have stayed in touch on Facebook and were excited to meet her at the Black Oak Grill for lunch where we sat overlooking the water. I loved that they have all their fresh herbs right out by the front door of the restaurant. 

 Bless Jacquie's heart, she’s such a giver, she came in loaded down with gifts for us! Freshly baked cinnamon rolls from Grandma Ruth’s, a pretty Thanksgiving hand towel, a yummy smelling candle and a pint of locally made apple butter, all in pretty bags with tissue paper and it just felt like Christmas! If you’re reading this Jacquie, thank you, it was WONderful to see you and we loved the time we spent with you! (Isn't she beautiful?)

And the next morning, we enjoyed the cinnamon rolls Jacquie gave us.  Sinful!

With the exception of Jonah, which was a major production, the best show we saw was The Haygoods!  This is definitely NOT TO BE MISSED if you come to Branson!!!  (get your tickets early as they sell out for every performance)  A family of 7 boys and finally a girl!  Each of them play multiple instruments and Catherine plays TEN!  One of the highlights was her performance on the harp.  Exquisite!  This was the only show we attended in Branson where they allowed any photography at all.   

Lots of humor, fast paced, high energy, talented family! Amazing special effects, lots of  pyrotechnics, costumes that were lit and instruments outlined in lights.  Here’s a few photos that I took….

Shortly after the show started, one of the guys comes in from overhead, playing his guitar all the while!  Sheila, I think Glenn should do this during the next Fireflight concert.  Ha

 This was a first. During intermission, this guy had arranged with them to come up on the stage and he proposed to his girlfriend! Pretty cool!

We were on the 4th or 5th row on the right aisle and this guy came just across from us and played from the seat chair arms.  Crazy.

Y'all should have heard Catherine play the harp, one of the ten instruments she plays.  Lovely!

They did request no video, bummer – I’d have loved to give you a few snippets of their performance.

The other day, out of nowhere, we realized all the 12 volt lights in the RV were not working!  Whaaat? How does something like that happen out of the blue!  So we went and bought a lamp and we had the few lights that were not 12 volt. Something had "fried" on the "mother board" (whatever that is!!) so Earl called American Coach and ordered the parts overnighted and HE installed this new mother board all by himself!  I was amazed! It's so nice to be married to a handy man!

Oh we also took one afternoon to go see the new movie Woodlawn!  Absolutely wonderful!  What a powerful message.  I hope it’s seen by millions!  Best movie I've seen in ages!

  

Oh one of the highlights of our time in Branson was to visit the College of the Ozarks (also known as Hard Work U.)! 

 I’d have never even known about it if Jacquie hadn’t told us about their Sunday Brunch, which when we called, all reservations were made, and over a 2 hour waiting list and they were not wanting to even add anyone else on the waiting list!  Gracious! But we did go eat dinner there and it was FABULOUS! I had grilled salmon and Earl had chicken parmesan.

 What a unique and special place.  I cannot begin to convey how impressed we were with this college campus. They have 1,500 students from all over the world who WORK, rather than PAY for a quality education! The Keeter Center, where we had dinner houses a lodge, dining room that seats 275, bakery, gift shop, ice cream parlor and conference center.  

The students pay nothing, but they ALL work at all the various jobs involved in making everything run efficiently.  They grow all their own food with everything fresh out of the garden, and greenhouses, raise their own meat, make their own breads, desserts, etc. The ice cream is all made fresh from the cream provided on campus. So some students are in agriculture, some are in media and arts (we watched an incredible performance by their arts department!), they weave their own baskets, make ceramics, etc and that coupled with the canned preserves, salad dressings, etc sold in the gift shop.  The students serve in the dining room, cook in the kitchens, serve in the hotel, and on the grounds. 

I love their emphasis on patriotism and the honoring of those who have sacrificed so much!

Some of the garden areas....

Campus Church....

I know you can't see this very well from the glare of the windows but this is the front part of huge barns that house the cows and if you look closely you can see students overseeing the milking of the cows!  I sure didn't get any of this education when I was in school!

Outside of the entry gates (which are called Gates of Opportunity), there is a special memorial to Vietnam Veterans.  How awesome is this!

  I guess you can tell we were just blown away! It’s a fully accredited college, founded in 1906. You must be financially unable to pay as well as meet stringent requirements academically to be accepted.  Our server told us only 7% of applications are accepted! You should google it and read more. I’ll never forget our experience there!

Beautiful Table Rock Lake....

The last Sunday we were in Branson, we watched live streaming of LifePointe Church at home. Fun to see some old friends there, and Rick brought a great message regarding our being contented and not ever giving in to envy. 

Branson is most definitely a “return to” place.  I’d love to have been here awhile longer to see it all lit up for Christmas and they have a huge variety of Christmas shows as well. There are several more shows we’d love to have seen, but just ran out of time. This last weekend, Mickey Gilley, Kenny Rogers, the Oakridge Boys and some others were here live, but we just ran out of time.  We met lots of wonderful people here, and fellow RVers who have been coming here every year for ages.  It’s a fun place, very wholesome atmosphere, and lots to do for families with kids of all ages. Now that we know all about the famed Branson, we’ll be back…..

Now, on to Arkansas! The journey continues….