Branson Trip

So we got home from Branson a really long time ago, but I couldn't start blogging again without at least mentioning it. We had a really great time. Orson and I left Savannah with my sister-in-law here in town, and we took off. It is a ten hour drive to Branson, but we decided to break it up a bit. We left Friday morning and drove to Eureka Springs, AK. It's a cute little tourist town that I wanted to show Orson, although we didn't see much because we got there late and Sat. morning it was raining. I did take him to Christ of the Ozarks though and we got some really cool pics.

This is the view from the hill overlooking Eureka Springs.

Orson, I and the Gigantic statue of Christ. Pretty cool....I actually took that so my mom could use it in her class.

I wish we would have been able to spend more time there, but the weather didn't allow it. They have recreated the city of Jerusalem and I would have loved to have seen it. They also stage a really cool show with tons of actors and lots of animals. We shall have to do that next time though. So since our jaunt was cut short by the weather we headed to Green Forest to visit a friend of mine. We hadn't seen each other in years. It was fun to get to see her and her family and show Orson the town she lives in. I spent a month there, after 6th grade, I think.

This is Vickie, her mom, Joyce and I.

After stopping in Green Forest, we headed on to our destination... Branson, MO. While we were driving, Orson was amazed with the scenery. He had never been up that way. I swear if we would have stopped and given him the chance, he would have been looking for homes. We stayed at the Wyndham Branson at the Meadows. Personally I thought that this resort was great. The staff was amazing, the were always right there to help you. The activities were plentiful, although we mostly played shuffleboard. Which, by the way, I love! We spent most of Sunday, Mother's Day just being lazy and enjoying the rest. Monday we went to Silver Dollar City. It's an amusement park themed after the Hatfields and the McCoys. It's pretty unique because they are known for the resident artisans. You can see just about every kind of craft being made right on site. I really liked the glass blower, and Orson liked the steam run duplicating lathe, they made things like rolling pins, baseball bats, ummm, hiking sticks, noodle cutters, things like that. On Tuesday we spent the day with my in-laws. We took my mother in-law on a paddleboat cruise aboard the Showboat Branson Belle. That was a treat in itself. They had a really variety show complete with a full three course meal. The boat was gorgeous. That evening we took the padres to go see a variety show called Hamner Barber Show . We were graciously given tickets by a gentleman we met at the resort. Dave Hamner and his wife who put on an amazing magic show. I mean seriously I knew that he was going to make something disappear and then he did, and I just stared, I still don't know how they do it. His partner's name is Jim Barber and he is a really talented Ventriloquist. I mean he could sing in these other voices. He did Bring him home from Les Mis and I was astounded. Really if y'all ever go to Branson, splurge and go see the shows, they are worth every penny. Wednesday we stuck pretty close to the resort, I slept most of the day. That evening Orson and I went to go see Six perform. For those of you that grew up in CA you might know them as the Knudsen Brothers. They are a group of six brothers that perform accapella. I swear though you would think that there is a full band behind them, but they do all their own stuff, vocal percussion, vocal bass, wow is all I'm gonna say. I of course have seen them before, but I wanted Orson to experience it. He just sat there watching them. He didn't believe that there was no band until he saw them do it. I don't really remember what we did Thursday, I think more hanging out at the resort, more shuffleboard, and more relaxing. We headed for home Friday morning, stopping in Oklahoma to visit Sandy and her daughter, she used to babysit me growing up. So all in all I think the trip was splendid and I would definitely do it again.

P.S. I know that we have pics from Branson,but they were on my mother-in-laws camera, so I will have to upload those later. Sorry!