Branson - Part 2

One of the reasons we were anxious to visit Branson was after a story we saw on the news about the largest Bass Pro Shops and their flagship store in Springfield, Missouri, which is about 40 miles north of Branson.  So on Easter Sunday we took a road trip.

This sign cracked me up.

Our first stop was the attraction that led us here - the aquarium.

It was as incredible as shown on TV.  And since it was Easter, they'd decorated for the occasion.

Jellies (not jellyfish)

This fish looks mad

They had some other areas like a swamp and a bear den.  The three toed sloth was on vacation but we were able to see his cousin the two toed sloth.

Just hanging around - notice the Easter decor

Ron found a shark!  Can you imagine coming face to face with one of these?

In the store were a few interesting exhibits - the alligators really caught our attention.

After the aquarium visit, we stopped in this area to rest our feet.

And then we shopped but restrained ourselves and left with just a rain jacket for Ron.

A few days later, we went to Branson Landing, a more upscale area of Branson, to check it out.  Even though we know nothing about Guy Fieri, we decided to test out his restaurant.

The kitchen was busy!

I had a chicken sandwich which was delicious.  I took half of the meal home for a treat later.

After we left that area, we took a walk around the town.  Many of you know that Ron likes rocks - I mean, really, really likes rocks.  So he was thrilled when we came across this spot.

I was able to hold him back and we walked away with nothing.  One advantage of traveling in a trailer is the lack of storage space which keeps us from buying things.

Next we stopped for a little entertainment.

It was a pretty cheesy course and if I'd ended up as spectacular as I started, I would write more about it.  

Our last day in Branson was low key as the weather wasn't cooperating.

Sometimes it's difficult to remember that we don't have to be tourists all the time - it's the vacation mode that we normally are in.  But this is now our life so we don't need to hurry.

Branson - Part 1

 

Next stop - Branson!  We hadn't really thought about visiting but after looking at a map, we made the decision to head that way.  I really knew nothing about Branson other than I remembered that years ago my parents met my aunt and uncle there to vacation together.  Oh, and shows.  Lots and lots of shows.

We had a reservation for a week and the RV Park had sent us many messages with lots of information and details and called themselves a "quirky" park.  As we pulled in, I could see immediately that they were right - a quirky park but in a good way.  I think the name says it all.

The instructions told us to call when we arrived and one of the owners would meet us and guide us to our spot.  So we stopped and made the call.

Dave arrived quickly in his golf cart and actually gave us our choice of sites.  We picked one that has a "buddy" site (only used when the two are reserved together) so he told us we could park our truck at the site next door.

Hard to tell from the picture but after you passed our site the road went downhill fast.....

At the bottom of the hill was the office.  After we parked we went inside to pay and Christina gave us a TON more information.  That woman knows her stuff!

We laid low for a day or two and then we set out to explore.  First stop was the Titanic exhibit.

The first floor was filled with original artifacts so no photos were allowed :-(

But then we made it to the grand staircase.

I couldn't get the people out of the way.  :-)

Ceiling which brought a lot of light in to the grand staircase on the ship.

The gave us each a card with a passenger's name so we could follow them throughout the cruise.  My passenger was a young mother who was traveling with her husband and two small children. The youngest child was only 3 months old and at the time of her death, the young girl was the only living Titanic survivor (mom and children both survived while dad did not).  Ron had the name of the crew member who was the first to see the iceberg who also survived.

Then on to lunch.

We had a great lunch with a delightful young lady serving us.  One thing we've found in this part of the country is everyone is SO nice!

The highlight of the day was yet to come.  Christina had provided us with information for ordering show tickets.  It was completely seamless and part of their service was to deliver our tickets to the RV park and we were happy that they were waiting for us when we arrived.  Based on a recommendation on the RV park's website, we ordered tickets to see the Haygoods, brothers and a sister who had been performing in the area for close to 30 years.  Oldest brother is 44, youngest to perform was the only daughter who is 30.

I couldn't get a good photo of them while on stage but to give you an idea, here's their brochure.

Dominic, Patrick, Catherine, Timothy, Michael, Matthew

Brothers Shawn and Aaron no longer perform with their siblings

These siblings are the most talented family I have ever seen - I really can't say enough about the show and their talent.  They all play numerous instruments (Catherine plays at least 6!) and sing like nobody's business.  And if that isn't enough, right before intermission 4 of the men came out and performed a fantastic tap dance routine!  They said it was the Haygood family weight loss program.  

It was very impressive after the show as we were waiting to pick up the DVD they put together during the show Timothy came out to the lobby to sign autographs and visit.  I can't believe he had any energy left after that show!

I really can't say enough about this family.  If you're ever in Branson, I highly recommend this show!

Part 2 of our visit to Branson is coming up.

Little Rock

Many of you know that we are used to be very involved with volksmarching and at one point were on a quest to walk in every state and every state capital.  We met that goal over 10 years ago with one exception, the capital of Arkansas, Little Rock.  We actually visited Little Rock about 15 years ago and drove to the start point.  Unfortunately, no one knew anything about the walk and couldn't manage to find the directions so that we could complete the walk.  So, we drove to Hot Springs to do a walk so we could check the state of Arkansas off of our list.  Therefore, all these years we've claimed walks in 50 states, 49 state capitals, plus the District of Columbia.  So when we knew we were heading that way, we put it on the list so we could - finally - complete our goal.

We pulled into the RV park to get set up.  This was a county park and since this was a first for us, we were a little apprehensive.  Especially since the rate was $22 per night.  But it looked just fine.  (phew)

No maps, no instructions, no nothing except "take a right over there and you're in site B-10".  Oh, and by the way - no WiFi.  WHAT????

Our biggest challenge on this journey has been inconsistent technology but we're managing.  Maybe not such a bad thing to spend a few days without WiFi.  

The site was nice.

We were one spot away from the Arkansas River.

The next day we headed downtown.  The walk was uneventful but at least we were, finally, done with our quest.  On the route we saw the Old State House which is where Bill Clinton announced his candidacy for President.

Then we visited the State Capitol.

We parked the car and filled the meter to give us about 45 minutes inside and off we went.  We were greeted at the information desk by a nice woman named Cheryl.  We told her a little bit about why we were visiting and she said there was a tour starting in about 30 minutes.  We explained that we had a limited time on the parking meter and she replied "I've got some time and would be happy to give you a private tour".  So off we went.

Cheryl, our private tour guide

She knew everything there was to know about the Capitol building.  She grabbed our phones and took pictures along the way.

The 4,000 pound chandelier that hangs in the rotunda was down for cleaning.  They only clean it about every 10 years and it was going to be down for a month.

The interior of the building was magnificent.  She knew every detail about the architecture, cost, etc.  And since she had our camera.....

One of the highlights was visiting the Treasury on the 3rd floor.  Although Cheryl knew that our meter time had expired, she insisted that we visit.  We walked in and met the two people working inside and then they escorted us to the vault and opened it up.  Yikes, there was a TON of cash in there.  It is in the Arkansas state constitution that state employees can cash checks whenever they'd like so there always has to be plenty of cash on hand.  Imagine Ron's surprise when Cheryl said "do you want to hold half a million dollars?"  Thinking there might be a catch, Ron nodded and the next thing he knew they handed him a cool half a mil.

What an experience even though they asked for it back.

Off we went to the Clinton Presidential Library which was a short drive away.  In fact, they had just started construction when we were in Little Rock before so it was nice to see it completed.

Once inside we saw quite a few artifacts.  The limo he used while president was on the first floor.

There was an exact replica of the Oval Office upstairs but, unfortunately, no photos were allowed.  It was much smaller than I thought it would be.  In fact, when the former president viewed it while under construction he thought something looked "off" so the staff measured the real office and found that the replica was 6 inches too small so they made some adjustments.

A table set with their china.

It was interesting to see a Christmas tree that Dale Chihuly once gave to them to display in the White House.

Being that one of our other hobbies is to see all of the presidential gravesites.  Of course, Bill and Hillary are still living but we did see where they are planning for their eternal resting spot.

Warning:  Shortly after we visited the future grave site of George H.W. and Barbara Bush they passed away.  So if something happens to Bill or Hillary in the near future, we are not taking the blame.

Back to the camp site where we spent a WILD night listening to the loudest thunder I have ever heard!

Fayetteville

That's Arkansas, not North Carolina, and the next stop.  It was an easy drive and we were well-rested when we pulled in.

The University of Arkansas Razorbacks are in Fayetteville so Hogs.  Get it?  It was a wonderful place and we were a little sad that we were only scheduled to be here 3 nights.

The park was about 1/2 full and there really wasn't anyone parked too close.  This was the back-in spots behind us.  Pretty empty.

We were scheduled to leave on Sunday, the last day of the Masters, and Ron was a bit disappointed to know that we wouldn't be able to watch it on TV.  So, being the flexible people that we are, we decided to see if we could extend it an extra day.  Sure enough, we could!  So we called the next park and told them we'd be a day late and we were set!

Uh-oh, another laundry/storm room.

It was close to our site and since I knew the next two parks didn't have laundries, it was a good opportunity to get caught up.  The Masters on TV and laundry - what else could anyone ask for?  

We did take an opportunity to go see the campus which was really nice.  

Of course, we had to make a stop at the book store so Ron could snag an official hat.

It was an uneventful and relaxing few days and again, it was windy!  Would we ever escape the wind?

I did take an opportunity to check out the tree houses - it would be fun to see the inside!