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.