Branson, Missouri. This town is so much more than I thought it would be. I had vaguely heard of it before, and I heard that there are a lot of good shows here, but there's so much more than that. Anyone who vacations here for a week and gets bored is truly a bump on a log. There is a major "strip" they call the parking lot because there are usually so many cars driving on it, but the side streets also have restaurants, attractions, hotels, theaters, golf courses,etc.
There are amusement park type rides scattered around the town, as well as a full fledged amusement park and water park nearby. They have the best Go-Kart track I have ever seen. There are numerous, fun museums- the Titanic, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and Veterans Museum are just a few. Just off the strip there is a historic downtown shopping area, and right alongside it,the "Riverwalk", called Branson Landing, which is, of course, on a beautiful river. There are more restaurants, shops, and condos there, and even an hourly fountain and fire show, set to music.
The town is set in the Ozark Mountains, so there is plenty of hiking around. There are several Ziplines (I am determined to do one for the first time on Friday). There are two beautiful lakes for boating, parasailing, swimming, etc. We are taking the inflatable to the lake tomorrow for the day.
And then,of course, there are the shows. Someone said there are over 100 live performances in Branson every day. The shows here feel like the cinema feels in other towns. The shows all reasonably priced- tickets are about $30 per person for most. When we walked into the theater for our show tonight, there was a concession stand selling popcorn and candy, etc. Just like going to the movies. Like most tourist towns, there are discount coupons to be found for everything. After hunting around for the best show discounts, Paul and I took it to another level. We went to a 2 hour presentation by Windham Hotels, for their timeshare program, and in return, we only paid $10 per ticket for the 3 shows that we want to see while we're here. That means instead of paying more than $180 for the tickets, we paid $60. Well worth the 2 hours for us- and we didn't buy into the timeshare either!
We went to the first of the 3 shows tonight-our "cheap" tickets were center stage, about 7 rows back. Pierce Arrow is a quartet who sing some country and some gospel, but we also heard they have the best comedian in town, and after seeing him, I believe it. The show also features Tim Storms, who holds the Guinness world record for the lowest note produced by a human being. The show was fun, and makes me curious to see how the other two will compare, quality wise.
The RV Park we are in is almost on the strip. Paul is pretty tired of having to drive the dually in cities all the time, so we wanted to be able to walk to a few things. We found the number one rated Ice Cream place the first night we were here by going for a walk. It was so good, it's dangerous- especially since we have the usual "buy one get one free" coupon. Later I spent quite a bit of time unsuccessfully trying to get some good pictures of all the fireflies that are around.As far as the tire situation goes, well, Paul is not a very happy person. He has decided we need to replace all 4 tires on the Everest, even the brand new on we had put on in California. The tires we have now barely have the capacity to hold the weight of the trailer. Add to that the fact that we have already blown one, and it definately looks like a second one is ready to blow, and he has decided we need a better quality and heavier duty tire for the trailer. We have an appointment on Tuesday to get the new ones put on.
