Branson, MO

Two weeks ago, Rick and I flew to Kansas to meet up with my parents, and then the four of us drove to Branson, MO, for the week. Despite having lived my entire childhood in the neighboring state of Kansas and gone to college in Missouri, I had never been to Branson. Although not surprisingly, neither had Rick.

When I told my friends I was going to Branson, I received this response several times: You're not old enough to go to Branson. True, Branson is full of retired folks. I'm not sure why. I guess they really like seeing music/dance/comedy shows - clean ones, with a predominant country music and "I love the USA/thank you veterans" theme. Bus-loads of retired people come to Branson from all over the US.

Branson is weird. It is a pretty part of the US with deciduous-covered rolling hills and the huge fingered Table Rock lake that goes on for miles. It's like Vegas meets Palm Springs...with a Midwest flair.

The first weird thing was Lambert's in Ozark, MO, where we stopped for lunch. They throw hot-buttered rolls at you when you aren't looking. This place is famous. Seriously. Just ask people from the Midwest. We waited over 45 minutes to get a table.












We stayed in our own little cottage in a village with a Cape Code theme called Stormy Point. It was really very cutely decorated. Here is a shot of a couple of the units. Ours (not pictured) was yellow and had a whale on top.

While in Branson, we saw several shows. I liked Jim Stafford (guitar wizard) the best and Dixie Stampede (eating a whole chicken with your hands while cheering for the fake rodeo) the least. Bob Anderson (Rat Pack impersonator) was fantastic although surprisingly less popular with the Branson crowd. The Twelve Irish Tenors were great entertainers...and very good looking. (just Mom and I went to that show.)

We also played golf three times, which was a hoot. Branson has a LOT of courses. But we only played one: The Don Gardner par 3 municipal course. It was hilarious. First of all, there is a playground in the middle of the course. There are no identifiable fairways - it's all just grass. There are only five greens - you play holes 2-5 twice. Each green (except the first one) has two pins, a yellow one and a white one. And there are yellow and white tee boxes. I can't tell you how many times one or all of us played to the wrong pin. The course was small and easy to walk, only cost $10/person, and since there were few people there, we felt little pressure to do well or hurry up. Dad, Rick and I had a lot of fun. I even think Rick's brother, Ed, had a good time too.

My favorite place in Branson was not in Branson. Just south of Branson, hidden by the trees and sitting beside the White River, is Big Cedar Resort. Owned by the Bass Pro Shops, this is a gem of a resort tucked in the Ozark mountains. Here is a shot of one of many lodges, cabins, and cottages.

This trip was packed with good stuff (the OSU game we missed but still got free ice cream, golf and shows in Branson, seeing my grandma back in Ark City, and watching the whitetail eat apples from under the trees in my parents' yard), but one of the biggest highlights was seeing Rick's brother Ed and his wife Janet who drove up from Little Rock, AR. Rick supposes it's been 10 years since they last saw each other. It turns out that Ed and Rick look a lot alike. Except for one thing...Ed is really tall. Here we all are in the cottage.

We had a great time. Thanks to my parents for putting it all together.