DAY ONE ...
We left Hillsboro at 6:37 AM Tuesday morning .. after a stop in Sullivan, MO for a quick Breakfast of Egg McMuffins .. mine with Sausage .. Ken's with Bacon .. an hour here .. an hour there looking through a couple of antique / collectables shops and a huge western store .. lunch at Lamberts ..
I was surprised to see Santa Claus also having lunch at Lamberts!!!! More Lamberts pics later!!! We arrived in old historic downtown Branson at 1:36 PM .. almost exactly 7 hours from when we started out!!
We stayed at the Raddison .. YIKES .. there must be at least a thousand rooms!! This is supposed to be a really luxurious place to stay .. hate to tell you but I would much rather be at the Savannah House .. that's where I stayed on the two bus trips to Branson and where Ken and I stayed in December!! Sorry but this room is no more gorgeous than the rooms at Savannah House .. they DON'T have a complimentary hot Breakfast .. but they do have a restaurant downstairs where you can BUY Breakfast .. OR you can have a Bagel delivered to your room for $7.00!!! They DON'T have Cobbler and Ice Cream late at night .. no special deals on shows .. Savannah House I miss you!!
So what were we doing at the Radisson?????? Long story .. LOL!! So here you go .. when we were in Branson the last time we went to Bass Pro .. beautiful place .. there was a kiosk with people cornering you .. talking about 3 days 2 night stay at the Raddison for $99.00 .. AND you get $75.00 in Bass Pro gift certificates .. all that for only $99.00. All you have to do is go to a 2 hour seminar about a time share program at Big Cedar Resort. Well .. Kenny went for it .. paid his $99.00 and here we are. It is actually a good deal .. and the hotel is nice .. it's just not the Savannah House .. LOL!! One good thing about it .. it's right in the middle of everything!!!
Back to arrival day .. we did a little looking / shopping downtown before going to the hotel .. one of the stores we went into was Caldwell's Flea Market .. I found a metal advertising sign for Old Dutch powdered cleaner to add to my "stuff" on the Living Room wall .. I have a few empty spots to fill .. LOL!! Cracker Barrel for Dinner .. then to the Pierce Arrow show. I saw the Pierce Arrow show 2 or 3 years ago and it was a terrific show .. it was so good I even bought a DVD .. this time .. uummmmm .. it was OK but nothing spectacular!! And no Cobbler and Ice Cream to gobble when we got back to the hotel .. considering the fact that I have a bout 20 pounds I need to lose that's probably good .. LOL!!!
DAY TWO ...
Breakfast at McFarlan's .. Yummmmm!!!
I was so disappointed with the Pierce Arrow show I didn't take any pictures .. however, this is a video from their show in 2011 .. ENJOY!!
DAY TWO ...
Breakfast at McFarlan's .. Yummmmm!!!
I shared the Biscuits and Gravy that came with my Breakfast with Ken and he shared the Pancakes that came with his with me!! Great place for Breakfast!! The food was great and so was the "ambiance" .. of course I had to take some pictures!!!
These two pictures were painted by a local painter .. I thought they were neat .. very same picture but different seasons!!!
And now I'll just let you take a quick "tour" with me and check out all the their vintage displays .. if you know me you know I loved this place!!!
Ken couldn't have taken me to a better place to start the day .. he knows me well .. LOL!!!
Next stop Silver Dollar City and the "World Fest" ..
If you've ever been to Silver Dollar City you know there are a million things to take pictures of .. it's mind boggling .. if you've never been to Silver Dollar City let me tell you .. there are terrific sights everywhere .. I don't know how many days you would have to spend there to see everything!! Soooo I decided I wasn't even going to try This picture makes it look like the place was a ghost town but believe me it wasn't!! We had thought by going through the week the place would not be very crowded .. boy were we WRONG!! During the World Fest there are performers from around the world .. we weren't able to see them all but we saw several.
I know .. I know .. the Silver Dollar Saloon is not an international performance but we thought it sounded like great fun .. and it was!!!
My favorite picture .. I love it!!!!
I hope you enjoyed the show .. LOL!!!
I couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful Wisteria!!
Our next performance was the "Spettacolo Musica" ..
Aaron Caruso and Cristina Carollo
"The Prayer"
Aaron and Cristina singing "The Prayer" .. this is not from the performance they did at the "World Fest" but it is the only video I could find of the two of them together and it is beautiful!!! This was a really great show .. we were so glad we chose it to go to!!
It's time for lunch at Miss Molly's Mill Restaurant!!
Another restaurant with all that vintage ambiance I love!!!
After lunch we're off to McHaffies' Homestead to see "The Homestead Pickers"
This little girl is named Maggie .. Maggie has Down's Syndrome .. however, this group seems to have made her a welcome part of their group. She played the spoons very well .. and when they needed a dog to howl and a cat to meow in one of their songs .. that was Maggie's job .. and she did great! Her laughter at the fun she was having was super!!! It made you feel good to see how they included her and how much she enjoyed it!!
This lady and her husband were in the audience but got up and played and sang in the "jam session" .. they did a good job.
And this little boy was a terrific violin player!!!
This wasn't a part of the "World Fest" entertainment but it was a lot of fun!!!
This wasn't a part of the "World Fest" entertainment but it was a lot of fun!!!
Ken trying his hand at photography .. he's quite proud of this picture .. LOL!!
I met a handsome cowboy along the way .. LOL LOL LOL!!
And Ken ended up in jail!!! The sad thing is .. the jailer forgot to shut the door and he got away!!!
I thought this water fountain was very unique!!
Needless to say .. this is the Christmas Store!! Room after room of Christmas trees!!
This will be our last show of the day .. when it is over Silver Dollar City will be closed for the night!
This is a terrific group .. if you ever go to Silver Dollar City be sure and check out this show before you go home!!!
I thought you might like Jessica's performance too .. LOL!!!
DAY THREE .. BIG CEDAR LODGE
This is the big day .. we get to go listen to the sales pitch at Big Cedar Lodge!! Breakfast was a quick one at McDonald's .. we had to be at the Lodge by 8:45!!!!
See all those little cabins hidden among the trees???
I have to admit this was a beautiful resort / lodge / whatever .. for only $29,000.00 you could have a lifetime membership and go to resorts just like this one all over the world .. long long story .. 2 hours of seminar and one on one sales talks .. YIKES!!! Sorry .. but we didn't happen to have $29,000.00 laying around to do this with .. of course they would work out a loan for you .. only 16.99 % interest .. yeah!! Our one on one salesman was a very very nice guy and we really hated to tell him no and cause him to loose his commission but "no" was our answer. I wonder how many of those couples there went for it????? This resort has a spa .. restuarant .. tennis courts .. pools .. horse back riding .. trail rides .. so many things I don't even remember what all it has .. but spending a week some place like this isn't my idea of how to spend a vacation .. I'm just a simple girl .. I want to see the country around me .. go to a quaint little restaurant somewhere .. maybe stay at a Bed & Breakfast. I'm happy as a Lark staying at the Savannah House .. with the hot Breakfast and Cobbler and Ice Cream!! Know what I mean????
We spent some time sight seeing and went through a couple of Quilt stores .. we were looking for a Quilt and Shams to replace the heavy one we had on the bed through the cold months.
We went to Jackie B. Goode's for lunch .. I was hoping the George Strait tribute show would be going on but they won't be there until May 21st.
However, the gentleman below was pickin' and grinnin' and singing .. he was pretty good!!
After lunch .. Apple Tree Mall .. this place is sooooo big .. we were in there at least a couple of hours and only got through about half of it!!
Looks like Kenny is ready to go home .. LOL LOL LOL!!!
Aren't these just about the ugliest things you've ever seen???? Is this the newest popular thing???? If so .. WHYYYYYY?????????? This booth is filled with these things!!!
Where did we go for Supper???? Panera Bread Company of course!! It would have been nice had the Bread Compnay bunch been there .. LOL!!
Is that a Krispy Kreme I see????????
We stopped to get a couple of Krispy Kremes to take to our room to enjoy when we got back from the show!! As luck would have it there were Krispy Kremes going down the conveyor so they were passing out free hot ones .. so we HAD to eat those on the spot .. the ones fresh off the line are the very best .. YUMMMMMM!!!
Next stop .. The Dutton Family Theater to watch The Dutton Family perform!! This is one huge family of performers and it is a GREAT show!!! If you're planning a trip to Branson put the Duttons on your list of shows to see!!!
DAY FOUR ..
Oh my .. they kept telling us rain .. rain .. rain .. and possible sleet and snow!! Ken had to scrape 2" of sleet and snow off his car when he went out!!
We left our sign on the steam-covered window of our room .. LOL!!
Breakfast was at McFarlan's once again .. I'm thinking that will be my favorite Breakfast place here in Branson!! Unless of course we stay at the Savannah House .. then we'll enjoy their hot Breakfast!!
We went to the Apple Tree Mall once again before leaving Branson .. I just had to see all those booths we didn't get to the day before!!! I added to my "treasures"!!
Sleet was really coming down as we were leaving Branson .. we drove through sleet and snow all the way to Lebanon, Missouri. Then we hit an area where the highway was actually DRY!!! Then later on we ran into rain .. pouring rain in some places.
We stopped at several Antique / Collectables stores along the way .. I don't remember where we had lunch .. must not have been very memorable .. LOL!! ... But we had dinner at the "Missouri Hick BBQ" in Cuba. The BBQ Pulled Pork meal was delicious but there was so much of it we had to take some of it home with us!!!
This was our last stop .. next stop was HOME .. Woooooo Hooooooo!!! Thank You Lord for getting us there safely!!!
My "treasures" ... the red tin on the right is a Coca Cola straw holder .. the weird looking green thing in the middle is a Squirrel feeder .. that's actually Ken's "treasure"!!!
This old board is Ken's "treasure" too .. he has a project he'll be creating with this!!!
We also found this frame big enough for my latest Coca Cola advertisement for only $5.00!!!
I guess you know where this will go!!!
Sad to say this will have to go in the "Snow" box on the closet shelf until Winter .. I'll be looking forward to setting it out .. I think they look just like Ken and I .. except it would be nice if mine had a little hair .. LOL!!
I hope you enjoyed your little excursion to Branson .. we'll be going again towards the end of May for the BBQ Bluegrass Band Festival at Silver Dollar City .. believe me .. we'll be staying at the Savannah House this time!!!!!
