RAGGEDY ANNIE'S GRANNY



This blog will be all about FUN Times .. Granny's have fun times too you know .. especially Raggedy Annie's Granny .. she's always having a good time!!


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Thursday, December 4, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 
CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN BRANSON!!! 
 
Ken and I decided to start our Christmas celebrating  by going to Branson and Silver Dollar City to see the lights and some of the Christmas shows.  It wasn't long before several of our Bread Company friends decided to join us .. the more the merrier .. we ended up with 6 couples making the journey!!! 



 The Branson Plantation Inn .. this will be our Branson "home" for the next few days.  As most of you know we usually stay at the Savannah House .. but our very favorite "home" in Branson did not have enough rooms available for this period time for our group of 12 people ... sooooooo .. no Cobbler and Ice Cream when we get home from our days adventure .. but who needs it, right?????? 

After getting settled in our rooms and taking a short rest from our drive here we all headed to Mel's Hard Luck Diner for a Burger and Fries .. AND a Chocolate Shake ..

 
This is a very unique dining experience as the waiters / waitresses not only wait on your table but they sing!!! 





Ken didn't actually drink 6 Milk Shakes .. but he DID slurp the Shake out of the bottom of all 6 of these glasses .. and of course his loving wife HAD to get a picture .. love ya' Ken .. LOL LOL LOL!!! 
 

When you walk outside Mel's there is a strip mall  of brightly decorated stores to visit .. the lights didn't come out too great in the pics but you get the idea of how beautiful it was!!!


We were headed for the Kris Kringle Christmas Shoppe .. a store Full of Christmas .. Christmas .. Christmas!!!!! 


 
We also checked out a store full of wood carved ornaments / decorations ..

 
This huge Santa Claus carving is only $20,000.00!!! 


I had to get a picture of this cute little snowman!!!


Time to head back to the hotel and a rest before heading for the Andy Williams Moon River Theater to see the Lennon Sisters and Osmond Brothers Christmas Show!!

 
The Moon River Theater!!

Ken and I got there first and visited the gift shop before going into the theater to find our seats .. I found some more wooden ornaments that Ken or my son-in-law Mike might be interested in creating some day ..




We're all settled into our seats .. Row EE .. seats 228 and 229.  First order of business .. check  to find the right camera setting to get good pics .. they don't allow you to take audio or video recordings but they do allow you to take pictures .. Yayyyyyy!!!  


Aaaahhhh .. I think this is the right setting .. 



HEY .. there's Rich and Pat .. Rich is in the dark blue jacket .. Pat is in the gray one ..


And Shirley and Bill .. I think you can find them without my help!!!


And Carl and Sylvia at the tail end of this group .. 


The theater is filling up!!!!

 
Nancy .. the first lady in the red coat .. and Jerry .. the tall guy behind her ..


And the show starts at last ..


 
The Lennon Sisters and the Osmond Brothers!!!  






Janet Lennon's three granddaughters joined the show .. 






















I didn't have the guts to try video taping the show but I found a couple of videos on You Tube posted by somebody who DID!!  These are from the 2014 Christmas show .. just a small part of what we got to enjoy!!!!  Click on the links below ..

ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE .. HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS .. JINGLE BELLS!! 


And we're off to the Plantation Inn for a night's rest to prepare for tomorrow's adventure!!! 

 
 
DAY TWO'S ADVENTURES ..

First things first .. Breakfast at the Grand Country Buffet ..
 
 

Bev reallllly liked the handsome guy on the end .. LOL!!! 


Needless to say I love the décor inside ..  




Could this be the Bread Company Bunch at Breakfast in Branson?????












 Later a get-together in the lobby of the hotel before heading to Silver Dollar City ..




It's not looking very good for spending a day outside at Silver Dollar City .. very foggy at the beginning of our drive!!! 



Here we are .. Silver Dollar City!!!  The fog cleared up a tiny bit before we reached our destination ..

 
BUT .. now we are  also getting a misty rain!!!



For Ken and I the first stop was the penny smashing machine in the Hospitality House .. Hmmmmmm .. wonder who that could be for???????

 
A  Kodak moment .. Carl and Sylvia stop for a hug .. Awwwwwwwww!!!!





Our two Harley riders .. Don and Bill ..



 
Headed for the show at the Silver Dollar Saloon ..



Aaaahhhhh .. finally we get to go inside and warm up ..




These ladies are going to make this gentleman a part of the show .. Ken and I were hoping they would pick on Don .. LOL!!! 

 
It was hilarious anyway even though we didn't know the guy who became Frosty the Snowman!!!  What was really funny was that he accused his wife of setting him up for this .. LOL!! 


Another guy from the audience got drug on stage for this skit .. so if you ever visit the Silver Dollar Saloon .. be careful where you sit unless you WANT to be a part of the show!!!! 


After watching all the dancing and singing at the Silver Dollar Saloon of course we were hungry .. so off we went to Crossroads Pizza ..

 
And after Pizza and Salads we were off again to see the sights and find some more FUN ..



It's really cold out here .. how about a group hug to warm up????? 





Time for a musical version of  "It's A Wonderful Life" ...













 
I found this video on You Tube .. it's was taped and posted in 2012 but what I watched of it was the same as the performance we saw this year!!!  Click on the link below ..
 




There are 5 million lights decorating Silver Dollar City .. with the fog and the misty rain it wasn't as beautiful a sight as it was last year and the pics didn't come out real great .. but we all enjoyed our visit immensely in spite of what the weather man threw at us!!!

 
The end of our Christmas celebration at Silver Dollar City .. I taped the Light Parade .. click on the link below and ENJOY ..
 
 
DAY THREE ADVENTURES
 
Day three started out with Coffee and Donuts in the hotel lobby / hospitality area.  As you can see while we were having a good time at Silver Dollar City last night the Christmas elves must have been decorating the lobby!!! 
 

Just a few of us waiting for the others to show up .. LOL!! 
 
First stop of the day was the Belgian Waffle and Pancake House for a quick Breakfast .. sorry the photographer didn't get any pics .. Hmmmmm .. falling down on the job!!!! 
 
Next stop .. Dick's Five and Dime .. no trip to Branson is complete without a visit here to see what treasures you can find!!!  As you can no doubt tell by the water on the street it's not just a misty rain on this day .. it's a good thing we chose to go to Silver Dollar City yesterday and not today!!! 
 





We actually found a place where the water running down the street wasn't quite as wide as this "stream" and got across the street to the car and headed down the road to our next stop .. College of the Ozarks.  This was the view from my window as we arrived ...
 





 
 
A must see at the College of the Ozarks is the Ralph Foster Museum ..
 
*** Most of the pictures inside the museum were taken when Ken and I visited here in July so you will see Ken and others in shorts and short sleeve shirts!!!!
 

































 
















 








 


 










 


















 















 
 


































 
This museum is a marvelous place .. there are 3 floors of treasures to view and enjoy .. a great place to add to your "Got To See" list when you come to Branson!!!!
 
Next stop .. The Keeter Center Lodge and Restaurant .. this is also located on the grounds of the College of the Ozarks ..






 
So much beauty in this place .. I even loved the ceiling!!!! 


And this neat little cast iron skillet they used to serve the Butter and Apple Butter when they brought the baskets of Bread around ..

 












 

And then a drive to Big Cedar Lodge to check out the beautiful view and their beautiful Christmas decorations and gift shop ..







The view from the balcony of the lodge .. the hills you see in the background are in Arkansas!!!!! 



Help yourself to Hot Chocolate and Christmas Cookies!!! 



The guys enjoyed a sit-down while the ladies enjoyed the gift shop ..


This beautiful little church is located on the road to the lodge ..



BUT WAIT ... this day is not over yet!!!!  After a short rest at the hotel we were off once again .. to the Shoji Tabuchi Theater .. 






If you've heard anything about the Shoji Tabuchi Theater it's undoubtedly about the how unique and beautiful the bathrooms are .. we weren't in the theater long before we headed for the Ladies Room ..


Keep in mind these pictures were taken inside the Ladies Room ..





Notice that giant chandelier on the ceiling!!!! 








 
The stories I've heard are true .. the Ladie's Room is absolutely AWESOME!!!
 

The pre-show was hilarious .. dancing reindeer and lady cows!!!  I tried to get a video but didn't have enough battery power and alack and alas my spare battery was in the hotel room .. Arrrgggghhhhh!!!!



I  was happy to see Raggedy Ann and Andy dance out on the stage .. sad to say I didn't get a very good picture of them .. sniff sniff .. still kicking myself!!!  They also tossed out balloons and the audience had a great time batting them all about .. LOL!!!!


And here is the man himself .. Shoji Tabuchi ..







After an hour of great entertainment Sojhi and his crew took a break and I sent Ken to get a picture of the Men's Room pool table ...


Hard to believe there's not only a pool table in the Men's Room but rows of seats .. I assume to watch the games of Pool!!!!

 
He even got pics of the gold fixtures on the urinals and the lavatories .. I'm sure glad there wasn't anybody using the urinal at the time .. LOL!!!!  Thanks Ken!!!




Hmmmm ... I tried lightening the pic but this isn't much better ..


Whoops .. break's over .. back to the show ..



I've never been a big fan of violins and wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this show .. but I have to say .. Shoji puts on a terrific show and I enjoyed it tremendously!!!!

 
The Shoji Tabuchi show was the last of our  Christmas celebration here in Branson .. we would all be heading home bright and early Saturday morning!!!  What a great time we had .. in spite of the weather!!! 
 
Wishing you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!   
 


 
 

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Blogging is one of my favorite things to do .. in fact .. I have FOUR blogs .. LOL!! "MY BIT OF MORNING BLATHER" .. is just that .. a bunch of blather!! My way of keeping up with friends and family. "BERTHA'S BED AND BREAKFAST" .. this is an ongoing project about my ancestry. RAGGEDY ANNIE'S GRANNY .. is about fun things Ken and I have done and travels we have made!!! KEN AND LIZ'S BIG ADVENTURE .. is about our latest adventure .. selling our home and buying another home!! If you want to check any of them out let me know and I will send you a link!!