Christmas In Branson

Some of you who have been visiting for sometime know that our family loves going to Branson, Missouri.

AD and I had been planning a Christmas trip to Branson for sometime. This past weekend was the one weekend we would be able to make the trip.

Back in the summer G1 and his girlfriend made a trip to Branson with us. G2 wasn't able to go that time so he went with us this weekend.

Since it was just a short weekend trip we didn't take our 5th wheel. Like anyone else I want to stay in a nice, clean place but I just hate spending a lot of money on a hotel - especially since we're just there mainly to sleep.

There are quite a few nice, inexpensive places to stay in Branson but I was able to find a GREAT deal on a 2 night stay at one of the resorts in Branson. And it was cheaper than the place we usually stay when we don't take the trailer!

It had an exercise room which G2 

  

and AD tried out. Actually, I even tried one of the machines but there aren't any pictures as evidence.

They also had a game room with an air hockey table

a pool table and a Foosball table. (I'm not sure if I spelled that last one quite right.) Since we didn't arrive until later in the evening on Friday, we spent some time in the game room.

G2 was the big winner of the night. He beat AD at both air hockey and pool. I played him a game of pool too and of course, he easily won that too. Umm - in my defense, I haven't played pool in years and years and years.

one of the Dixie Stampede horses

Our original plans were to go to Silver Dollar City on Saturday morning but I really wanted to go to the Dixie Stampede too. They have a wonderful Christmas show with a live Nativity, including camels that the Wisemen ride in on!

Silver Dollar City was going to be open from noon to 9:30pm.

The weatherman predicted COLD weather on Saturday! I called the Dixie Stampede and there was a 12:30 performance and there were still seats available. So we I made the decision to get the tickets and go to the show and then we'd go to Silver Dollar City later. The main reason for me to go to Silver Dollar City was to see the lights anyway and arriving a bit later would be fine.

Photography of any kind is prohibited so there aren't any photos but of course the show was wonderful as always.

If you've been to the Dixie Stampede before you know there's always a friendly competition between the "North" and the "South". At Christmas it's between the "North Pole" and the "South Pole."

We like to sit with the "Southerners" but we had to go with the "Northerners" this time. They were the better seats - not that any of the seats are bad - but these were just closer to the action (on the second row).

(Note to Angela: I didn't notice any bad animal smells.)

Oh, and the North won that friendly competition. Early on it didn't look like we would but the North passed their candy canes quicker in the last competition and we won!

Tomorrow I'll tell you about Silver Dollar City.

Another Fun Weekend

After the adoption celebration last Friday our weekend continued.

Saturday nights are generally spent at a local race track watching G1 and G2 race. This past Saturday was no different. They both raced in the same heat race with G2 finishing in first place and G1 finishing third.

When the checkered flag fell at the end of the feature race, G2 had again placed first and G1 was close behind finishing second.

It was a late night at the track. We got home at 1am and grabbed a few winks because on Sunday morning we were off for a couple of days in Branson, MO.

G1 and his gf went with us. She'd never been to Branson and it was fun showing her around.

Our first stop was in Ozark, MO to eat at one of our very favorite places - Lambert's!
Of course we love their "throwed rolls" and we also look forward to their "pass-a-rounds".

If you've never been to Lambert's, you place your order but then some of the guys and gals come around with big pots of pass-a-rounds. There's blackeyed peas, fried okra, fried potatoes and onions, macaroni and tomatoes and of course the rolls and sorghum if you like.

AD's favorites are the blackeyed peas and the okra. My favorite is the fried potatoes and onions. Daughter's favorite is the macaroni and tomatoes. And we all have to have us some throwed rolls.

Then it was off to Branson. After a bit of shopping at Branson Landing we checked into our hotel. G1 and his gf took some time to cool off in the hotel pool.

A trip to a miniature golf course came next.

There are a number of miniature golf courses in Branson. G1 likes the "Lost Treasure" course. Actually they have 2 courses - the Diamond Course and the Gold Course. G1 chose the Diamond Course.

Normally I am the one that ends up on the short end of the club so to speak. I'm not sure if G1 was just being nice because gf was with us or if he was having a bad day or if I just had an EXTREMELY good day because I - that's ME! - I WON!!! Woo hoo! I. NEVER. win. The gf came in second and I can't honestly remember who came in 3rd and 4th but it was the guys.

After the round of golf came it was on to the Lumberjack go-kart track. The kids enjoyed the karts while AD and I spectated.

By the end of the ride we were all pretty tired so it was back to our rooms for some much needed rest because

Monday found us at Silver Dollar City. The park is celebrating 50 years in 2010.

My how times have changed. When I first went to the park as a kid, other than the tour of the cave, there was only a stage coach ride and the train. Over the years rides have come and gone

and the parking lot has expanded to parking lotS.

For years our family had season passes to "the City". Then a couple of years ago when we were working on the house we decided we wouldn't have time for any visits for awhile.

Even more changes were in store for us when we arrived yesterday. The parking lots have changed some and so have the trams that take you to the entrance.

Look at that nice new tram. The old ones were green and the roofs were very low. I'm not very tall and I bumped my head on the old ones more than once.

Once inside G1 and gf headed to the Wildfire roller coaster. They stood in line extra time just to be able to ride in the front seats. G1 says that's the only place to ride in order to get the full effect. Personally I'm fine on the observation deck.
Then it was off to Powder Keg. Again they stood in line extra time to be able to have the front seat viewing advantage.

After a bar-b-que lunch we met up with one of gf's friends and her family in the Grand Exposition area of the park.

gf and her friend wanted to ride the Electro Spin. It's kind of hard to describe other than the track is sort of a U-shape. Riders set on the seats as you see in the picture. The seats are attached to a spinning platform. As the platform spins it also starts going back and forth from right to left, each time going a little higher. 55 feet is the maximum height that it goes, all the while spinning round and round.

Try as she might, gf just could not coax G1 getting on the ride. His point of view was that he'd just eaten a big bar-b-que lunch and he just didn't think his stomach would be able to handle the motion. A very wise choice in my opinion and I'm sure the other riders, had they known, would have appreciated him choosing not to ride too.

The last ride of the day was a wet one in the Lost River. The kids were ready to call it a day and so we headed home.

It was good to get back to Branson and "the City" after a 2-year hiatus. I'm pretty sure AD and I will be making at least a couple more trips this season.

October Miracles - The Background

Awhile back I said that I would be relating a story of miracles that happened to us in October, 2003. It was 6 years ago tomorrow – Thursday, October 23.

But before I share that story, here's a bit of background to get started.

Our family had camped at Compton Ridge Campground, a family owned campground near Branson, for many years. Enough years so that we considered them family. When we would go there to camp it was really like going home. The Sims' family holds a special place in our hearts.

The Sims' family had a tradition of holding a big Halloween celebration each year either the weekend before Halloween or on Halloween weekend if October 31 fell on a Saturday. (The photos throughout this post are from various years.)

There were always lots of things to do for the kids – pumpkin carving contests and

lots of games for the kids. The games varied from year to year like a hoop shoot contest or a spider web weaving contest or a candy count guessing game.

One year they had a mummy wrap competition.

Other years they had hoop shooting contests, bicycle/tricycle/wagon parades, cake walks. There was always a lot of fun things to do.

Every year there was a costume contest with several different age groups.

I don't know the 'Smores kids but this is one of my favorite pictures. That's Daughter in the nun's costume with the adult contestants. She dressed up intending to embarrass her boys. Boy, did she get fooled - and it wasn't even April! Not only weren't the G1 and G2 embarrassed, she was one of the winners.

The last few years before the Sims sold the campground, a new competition was added to the weekend events - a cooking competition for the adults with a different category each year.

One year the category was pies. I won 3rd place for this pecan pie (it was made using Dear Abby's recipe




Cakes were a category another year. There were a lot of wonderful cakes entered that year. I made an Italian Cream Cake and won 2nd place.

The year the category was soups and stews I managed to nab 1st place for Pasta Fagioli. I'll have to share that recipe with you sometime.







One of the most fun - and competitive - competitions was for best decorated campsite. I have lots and lots of pictures of the campsites over the years in my files. Here are a few.

Each campsite got to vote for their favorite. The prize for the winner was usually a night or two of free camping for the following season. The winner was announced at the big “pig roast” pot luck dinner on Saturday evening. The owners provided the meat, tea, water and utensils and all the campers would bring 2 pot luck dishes to share. There was always lots and lots of good food!

After dinner there was trick-or-treating for the kiddos. Trick-or-treating like it was back when I was little. Most of the campers came year after year and everybody pretty much knew everyone else. So there were no worries about tainted candy or trick-or-treating at a house you weren't familiar with.

These 2 boys were the cutest little guys. And very polite, making sure to say "thank you" after we gave them their treats.







G1 and G2 used to dress up but that was before I had a digital camera. One year Daughter and I made them motorcycles out of cardboard boxes and they were bikers. G2 won for his age group that year. Another year G1 was a tube of toothpaste (we used a lampshade for the cap) and he won for his age group.

Witchy Weekend was so popular that to insure your spot you needed to make a reservation a year in advance.

Sadly, a few years ago the Sims made the decision to sell the campground. We camped there a couple of more times but it just wasn't the same. There's a definite difference between a family owned business and one that's owned corporately.

But we have a ton of memories to draw from of the many fun times spent there.

Tomorrow I'll post what happened in 2003. It's a story of many miracles for our family but there is a tragedy involved.

Weekend Fun & Lots of Photos

Our Labor Day weekend started out with football on t.v. First AD watched the OSU game and kept commenting on how they were "really stinking it up". I told him he'd better be careful because OU still had their game to play. (We're a divided family when it comes to OU and OSU.)

The Pokes won! Yea!

And then the Sooners played. I happened to take this picture just as OU scored their 1st touchdown of the season, and as it turned out, their only touchdown of the game. I am an OSU fan but I really hope Bradford gets better really quickly.

AD didn't get to watch much of the game because we had to get to the boys' races. This weekend G2 was racing both his pure stock and his turf car. G1 raced his turf car too. I couldn't get any pictures of either of them racing because I was videoing but this is a picture of both boys in the pure stock as G2 helped to "pack the track".

Dwarf cars also race at this particular track. I think those cars are just cuter than bugs' ears!

AD and I aren't really "spur of the moment" people. We like to have things planned. Guess who's in charge of all the planning? Well - it isn't AD.

On Friday however we did something quite out of the ordinary. After confirming G1 would be available to stay at the house and dog sit, we decided to make a short trip over to Branson after church on Sunday. Just a short trip - over on Sunday, come back on Monday afternoon.

We haven't been to Branson in a couple of years! Let me just point out that from the time our kids were little we would make at least 1 trip to Branson each year. Then after we bought our first 5th wheel we were there about once a month from March thru November. So this trip was way overdue.

It was like going home.

On our way to Branson there's a creek named Pumpkin Creek. A picture of the sign and the creek was in order since fall is on the way.

The sign

The creek (although I think it looks more like a small river than a creek!)

After about 3 hours we got our first glimpse of Branson's Labor Day traffic

About all we were able to do was some shopping. We got there too late to get tickets for any shows and we were leaving too early on Monday to see any shows.

This is the backside of Branson Landing. It's a fairly new shopping area down by the river. There are no pictures of the stores because I didn't want to carry my camera. I planned on shopping!

There was a new store that we'd never heard of before called "Ridemakerz". It's kind of a boys' version of Build-a-Bear. Boys of all sizes and ages - as well as girls, I would think - can pick out a car and add all kinds of accessories from wheels to sounds. It really is a cool store and one I think any boy would find fun.

A better picture of the river

Besides shopping it was just fun to relive old memories of other trips. This is Dick's 5 and 10. It's in old downtown Branson (walking distance from Branson Landing if you're up for it.) Dick's is quaint and just like an old 5-and-dime. And it's always crowded!

One of the newer things to do in Branson is to take a tour of the Titanic museum. I'm actually the only one in the family who has taken the tour. It was fantastic and the day I was there happened to be the anniversary of the sinking. I'm a planner but that was one item that got by me.

G1 and G2 wanted to play miniature golf the day I went. It's probably a good thing too because they called me twice to see if I was ready to be picked up. When I said no, they were pretty happy because that meant they could play more miniature golf.

Branson is known for its shows and Jim Stafford's is one of the best. Even G1 and G2 had a good time when they went several years ago. They still talk about "seein' ole' Jim" and how funny his show was.

Another one of the things the boys like to do in the summer is go to White Water. There's all kinds of water rides. Personally I like the lazy river. I don't know if this last weekend was the end of their season or not but there were a lot of people enjoying the park.

There are lots of miniature golf courses in Branson. This one is really fun. It offers two different courses. (The pool belongs to the motel next door.)

Before G1 and G2 raced real cars they loved the go-carts at Branson. The Lumber Jack is their favorite track.

There are lots of places in Branson where they make fudge. Grand Country is Daughter's favorite place to buy some.

The Ducks are a favorite ride. They not only drive you out to the lake but into the lake too. G2 always tries to make sure he sits in the back of the car on the driver's side so he can roll down the window and wave at the folks on the Duck as they drive down the strip. I don't know which he enjoys more - waving at the folks or the fact that he's embarrassing his brother at the same time.

The Dixie Stampede is a great place for food and entertainment. We've been there numerous times and the boys are always ready to go back. The food is great and the entertainment is out of this world. Christmas time is the very best time to go in my opinion. Not only do they have the regular show but they also have a live Nativity. One thing I find particularly interesting is when the wise men come in riding on their camels and then watching the camels lay down for the them to disembark.

Only Son and his wife have been to Ripley's Believe It or Not. The building is one that draws a lot of attention.

The highway leading out from Branson to Silver Dollar City is not only curvy but hilly too. We can remember when this highway was only a 2 lane road - and not a very good one at that!

Years ago when the road was only 2 lanes we were coming back into town after a day in "the City" and it was terribly, terribly foggy. That trip back to our motel was scarier than any ride I'd ever been on!

We were on our way home as I took this picture of Highway 76.

Coming into Springfield I noticed a sign for Andy's Custard. I've heard about it many times but had never been to one. I'd also heard about "concretes" but never tried one. AD said if we saw it before our turn off that we'd stop. Then there it was - this big red and yellow sign RIGHT BEFORE our turn off. WOO! HOO!

I don't know for sure but I'm thinking this must be a new location because when we got close the traffic looked like this trying to get into Andy's - and we were on the highway.

Eventually we were in line and when we were finally close enough to read the menu I saw a sign that said that the "Askinosie Woo Hoo" concrete was now there to stay. I checked description and it said it was vanilla custard with Askinosie dark chocolate nibs swirled into it. Now I'm all about dark chocolate so I looked no further than that. It was de-lish! What better way to start the closing of our trip than with a Woo Hoo!!!!!!

The trip was a short one but lots of fun!

I hope each of you had a wonderful Labor Day holiday too.