Saturday, July 17, 2010

Branson Vacation

We left for our vacation to Branson bright and early on Monday July 12th. Katlin and I went to pick up Connor and Connie and hit the road. We stopped along the way for a picnic lunch and then on to our first stop. the drive thru zoo near Stafford, Mo . I really didn't want camel drool on my car so we decided to ride the tram. Our guide I think his name was David warned us that some of the animals were aggressive and to take care. We bought sacks of pellets to feed the animals. He said that at least one person lost their bag every trip.

Connor was the one for our trip. Clyde the camel made off like a bandit withe his whole sack of food.




Clyde was quite the road side bandit. and I thought once he was going to come and ride the bus with us.




They had zebras and longhorn cattle and antelope and i can't remember what all that you could hand feed. Some of the animals were in cages like the cats and bears but a lot roamed free too.



This is a baby Zedonk which is a cross between a zebra and a donkey. This baby was only a week old and cute as could be. You can barely see his stripped legs.




I was a little leary of having a buffalo up that close to the bus but I guess they are pretty tame







This was our motel. The Yellow Rose.
It was inexpensive and comfortable. The pool was right out side our door which was nice. The kids spent quite a bit of time there in the mornings and evenings.






Here is Katlin making a splash.












Now Connor's turn to hot dog.





Tuesday morning we voted and decided to go to the Hollywood Wax Museum. I really didn't want to go but ended up having a ball. Here I am sharing a box of chocolates with my friend Forest Gump. I didn't know you could get close to the figures but we posed with all the greats and near greats.














This was one of Katlin's favorite poses.








Connie showed her naughty side. She spent some time with Hugh. Note the bunny ears.















Here is Connor hanging out with Indiana. Crack that whip.











Then we went to Ride the Ducks. Our driver ( I think his name was Dave) was very funny and very informative.














We all got quackers, of course. Here we are out on the lake after we had made our plunge.















Katlin driving the boat. Keep your eyes on the road girl!!













After the Ducks we went to the Dixie Stampede. That was probably our favorite thing in Branson. You couldn't take pictures. Oh man. There was a pre-show that was really good too. A juggling banjo playing comedian. There was no silverware so all the food had to be eaten with your fingers. My only complaint was too much food. Everything tasted really good. And the show was wonderful!


















You could take pictures of the horses before the show. I think Katlin got a picture of all of them.


















Wednesday was our Titanic adventure. I think Connie and liked it more than the kids. There was a lot of reading but there were also some hands on things for the kids. Katlin was a 9 week old baby from 3rd class that was handed out to someone on the lifeboat (her person just died last year for real. She was the last remaining survivor ), Connor was a con man that conned his way onto a boat, Connie was a famous dress designer and I was a remarkably faithful wife who stayed behind with her husband cause she didn't want to leave him. Go figure. I was the only one in our group who died.


















Then we went to a show called Island Fire. a Polynesian dance group. They did dances from all the South Pacific Islands. One of their dances was the fire dance yo see in the picture. There were three guys throwing lighted batons to each other. One dropped his and it rolled into the stage curtains. I thought sure we were goners but they must treat everything with a flame retardant. We went next door for a Luau. It was not the best food. Eatable but not so tasty.





















Thursday we decided to get up early and play miniature golf. We put the kids in the stockade and had a good time. Just kidding. Just a Kodak moment. It was pretty hot even with a breeze and some water features. went back to the motel to cool off and rest before heading to the Branson Belle Showboat.


































This is the boat. It was very nice. We had tried to get tickets before we left but we wanted to be in the balcony and they fill up the ground floor first. We got some at the Duck ride and the guy assured us they were in the first row of the balcony but when we got there they were in the very back corner of the main floor. I don't usually complain but I did to our server and got her supervisor and they moved us up to the balcony. I thought the seats were very good.











The meal was the best we had while we were gone. They show was really good too. They had a variety show with singing and dancing. There were 2 guys and 2 girls and they did 29 show tunes in 10 minutes with costume changes!!! WOW.













This reminded us of Swedish Idol at Duppa.

















The main show was a ventriloquist with talking dogs. It was hilarious. This is Irving.














We started home Friday morning. Don't think we were ready to go but had a really nice time. A quick stop at Bass Pro and we were home in no time. Fun time. And I think everyone is ready to go again.