Spring Break 2012

A couple of years ago we made the mistake of driving down to San Antonio for Spring Break, along with the rest of the state.  The lines and crowds were terrible, traffic was terrible, it was a less than pleasant trip.  So we decided from that point on, if traveling for Spring Break, travel out of state.  This year's destination of choice was Branson, Missouri.

We invited the "folks" to come along and, shock of all shocks, they took us up on the offer.  So we all got out our GPS and made the drive up to Branson.  I found a cabin through Amazing Branson Cabins  Great place, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms with a big deck and HOT TUB!!  Here are a few pics of the cabin:

Day one we got out and surveyed the town.  As you may recall, they were struck by tornadoes in February and there was some question as to how much damage had been sustained, what may or may not be open, etc. so we took a drive.  There was definitely damage and quite a few buildings appeared to be "totaled".  But there were still plenty of people around.  We stopped and ate at Mickey Gilley's Texas Cafe and it was decent.... nothing to get excited about.  Then we took the boys for their first spin on the Branson version of their favorite go karts the Wild Woody.  While we were there they found a Branson favorite, the Lumberjack!!!  A lot of laps were counted at both tracks.

 

Sunday was also my birthday and raining.  We spent a chunk of the day at the Titanic museum which was very interesting.

 It's no where near as big as the one in Pigeon Forge and I'm curious to know what's different but I don't think curious enough to stop at the one in Pigeon Forge although you never know.  After that we visited the Veterans Memorial Museum with an amazing collection of uniforms and weapons from wars from World War 1 through Iraq.  There was also an amazing statute of soldiers, one from every state, very impressive.  After that we enjoyed dinner and a show at the Dixie Stampede!!!!  Gotta love a horse show with food you can eat with your hands!!

Monday we divided and conquered - the folks headed to the quilt shops, the younger set headed to do Laser Tag and go karts... we met back up to hit the outlet mall.  We just love the Under Armour outlet!!  The boys live in that stuff.

Tuesday we again divided and conquered as the younger set took a drive up to Springfield to visit Grizzly World Headquarters and the Granddaddy of all Bass Pro Shops.  Both were absolutely amazing.

Tuesday afternoon we rode the Ducks around Branson and out onto Table Rock Lake.  Our first duck tour was in San Francisco and M is hooked!  As soon as he saw the ducks we knew we would be back on for a tour.

We saw a lot of Branson on that tour including the duck's own personal collection of military vehicles.  They had some very neat stuff up on top of a "mountain".  Also some GREAT views of the lake!

Wednesday was a piddle day....  a little of this, a little of that, a little of nothing.  We drove over to the state park and did a survey for Nana.  Visited the Branson visitor's center and took a look at the dam.

We visited the Toy Museum.  We had dinner at the place with the largest Chicken you've ever seen standing out front.  No kidding.... here's a picture....

Thursday we headed back to Big D as M had baseball practice to get ready for the tournament scheduled this past weekend.  (more to that in another post)

Now those of you who know anything about Branson will realize a couple of glaring things we didn't do.... things you ALWAYS do when you're in Branson.  Like Silver Dollar City or Shepherd of the Hills.... well, surprise, they don't open until April.  So, maybe that will be for another trip.  They keep the sidewalks in Branson rolled up until April, don't say I didn't warn ya!

I hope everyone at the very least relaxed and enjoyed the time off for Spring Break and maybe went someplace you've never been before!!

I'm off to plan our next adventure (as soon as baseball season is over)!!!!!