Family Vacation to Branson

Okay, I admit it. Perhaps Branson, Missouri wasn’t at the top of my list of  ‘must-see’ vacation places. In fact, during my 30-state road trip last summer I ended up driving right by without even stopping. As I approached the Branson exit I called my father to ask if there was anything worth seeing, and he advised me to keep on driving. In retrospect I probably should have called someone with a more objective opinion. My dad is a get-things-done type of guy, so if he were to go on a 30 state road trip his goal would be to get from the starting point to the ending destination as soon as possible (if not sooner). In my dad’s point of view sightseeing is something best done through a car window at 65 mph. But I took my father’s advice and kept on driving.

Luckily, the good folks in Branson weren’t as quick to judge me as I had judged their town. Somehow–probably using some über-secret highly advanced space age technology that I won’t even try to understand–they were able to track me down and invite me back for a few days. To decrease the likelihood of me becoming suspicious in some sort of Big Brother kind of way, they addressed the invitation to my wife. It’s a rare occasion when I get invited back anywhere, so of course we accepted.

Day 1

Our youngest son wasn’t thrilled about the prospect of spending his birthday on an airplane, but we finally persuaded him by pointing out that, with our layover in Memphis, he would be able to celebrate in three states. As parents we’re kind of brilliant like that. During the flight the Delta Airlines crew did a terrific job of making him feel special by wishing him happy birthday and bringing him special treats normally reserved for only those in first class. By the time we landed, he had already declared it the ‘best birthday ever.’

As we pulled into town I expected to see a main street with a handful of theaters, which is exactly what what I saw. But there was more–A LOT more. The theaters kept coming. One that had a giant-sized King Kong climbing a skyscraper. One similar in size and shape to the Titanic. And on and on and on. I quickly determined that my initial assessment was incorrect–this place was huge!  The kids jumped out of their seats as we passed multiple water parks, go-cart racing, and roller coasters. This was going to be fun.

(to be continued)

Share this: