Once More Unto The Breach [Vacations]

I must apologize in advance here. There will be lots of pictures here, though some will be worth your effort. But believe me, this–both the activities pictured and the assemblage of this post–hurt me far more than it will hurt you to read it.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the meat. Over a five-day Easter weekend, the whole family went up to Branson, MO and Silver Dollar City. Why? Good question. We’ve been there before, so it’s not that crazy. I wasn’t even consulted on the decision. So far as I can tell this was a Holly/Speed production, in part motivated by the idea that Layla and Emma don’t remember it and Holly wanted them to remember it before we never go back. (Only time will tell on the last.)

Getting There

It’s about 7-7 1/2 hour drive to Branson from Dallas. Not too bad for an afternoon/early evening. And then we got a flat tire on the side of I-40 (in a tire/vehicle with just 5,000 miles). Speed might have learned something helping me change the tire (probably not)–and we avoided any A Christmas Story incidents. Of course, the spare tire–only this nearly new vehicle–left a lot to be desired.

So at less than 60 mph we pushed on, stopping in Fayetteville, AR for dinner at B&B BBQ, a place I went to many, many times as a kid with my parents. I momentarily forgot that you place your order via telephone, which calls into question all my childhood remembrances. Anyway, we made it to Branson.

About Town

We spent Friday on three activities. First, we rode the Ducks, WWII amphibious vehicles that tour a bit of town before heading down to actually splash down into Table Rock Lake. Everyone gets a quacker, which in no way gets old during the tour (and subsequent 3 days in town). While in the Lake, anyone can drive the Duck. Only Layla was brave enough. The entire tour was worth it when a wave drenched Holly. Perfect.

In the afternoon, everyone but me went to see Chinese acrobats. Emma and Layla really, really liked it. But on the way to get the tickets, I talked the kids into letting me take pictures of them in these cutouts, none of which they had seen as we walked up from behind. I remain proud of myself for this.

For dinner–at Speed’s behest–we ate at Lambert’s Cafe, which bills itself as “Home of Throwed Rolls.” Literally, a guy walks around and throws rolls if you make eye contact with him. And they serve food in huge skillets. Obviously I’ve changed as this place kind of made me ill.

Silver Dollar City/Branson Landing

Saturday was Silvery Dollar City day.

I still really like SDC. It’s got enough rides/adventures, and the real, working craftsmen (blacksmithing, glassblowing, candymaking, woodworking, baker, etc.) that are interesting enough for young and somewhat old.

Our first coaster of the day–the Thunderation. Emma and Layla loved it.

It being the day before Easter they had a few little games for the kids.

We also did many of the old standards (though the candleshop, Huck Finn’s Hideout, etc. were closed because of the season). Fire in the Hole, my favorite as a kid, has lost some of its luster, but I still liked it.

Mix in funnel cake and such and you’ve got a pretty regular SDC experience. And then we rode a new ride. The Wildfire. Everybody was in line, though nobody had any idea how significant a coaster it was. As we got close, it looked more intense than anything else at SDC and Layla was very nervous. I’ll give her credit for riding it cause she didn’t want to. And as we disembarked she was still a little unsure. She felt better a few minutes later, but Emma was gung-ho from start to finish. And then we saw these photos.

And then the craziest thing I’ve ever seen: Holly up to her armpit in a public trashcan. She had thrown the bottle cap to a Sioux City Orange Cream away and was retrieving it since Layla collects bottle caps. The people standing around thought she was digging around for something much more than a bottle cap.

SDC has another new (to us) coaster: Powderkeg. Again everybody rode. But apparently I was the only one to realize that it was a super fast start, which again made for interesting pictures.

After a long day at SDC, we went down to Branson Landing, which is also new to us. On Lake Taneycomo, it’s a collection of shops and restaurants. It’s nice, but it doesn’t really feel like Branson to me. Every so often there is a water/fire show set to music that most of us got to watch. (Holly and Emma missed it when Emma got sick; Layla got sick 4 hours later.)

Easter

Luckily, everyone was feeling better by the next morning. Our accommodations had some activities that Emma and Layla participated in, and all the kids went for sundaes.

The big event of the day was Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, a dinner and horse/Civil War-theme show. The little girls loved getting close to the horses before the show, and it’s generally more entertaining than I think it sounds. The show finale is heavy on the patriotism if you like that sort of thing (I do).

Another staple of Branson is go-karts, so we had to do that. Emma wasn’t quite tall enough for the big track, so she and Layla did the rookie track.

And then Madysen, Speed, Layla, and me (with Emma riding shotgun) rode the big track. As Emma and I were zooming around, she shrieked: “I completely understand why you have to be 58 inches to drive on this track!”

Getting Home

We drove home on Monday without incident. Holly wanted to go a different route–to visit the Vinita McDonald’s of family lore. It’s seen much better days.

Glad to have gone. Glad to be home. Glad to have finished this post.