Having a BLAST in Branson!

We arrived in Branson on Friday and are staying at the ABC - America's Best Campground. It is really nice and has a lot of friendly campers - MM is out now visiting with our newest neighbors.

Saturday we got up early for a pancake breakfast served here along with entertainment. Tucker was the entertainment and we visited with a nice gentleman Harry Hazzard... later we bought one of his CD's. He sounds just like Dean Martin.

Back at camp we went through all of the flyers of entertainment and coupons. We went back to the office and bought a handful of tickets and began our fun. Our first show was Showboat Branson Belle. This is a dinner cruise on Table Rock Lake. Dinner began as we cast off from dock with a salad and bread followed by Roast Beef, Chicken Marsalas, veggies and mashed potatoes. They had a band playing and served a yummy raspberry gourmet something for dessert. This was followed by a short intermission of sorts while we went uptop and walked on deck. It was a perfect day and we enjoyed watching the views as we sat soaking up the sunshine. When called back for the performance we reluctantly went back inside. There were four singer/dancers that were very good - the Showstoppers. They were followed by Todd Oliver and his talking dogs. Talk about funny... I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. He's a ventriliquist that's been on Jay Leno as well as other late night shows. This is his last season on the Showboat so get there fast to check him out.... FUNNY!!

We left there at about 6:30 and headed for our next show the Baldknobbers Jamboree (think we had tickets for the 8:00 show). Their family has been running this show for 50 years. The oldest show in Branson. The singer/entertainers were okay, but the comedic portion was hilarious!!! Once again, side splitting funny. Another show that I would definitely recommend.

This morning we headed out for my favorite so far... Adventure Ziplines of Branson. You start out getting set up in a harness that attaches you to something solid at every station. After a short learning process of how to stop, and how to stop spinning you climb a 65' tower. Yup, a spiral staircase to a platform looking out onto the world!! So now you're standing up there and they hook you up to a cable and tell you that whenever you're ready to just sit back and jump off. I'm first, of course, otherwise I might chicken out :) Look out, breathe, sit back and jump!! There I am floating across the sky and trying not to brake... oops, braked too much, the guy had to throw me a rope and pull me in lol. Forgot to tell you that you have two staff working with you, one goes first and one last. MM joins me fast and the last staff comes in doing hot dog moves lol. I think this next cable was the longest (I could be wrong :)) at 1600' long. Again, breathe, sit back and jump... try to hold your feet up so there's less wind resistance and you can make it to the next tower. One of the staff later explained to me that with the cooler temperatures and more clothing there is more wind resistance and therefore you go a little slower to begin with even if I weren't braking lol. Next comes a rope bridge that you have to cross from tower to tower. Have you ever seen a little old lady walking with a cane taking baby steps? Okay, everything but the cane. I felt ridiculous, but it was SCARY!! Whew!! I made it. We did this a few more times 5 zips and 3 bridges and the final one you land on the ground and can't believe you made it through it all. What a RUSH!! You know I'm recommending this to all my friends!! I've heard of others doing the zipline of sorts, but I think they just had a zipline and were done. This was so much more because you had to jump 5 times and the bridges!? Yikes!!

We had tickets for Fountains of Faith next at the Waltzing Waters Theatre. This was all gospel singing with dancing waters behind everything. The singing was by Tucker and Susan Hudson Carman. Harry Hazzard was there too, but he didn't do any performing. It was fitting for a Sunday morning... very inspirational and beautiful singing. Another performance I would recommend to those that enjoy gospel singing.. I do.

MM had been eyeing the Rib Crib every time we went by so we stopped in for a quick lunch/dinner before heading back and resting up from a very full morning. We have lots of tickets for the rest of the week and hope to rent a motorcycle (didn't bring ours) for a one day excursion. The weather looks great for the rest of the week and we're loving the time to just enjoy each other and all that Branson has to offer. Check back later in the week for more updates of our adventures.