Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Branson, MO Trip

Last week, my wife and I drove to Branson, MO to pick up our 11 year old, Mary Kate. She had been attending Kanakuk Kamp. We left about 5:30 Wednesday morning and made it to Branson around 3 p.m. It was about a 440 mile drive.

We checked into our hotel and then drove to the Kamp. Mary Kate attended K-1 and there are several other Kamps in the same area. I was impressed with how well organized Kanakuk was. Although there was lots of traffic, there were people directing it along with numerous signs telling us how to get to the parking for K-1. The parking lot (an open field) was staffed with several young men who directed the vehicles into an area to pick up the trunks and other items the kids had taken to Kamp. Everything was in order by cabin and it was very easy to find Mary Kate's trunk and the young men were willing to help load the trunk. After loading MK's items, a different group of young men directed us into a parking space, ensuring we all parked in a line and very close together.

We walked to the Kamp. Since this was our first time there, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There were lots of kids and parents milling around. The Kamp was very clean. It took us awhile to find Mary Kate, but when we did, she came running to us. It is the first time she had been away from home for such a long time. She was happy to see us and very excited to share her Kamp experiences. She introduced us to her counselors and her cabin mates. We walked to her cabin and the counselors shared a brief story about each girl listing two attributes for each one, read a bible verse they had chosen for each girl and then presented a certificate.

While the Kampers were having dinner at Kamp, we drove back into Branson for dinner. We ate at the Farm House Restaurant. I had delicious Blackberry cobbler. We returned to Kamp and sat with Mary Kate during the closing ceremonies. It was sweltering hot and the sound system wasn't very good, but it was great to see the video of what the kids had done. After the closing ceremonies, Mary Kate returned to her cabin and we went back to our hotel.

Thursday morning, we drove back to Kamp and picked up Mary Kate. She had asked us not to eat breakfast before we picked her up so we went to the Belgian Waffle and Pancake House for breakfast.

We had Mary Kate help us decide what shows we should see. We decided to go to a dinner show Thursday night at the Osmond Theater and a Friday afternoon show of the Shanghai Circus Acrobats from China.

It had been 13 years since we had visited Branson. It has aged in that time and not all that gracefully. There are several closed theaters in town and almost all of the hotels and motels displayed vacancy signs. We drove around the area trying to find some of the places we had visited on our previous trips.

We drove past Segway of Southern Missouri. We stopped to check it out. It has a track, similar to a go kart track. It costs $20 for about 25 minutes of riding. Mary Kate and I both signed up. They gave us helmets to wear and brief instructions on how to ride. Very simple and intuitive. The Segways are set not to exceed 5 MPH. After about 2 minutes of riding, you realize how slow 5 MPH is. In spite of the slow speed, Mary Kate and I had a blast! After completing our ride, we were given a "speeding ticket". It allowed us to have the Segways set at 12.5 MPH on a return visit.

We returned to the hotel and got ready for our dinner show at the Osmond Theater. The dinner was surprisingly very good. We took our seats for the show which were in the first row, right in the middle. Great seats but also an indication of how much business is off in Branson since we had only purchased our tickets earlier that day.

The show was the Magnificent Variety Show. The performers were extremely talented and put on a terrific show. It was truly great family fun. It was so nice to be entertained and not once feel uneasy that my 11 year old was in the audience with me.

Mary Kate and I were excited to ride the Segways at the faster speed. We got up early to go back to the Segway place while giving Mom some time to herself. Again we were given helmets to wear and Segways that had a maximum speed of 12.5 MPH. What a difference? We had a wonderful time. I can't wait to take the whole family on Segways on another trip.

We went to Mr. G's Chicago Pizza for lunch. We ordered the Tony Orlando salad for 2 and realized that an order for 1 would have been enough to feed the 3 of us. It was an antipasto with a delicious Italian dressing. We ordered a pan pizza. When it arrived, it was just like we had eaten last summer on our vacation in Chicago. Outstanding meal.

That afternoon, we attended the Acrobats of China show. What a phenomenal display of athletic talent and ability. We all thoroughly enjoyed the show.

That evening, we went to Shorty Small's for dinner. The food was outstanding. I had some of the best ribs I've ever eaten. They were delicious and fell off the bone. Unfortunately, the air conditioning wasn't working properly and it was very hot and uncomfortable in the restaurant.

After dinner, we stopped at Andy's Frozen Custard for the 2nd evening in a row. Tonight, I had a blackberry concrete. Hmmm! Hmmm!!

Saturday morning we ate at the hotel and then headed home. We decided to stop in Eureka Springs, AR. It took us about an hour and 30 minutes to get to Eureka Springs. Eureka Springs is a wonderful town. We walked along the streets looking in the various shops. I found an art gallery, the Susan Morrison Signature Gallery, I had visited 20 years ago when I had visited Eureka Springs by myself. On that earlier visit, I had purchased 5 prints, 4 of which are still hanging in our home. I also purchased an autographed book from her. I remember her showing me pictures in the book with her presenting a piece of her work to the Governor of Arkansas, the then unknown Bill Clinton.

Susan was in the gallery and spent a great deal of time talking with Mary Kate when MK told her she was interested in becoming an artist. Susan gave Mary Kate a couple of posters and a magazine on conservation. It was very thoughtful of her to spend so much time with MK and to encourage her interest in art.

We had lunch at the Mud Street Cafe. It is downstairs in the basement and since it was a very hot day in Eureka Springs, the coolness of the restaurant was a welcome respite from the heat. The food was very good

We almost decided to stay over night in Eureka Springs, but we knew we needed to get back to our boys. Next year, we will plan to stay over night as there is so much to see in the town.

On the drive up to Branson, we had seen the signs for Checotah, OK, home of Carrie Underwood. On the way home, we exited so Mary Kate could see Checotah. In her song, "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore", Carrie does a great job of describing her hometown. The town is where 69 meets 40 and since we drove the town end to end, it truly is a single stop light town.

We got back on US 69 and headed south. We got home about 9:30 p.m. It was a fun trip and Mary Kate had an absolutely wonderful time at Kamp Kanakuk.