Well, we are all recovering from a great family weekend in Branson and Springfield. Kenny had the weekend off and it was really going to be the last weekend for us to do anything with the kids before they start school and before the baby comes. We kept everything a secret which made the kids crazy! We headed out early Saturday morning and began our drive down Highway 13. We stopped off at Collins, Missouri to eat at Smith's Restaurant. A guy that works with Kenny highly suggested it for breakfast. It was definately a good meal!! We all ate so much that lunch came and went later in the day and none of us noticed. We shared a chuckle as we entered the restaurant; the sign on the front door read "Please remove spurs before entering".
We got to Branson mid morning and headed to the first surprise (which was the Ride The Duck tour). Branson Landing, which is right on Lake Taneycomo is where we boarded. After getting our tickets we had about an hour before our boarding time, so we were able to get in bathroom breaks and some walking around from being in the car. When you purchase your tickets, they give you 'quackers' for the ride. The kids loved these!! We told them no quacking in the stores; luckily for us there were enough stores to wander through to give us a break every now and then =) LOL
The College of the Ozarks had offered the opportunity for the tours to drive through the campus. They provide tours of the area for the incoming freshman, so it was kind of their way to give back. It was a very interesting opportunity. Honestly, we thought to ourselves, oh great, we are going to tour a campus...but we definately were proved wrong. It was amazing to learn about everything that the students do themselves. College of the Ozarks is called Hard Work U for a reason. All full-time students work rather than pay for their tuition. The landscaping is beautiful; of course, which is all done by the students in that program. The campus has a dairy operation, the W. Alton Jones Dairy where students milk 60 cows every morning and every evening. The college has an impressive Holstein herd and has had since the early 1940's. The milk produced by the dairy is used all over campus, like in the student dining centers and the Dining room Restaurant. Also on campus is Edwards Mill which is powered by a 12foot water wheel turned by runoff water from the nearby Lake Honor. Students grind whole-grain meal and flour. Upstairs is a weaving studio, where students design and produce rugs, shawls, placemants and other items. Downstairs, the students hand-weave baskets. The fire department also serves the campus solely by student volunteers.
After touring the campus, we headed around to the Historic area of Branson and nearby Hollister. We circled back around to Branson Landing and entered the water onto Lake Taneycomo. Learned an interesting fact on how Lake Taneycomo got it's name....Taney (name of the county) co (abbreviation of county) mo (abbreviation of Missouri). Pretty interesting!! Well, Captain Gramps, gave everyone a vote on how to enter the water...smooth and easy, or like the Dukes of Hazzards. Of course! The vote was to enter like the Dukes of Hazzards. So he got his Dukes of Hazzards music on and we entered the water which he put into perspective was like driving 10mph in your car and hitting the brakes. While on the water, it was an open opportunity for anyone who wanted to drive to jump in the Captain's seat. The kids sure enjoyed that! Of course, back on land and manuevering through the streets, we had to go through a round about...that sure gave everyone a laugh as Captain Gramps kept circling around and turned on his carousel music! LOL
After returning back to the Landing we walked around and enjoyed stopping in at some shops and stopping by the water fountains for a rest (woohoo from me!) and to splash the kids some =) We thought we would take a drive and see Branson a little more, though we never found it. Leaving the hotel the next morning, Kenny grabbed a map that they had and we were circling the main drive of Branson =( Who knew! We stopped off at a theatre there in Branson and caught a movie...Ice Age 3 in 3D which the kids have been wanting to watch. It was a great break and a good cool off as well. Once the movie let out it was a little after 5p and we were all starting to get a little hungry, so we headed back towards Springfield. Kenny and Madison had been to Lambert's and Kenny was excited to take me and Jonathan. It is definately a popular place...we got there a little before 6p and had a 2 hour wait. Of course seating was slim if not at all, so we planted ourselves along the curb in the parking lot. The kids did a great job of keeping occupied and with little to no complaining. The crowd started to slim down a little bit around 7:30p so Kenny hopped up and went up around where the benches are hoping to get one as it freed up to get me off the ground. We luckily got into one! That is when the kids started getting tired and really hungry. We got in around 8p though and when we ordered our food came right away! We got in and seated just as hot rolls were coming around---so Kenny successfully caught 4!! It was a little wild, and the kids definately got a kick out of it. Especially when a group got seated behind us and I think the guy tried catching 4 or 5 rolls before he successfully got one. LOL
From Lambert's we headed to the hotel on Route 66. Jonathan loves his 'Cars' movie so we knew he would enjoy this. It was about 9p and luckily the hotel wasn't that far. The outside of the hotel had the neon lights and a couple of old cars outside with old gas pumps. We were all so tired that we did our pictures the next morning!
After breakfast we went to Bass Pro, which the Bass Pro headquaters is there in Springfield. It's one of those things where you can't be right there and not stop! It was a leisure stop and the kids as always enjoyed seeing all the animals.
Next stop was Fantastic Caverns!! America's only ride through cavern. Madison loves rocks (as does Kenny) so we knew she would be excited once she found out what the next surprise was. We had a picnic there at the little picnic area they had there and then headed down to get our tour time. Kenny had such a good time walking through the gift shop with Madison and seeing all the rocks and stuff. They were in their own little world! She was very attentive throughout the tour and remembered quite a bit of what the tour guides shared. Jonathan wasn't sure...he didn't like how dark it was, especially at times when they turned out all the lights.
It was time for home! I thought for sure the kids would poop out on the ride back, but just the opposite happened...they were all giggly and full of energy! We had a good trip and it was very enjoyable.
I uploaded the pictures on facebook, so I'm hoping this link works for those of you not on facebook. Hope you enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=142927&id=653437348&l=21a87b522d
(having a hard time posting this in as a link...you will have to probably copy the link into your address bar)
**I am glad to report that the weekend didn't impact me as I feared that it might...especially come today. I stayed well hydrated and took my rest stops. Kenny was a little off track as I took my 'energizer battery' (just for you mom!) out and took the walking slow and paced. Madison and I slept in until 9a this morning and I am getting around rather well! Ready to unpack and get the laundry done from the weekend even!
No comments:
Post a Comment