DAY 1

The Falls

We stayed at The Falls in Branson, Missouri from March 13^th to 17^th.  I took pictures before we moved our stuff in because…..yeah, we can be messy.

Pirate’s Cove Putt Putt

After getting settled we decided to go putt putt. The weather was nice, and Pirate’s Cove was not far from our house. Travis beat me again OF COURSE. He didn’t want to have to be behind people, so he signed us up for the easier course. We got behind a large group about halfway through the course and started playing each hole several times as well as lots of cheesy selfies. If was worth the $23.00 for the memories we made.

Since it had snowed several inches in Mississippi right before we left, the car was really dirty. We took it through the touchless car wash after golf and on our way to eat. We ate at Dockside Café and Pub for dinner. We got there before the crowd and got our food pretty quickly.

Dockside Cafe and Pub

The best part of the meal ended up being our appetizer, AKA nibblers, the Bobbers. Described as boneless wings good enough to make your head bob. Ours were mango habanero flavored with ranch on the side. The main dish we chose was the Sweet Pepper Shrimp. There was a man walking around taking pictures at teach table. He would bring them around during your meal for you to look at and hopefully purchase.  He was a little pushy and tacky, so we just took a picture of the picture instead of paying $20 to purchase. That was the end of our adventures for day one.

DAY 2

Ma’s Place

Day 2 started with a journey through Kimberling, Missouri. I met the two sweetest ladies. We were looking for a local place to eat breakfast on our way to hike at Dogwood Canyon and stopped at Ma’s Place. Travis and I had already been seated and ordered our food when they came in. At first I didn’t really notice them, but Travis was watching golf on his phone AGAIN and I was looking around when I began listening to their conversation. They were slightly behind me across the room. Inside voices were a thing of the past for them if you know what I mean.

The Best of Friends

When I get their age, I pray that I have a close friend that I have shared life with such as these ladies have. You could feel the love and background they had shared in the way that they interacted and took care of each other. One lady whose name I did not get was obviously having memory problems. She spoke very simply and energetically to her friend that she called Willie. Willie always responded with a kind voice and redirected her when needed.

Always a Hair Story

While we were eating our food, I heard the one lady comment on really liking someone’s hair.  I kinda looked up to see which waitress she was referring to. I had noticed that they all had their hair braided in some way and I had mine french braided as well. Travis caught my eye and said quietly that she was talking about my hair. I told him that I could not say thank you without them realizing I was listening to their conversation which would be awkward. Within the next two minutes, she was up standing by my table saying, “Excuse me, I don’t want to bother you, but I love your hair.”

She was all decked out in St. Patrick’s Day clothes and grinning so big. I had the opportunity at that time to tell her thank you. As she went back to her seat, I remembered that I had purchased a pair of St. Patrick’s Day earring from Canvas + Clay the week before. (check out the cute earrings) I REALLY wanted to give them to her. I guess Travis and I sat there another 5 minutes finishing our meal while I took the earring out of my purse twice and put them back. The Lord just kept tugging at my heart to go talk with these ladies more.

Truly Blessed

As Travis got up to go pay, I headed back to their table and I am so glad I did because we had the best conversation. During the conversation I did ask my St. Patricks Day friend if her ears were pierced, and she told me she couldn’t remember. Willie, her friend informed me they were, but then that started a story about shingles in her ears. Sooooo, I didn’t give away the earrings but man did God ever bless me through these two ladies!!!!!!! I told them we were headed to Dogwood Canyon to hike. The St. Patrick’s Day lady said, “Oh, me and Willie used to work there. It was so much fun. You will love it.” Willie just said, “No Dear. We worked at Silver Dollar City.” These two ladies live across the street from Ma’s Place and eat there every day. I may go back just to try and listen to them chat again. PRECIOUS!!!!

Dogwood Canyon

Dogwood Canyon Nature Park in Lampe, Missouri is about 30 miles from Branson. It was founded by Johnny Morris and well worth the journey for the experience. https://dogwoodcanyon.org/ The park is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Adventures/activities available in the park include; trout fishing, horseback riding, wildlife tours on a segway/tram/back of a jeep, hiking, biking, and so much more. We chose to pay general admission (about $20 each) and hike the canyon. If you want/need to ride the tram, it is best to pay online ahead of time to reserve your seat. They sell out in advance pretty early. There is a five attraction “Explorer Pass” for those who have time and what to do more than just the canyon. It has different prices for different days and seasons so check online pricing before you go.

https://mtnestrs.com/2022/03/dogwood-canyon-nature-park/

We hiked about 8.2 miles in Dogwood Canyon. Most of the walk was on the paved trail but also included several off trails. Check out the link above for more pictures and details about our hike.

Upon the completion of our hike, Travis and I were quite hungry and tired. While looking at the waterfalls and treehouse around the lodge we decided to stay and eat onsite. It was a great decision!!! Hunger won out so we chose eating before touring the treehouse. Fried Pickle Chips with Cajun Dip was chosen for the appetizer. I enjoyed the Smoke Trout Cake BLT with homemade chips and Travis enjoyed the Bison Burger with fries. Both were delicious. Salted Caramel Brownie wins for the dessert!!!!!  

The outside patio is where we chose to eat due to the views and nice weather. Kids were playing on the deck of the patio, and it was very family friendly. The inside of the restaurant was also set up very well and would have been a great choice. It was close to closing time by the time our meal was completed so we took a quick tour through the tree house, restaurant, and museum.

Monday night after our adventures in Dogwood Canyon, we enjoyed sitting and listening to the Baldknobbers, featuring the Mabe family. It is a county music comedy variety show in Branson performing at the new Branson Famous Theater. The Mabe family began the Branson family entertainment phenomenon 60 years ago in 1959. I think tickets were around $40 each. I can say I have been now. I enjoyed it but….  once was probably enough.

Day 3

Fantastic Caverns

Day 3 began with an hour journey from Branson to Springfield. There is so much to do in Springfield but we chose to go to Fantastic Caverns. Did you know that Missouri is known as “The Cave State?” Fantastic Caverns is America’s Ride-Thru Cave. It was discovered in 1862 by an Ozarks farmer-or rather his dog, who crawled through a small entrance in a hillside. It wasn’t until 5-years later that they first explored it. During our tour we learned that the delay in exploring was due to the Civil War.

After finishing in the caverns, we located Zayka Indian Cuisine. Travis and I are always looking for good Indian food. Due to the pandemic, they do not have a buffet anymore. They have created a version of buffet by giving you samples of several different main dishes. Travis chose to eat this while I had Chicken Tikka Masala (level 10). I like it HOT!!! Travis drove me through downtown area to see some of the houses and buildings before heading to WALMART to get a tide stick to remove the Indian food stain from his favorite sweater. Can’t take him ANYWHERE!!!

Upon returning from Springfield, we changed clothes then headed to Table Rock Lakeshore Trail. The hike from the dam to the marina was about 2.2 miles. We didn’t make it all the way to the marina due to construction on the trial at the marina end. The entire trail was paved and had runners, walkers with dogs, and well as just people strolling along talking to one another. You could enter this trail from several different parking lots/camping areas along the riverside. There was a constant view of the river as well as a quick peek at The Showboat as it came around the bend as we were walking.

The show for the evening was The Haygoods at the Clay Cooper Theatre. It is listed as one of Branson’s most popular shows for a reason. If you ever have the opportunity to be in Branson, GO SEE THEM. So much talent in this family. The group consists of 5 brothers, one sister, and one non member of the family as the drummer. Together, the family plays over 20 instruments. They sang, they danced, there was fire, people flew through the air, they were patriotic, they tap danced while hanging upside down, and much more. I’m rewatching videos I took as I write this post, they were so good. As usual, pictures cannot even begin to show it all.

DAY 4

Great Hiking

Travis packed a lot into our last full day in Branson. At 9:00 we headed to the Ruth and Paul Henning Conservation Area to walk/hike the Homesteaders Trail. This was our 2^nd longest trail of the trip with a final distance of 5.74 miles in 2 hours and 40 minutes. We had a delightful companion, Morris, on this hike. He was a local German Shepard that decided to walk the whole hike with us. Check out the full hike at https://mtnestrs.com/2022/03/a-hike-with-morris/

Here are a few sneak photos.

We had to hurry back and get cleaned up/eat/and make a shop stop before going the Sight and Sound Theatre to see the JESUS presentation.

Uptown Cafe for Lunch

JESUS at Sight & Sound Theatre

Travis and I had the opportunity years ago to see Moses presented at the Sight & Sound Theatre. We were so excited to be able to return to see Jesus. They will be presenting Queen Esther in 2023. This would make a fabulous women’s trip for a church or just a group of ladies. I plan to attend if the Lord is willing and maybe I can find a group to travel with me. The building itself is amazing. The live animals and the large LED screen in the background help make it so realistic. I would not have wanted to end the trip with any other event. https://sight-sound.com/ticketing/shows/title?location=BRANSON_MO

Mexican Meal

You have to eat Mexican food at least once while traveling. This restaurant was close to Sight & Sound and you can’t go wrong with jalapenos on anything. Travis and I shared a meal and were stuffed. I think sharing meals is the way to go these days!!!!

After loading the car we headed out Thursday morning. While traveling home, we stopped at Ferguson Country Store and restaurant on HWY 65 in Marshall County. Travis actually passed it and turned around to go back. We have eaten here once before and decided breakfast at 10:00 sounded pretty good. It did not disappoint and there was no shortage of calories consumed. I was really good and did not buy anything from the store even though the candles were tempting.  We ordered 2 meals but shared them. Does that count as sharing a meal? I’m going to go with a yes!!!! The last stop was in Memphis for a Smoothie King. I sure wish we had one closer to Corinth.

I would recommend Branson for anyone as a vacation/get away. It has activities for all different types of groups whether you are with kids, senior adults, couples, hikers, shoppers etc. Can’t wait to see where the next Adventure takes us !!!!!!!