We arrived about 11:30 at Musicland Kampground. (yes, camp with a K) We set up camp pretty quickly. We also did our first dump of the trip...and everything went smoothly...not messes to report. :) The main reason we added Branson to our trip was so we could visit with a long time friend of mine, Ladonna. I was so happy to see her, the last time we were together was 9 years ago when Matt and I got married. It was great to meet her husband and to see her girls. The kids hit it off right away and we were just like one big happy, crazy family from the start.
We drive around a lot while in Branson....we became very familiar with the blue route. We drove around and around and around. We had lunch at Mc Farlane's. It was good, but the girls were disappointed that we did not get the rising table. They have a table that rises slowly as you eat and in order to get it back down, you have to sing a song. The people next to us needed help singing so I got up and helped them sing I'm a Little Tea Pot. Then we split up into two groups, Matt, Mike, Brett, Megan, Zach, and Rachel went on a zip line. Matt did not actually do it, he was the camera man. Ladonna, Kate, Maddie and I went shopping. Zach forgot his flip flops so I bought him some and we had a ball in Harry and David. Then we went to an illusion show. Kirby VanBurch said he was best in the world, if that is the case, the world in in trouble. It was late, we had not eaten dinner, so we drove around some more looking for somewhere to eat. We ended up back at Ladonna's hotel, breaking the rule again. We had pizza from Papa Johns. Ladonna and Mike said that it did not count because they ordered it. The kids swam for a bit then we called it a night. We decided that the theme of the day was magic. Did I mention that the girls hung out at the magic shop by the restaurant for an hour talking to the salesman who was showing them magic tricks??
The theme for day two in Branson was fire and water. It rained so that fit with our theme nicely. We had waffles for breakfast, but the best part was that they had to split us up and the kids ended up on the opposite side of the restaurant so the adults had a very quiet breakfast. The kids free time continued when we dropped them off at the Hollywood Wax Museum, Maze of Mirrors and Castle of Chaos where they exterminated the dead. The 6 of them had a ball hanging out and taking pictures while the adults took some time to head into downtown Branson for a bit. Of course, we took the looong way again on the blue route. We had a grand time in Dick's Five and Dime. This was the coolest store ever. This was an old store that had anything you could possibly need in it. I described it to the kids as the Wal Mart of long ago. They had lots of old nostalgia items, including penny candy. There were some other stores we wanted to visit but we never made it because the kids called to soon. We picked them up and they wanted to do an old timey photo,We had fun picking out their outfits and helping them pose for their sitting. The picture is adorable. We will get it on FB soon. The rain was rolling in so we decided to go hang out in RV for a while. We chatted, looked at pictures and the kids played games and went swimming for a bit. About 5 we headed down the strip to return the rental car. It took forever to get there, the traffic was insane. Since we were heading to the mall on the lake to see fireworks and now we only had one car, the rental company gave us a ride to The Landing. When we arrived, Matt realized that he had left our camera in the rental car so he and Mike had to drive back to get it...it was a little crazy to say the least because the rental company was closed. Luckily, they called and the guys were able to pick it up.
We did a little shopping and ended up eating dinner at the Bass Pro Shop Restaurant, White River Fish House. It was wonderful! Finally, a dinner that did not break the rule. :) The restaurant was beautiful, very rustic. We were lucky that we got to sit in our own room at a large table. We watched the fog roll over the lake because the lake temperature is only 45 - 50 degrees. Then we watched some of the fireworks and headed back to the car. We were going to take two trips but we decided to just all pile in Mike's Highlander. Ten of us..insane traffic..and Maddie has to go to the bathroom. We were sitting in the middle of the intersection, she got out with Matt and somehow he persuaded a deli that was closed to all her to use their bathroom. Luckily there was so much traffic that we had not moved much before they got back. We enjoyed our drive back, all crammed into the car. Ladonna and her family had to head back home to Arkansas so we said our good byes and they left. Brett helped Matt get everything ready for our departure in the morning and we went to bed. We are pleasantly surprised at how comfortable our bed is. We have been sleeping great!!
We drive around a lot while in Branson....we became very familiar with the blue route. We drove around and around and around. We had lunch at Mc Farlane's. It was good, but the girls were disappointed that we did not get the rising table. They have a table that rises slowly as you eat and in order to get it back down, you have to sing a song. The people next to us needed help singing so I got up and helped them sing I'm a Little Tea Pot. Then we split up into two groups, Matt, Mike, Brett, Megan, Zach, and Rachel went on a zip line. Matt did not actually do it, he was the camera man. Ladonna, Kate, Maddie and I went shopping. Zach forgot his flip flops so I bought him some and we had a ball in Harry and David. Then we went to an illusion show. Kirby VanBurch said he was best in the world, if that is the case, the world in in trouble. It was late, we had not eaten dinner, so we drove around some more looking for somewhere to eat. We ended up back at Ladonna's hotel, breaking the rule again. We had pizza from Papa Johns. Ladonna and Mike said that it did not count because they ordered it. The kids swam for a bit then we called it a night. We decided that the theme of the day was magic. Did I mention that the girls hung out at the magic shop by the restaurant for an hour talking to the salesman who was showing them magic tricks?? 
We did a little shopping and ended up eating dinner at the Bass Pro Shop Restaurant, White River Fish House. It was wonderful! Finally, a dinner that did not break the rule. :) The restaurant was beautiful, very rustic. We were lucky that we got to sit in our own room at a large table. We watched the fog roll over the lake because the lake temperature is only 45 - 50 degrees. Then we watched some of the fireworks and headed back to the car. We were going to take two trips but we decided to just all pile in Mike's Highlander. Ten of us..insane traffic..and Maddie has to go to the bathroom. We were sitting in the middle of the intersection, she got out with Matt and somehow he persuaded a deli that was closed to all her to use their bathroom. Luckily there was so much traffic that we had not moved much before they got back. We enjoyed our drive back, all crammed into the car. Ladonna and her family had to head back home to Arkansas so we said our good byes and they left. Brett helped Matt get everything ready for our departure in the morning and we went to bed. We are pleasantly surprised at how comfortable our bed is. We have been sleeping great!!
