Branson is a small beautiful city situated in the Ozark Mountains in the state of Missouri. This small city is full of life and energy. It has something for everyone and individuals of all ages. We decided to visit Branson to celebrate my birthday in 2009 over the weekend, which was a couple of days in advance though :). But we never thought what life has in store for us over the next 3 days. It was lots of fun, adventure and excitement that we felt. This was one experience that we will never forget for sure.
Those days our ride used to be a luxurious 1996 Camry EX which also happened to be our first car in US. It was an awesome car that took us long and far in hard and happy times. It again gave us a great ride upto Branson and we reached there in time, but being a long weekend the exits were all jammed. We kept crawling with the traffic not realizing what our dashboard indicators were trying to tell us. It took us about an hour to reach from the highway to the signal that takes us to the city. We were finally at the signal and were first on in the queue. So as soon as the signal turns green we will get the chance to go... . And now it turned green and we gave some gas and we were just in the center of the crossing and there we were sitting inside the car with clouds of smoke from the hood and fountains of hot water bursting out. Couldn't believe what was happening.
Luckily the police car was readily there and they helped us clear the crossing and push our car to the nearby motel parking. Hmm what next ?
Wouldn't hesitate to say that however unlucky anyone can call us when the trip seemed to be ruined just when it was about to begin, we would say that we were extremely lucky to be there and being helped by such awesome people at an equally awesome place.
The motel owner helped us cool down the car and help us find out what happened to our car (The thermostat was gone as the car heated up). Seemed he had some experience with cars :) which happened to be helpful for us. As it was a long weekend and that too around 6 in the evening there were less than scarce chances of us getting a mechanic. So as the car would take sometime before it heats up again, we headed to our hotel by making small stops to keep the car temperature down. Where there was all the excitement of spending the weekend here, there were worries as to how are we going to commute. The car rentals were closed too. Luckily with the help of the motel owner we could schedule a local mechanic for the next morning, who agreed to come and check the car.
With a little ray of hope for the next day, we decided to spend the evening walking through the streets and grabbed some food. The next beautiful morning was lucky and the mechanic was able to fix our car after getting the thermostat from O'Reilly which happened to be open when all other stores were closed.
But finally we were ready to Rock & Roll and have fun.
Our day 1 was scheduled for exploring the city. Visit the very famous "76 Country Boulevard" where the museums and theaters are lined up. Visit a couple of museums there and enjoy the evening on the showboat. Branson has a great collection of museums, all in one place. We visited the Titanic Museum and Butterfly Palace.
Most amazing thing about it is that it has been shaped like the bow of the Titanic and beautifully displayed with an iceberg as if it is in a sea.
The Titanic Museum is an awesome collection of artifacts and some great activities too. I loved how they gave us the Titanic Ticket at the entry. The Grand Stairway and the sunken ship display. It was great learning experience for us and we are sure going to return to it sometime with our kids.
After the museums we walked around the city as our showboat boarding was not until 7 p.m, enjoying the scenic beauty.
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| On showboat Belle |
Belle is traditional wheel paddle boat and it cruises in the Table Rock Lake. This ride was going to be special as we would be able to view the Labor Day fireworks onboard.
Finally it was time and we boarded Belle, the showboat. It was all in one experience. We boarded, got our pictures taken and were guided to settle down on our pre-allotted seats. As soon as everyone was settled and the cruise started, drinks were served and so began the entertainment. There was the comedy show, dance, music and interesting facts and stories about Belle were shared with the travelers. After the meal we went upto the decks as it was time for the fireworks. It was a privilege for us. Entertainment continued after we returned to our seats.
After the cruise we wound up our day getting back to our hotel room to get refreshed for the next day.
Next morning was beautiful and we were ready for our final days itinerary. After the breakfast we started off to the street of the museums where we dearly wished to visit the Hollywood Wax museum. We had heard many great things about the Hollywood Wax museum and the visit was upto our expectations. Beautiful setups and figurines were all there.
The museum visit ended and we were set for our last attraction of the city which was the Table Rock Dam and lake. Table Rock Dam was built on the White river in 1958 and is also managed by the US Army. There is a fish hatchery at the dam and we decided to see the same too.
And with this our exciting trip came to an end and we started our journey back home with a helpful of memories and a hope to return here someday again and add a new chapter.
Goodbye Branson and see you soon !!!
And look what we spotted on the way back home :) .
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| Innovation. |
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