We did things a little differently this year–KK flew into OKC from Richmond on Thursday, to drive out with Deanne and Jeanne on Saturday, and I arrived in Branson from DC the following Sunday. Didn’t do much the first day–hit happy hour at the pool and played Chicken Foot that night.
On Monday, we rented a boat and cruised Table Rock Lake. Bill drove–proudly showing off his El Jefe hat.
If you like to fish and want a guarantee of catching something, be sure to hit the marina where I took this picture. I’m not sure what the purpose is, but there’s a little pool built into the deck, where they’re literally crammed into a small space. What a wonderful fishing experience that could be? Then, on to happy hour, round 2.
Tuesday afternoon, KK and I met an old friend friend from my previous days at Virginia Power. We had lunch with Amy and Tom Grubaugh. They’ve retired near Branson. We made an initial connection through FaceBook, and Amy found out we were coming to Branson through a Pinterest clip I had made of some Branson shows. What a great use of social media–without it, we would never have realized how close we were that week. The food at Cantina Laredo in Branson Landing was pretty awesome, too.
Tuesday evening, we actually got around to going to a show. We saw the Cat”s Pajamas, four singers who perform their entire act acapela. I thought the best songs were Duke of Earl and Stand by Me. One of the team, Skinner, created most of the background sound effects by virtue of his own voice. He did a solo, and it was unbelievable that all those sounds came out of his mouth. You would have sworn that the background beat was from a drum or bass.
Wednesday afternoon, We saw It–yes, that’s the entire name of the show. It was basically the Hughes family, and if you saw my review last year, it was as good, or better, as the Duttons Show. There are five brothers–the youngest, Andy, did a very nice Spanish guitar number. All the wives sang and danced. With all the wives and children, there were probably 30 people on the stage, all at one time. Aaron is only 16, and did a fantastic song and dance solo–and played the violin later. The 14 year old gave us a drum solo. One of the brothers and his wife played a beautiful violin duet. The children treated us to a mass fast dance. I rate it the best show we saw this year.
We could not have possibly visited Branson without a trip to the White Oaks Exxon station for their gizzards. It would have been just my luck that they didn’t serve them any more, but my luck held out. Now, what are the odds that a service station would serve one of my favorite (and very hard to find) foods? I think fate just has to be involved here. Or the Mayan calendar, or something.
Thursday was shopping and dinner at White River Fish House in Branson Landing. We had mostly fried catfish, with me just eating clam chowder, but it was all very good.
Thursday night was the Baldknobbers Show. This was mostly Country and Western, but it’s one of the oldest shows in Branson. And about half the performers show it. The two two main singers can sing okay, but they’re not dynamic and don’t seem to be very enthused. There are a couple of duets, and along with the comedy acts, they save the show. And don’t miss the discounted ice cream and apple pie at the restaurant next door after the show.
Sadly, the Titanic happened to sail through Branson the week we were there, and can you believe the luck–it was hit by an iceberg again. I happened to be on the spot and captured the moment of impact. It’s just a gift I have.
You may have heard about the tornado that hit Branson a couple of months ago. There was very little damage, but the areas that it did hit were devastated. Only one or two theaters were put out of action but here’s a sample of a few structures that didn’t do so well.
