A Return To Branson, Missouri, Part Two

This is a continuation of a series of posts of my Missouri Vacation which I took the first week of September.  To start at the beginning go HERE.  The rest of the posts, in consecutive order are HERE , HERE, HERE, HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The end of our Missouri vacation that my husband and I took way back in September ended with one night and one full day in Branson, Missouri.  I already wrote about how we spent our night in Branson in last week's travel post.  This week I will conclude my Missouri Travel Series with how we spent our day in Branson.

There is so much to see and do in the Branson area that you almost need a full week to see everything.  This was our second visit to Branson, but both times we were only there a short time.  The number one activity I would suggest doing before you do anything else and/or if you have limited time, is to take a duck ride.  

The ducks are replicas of actual WWII military vehicles that can travel both on land and water.  The Branson Duck Tour is 70 minutes long and takes you all over the city of Branson showing you all the sites and they give you a history of the town as well.  But there's more!  You will also cross over a dam, travel through the woods, climb a mountain to a scenic view, learn the history of more military vehicles, and then splash down and cruise Table Lake all the while laughing your head off at your crazy tour guides corner jokes!

I enjoyed driving through town and marveling at all the crazy touristy buildings.  It's like a little Las Vegas.

Our tour guide was the sweetest, funniest guy ever!  We could tell he really enjoyed his job.  Our only complaint was that he talked really fast and he had a thick southern accent, so there were times we had a hard time understanding him.  We didn't want to miss anything he had to say, because he was so funny!

Branson has a very quirky, kitschy feel to it that can be a turn-off to some people.  I must admit on my first visit I wasn't impressed.  But going to Vegas seemed to make me appreciate Branson more.  It's like a Little Vegas but a lot more wholesome.

You will never run out of things to do in Branson, especially if you have kids.  There are lots of places for kids to play!

After driving through town a bit, we then headed up out of town and across this bridge/dam.  The building in the distance is a luxury hotel.

From the bridge we saw gorgeous views like this!

Then it was time to enter the woods and go up the mountain!

At the top of the mountain we had a moment of silence to honor our veterans as our duck drove around showing us all these amazing WWII vehicles.

When the WWII tribute finished, our duck then parked right here where so we could spend a few moments "oohing" and "ah hing" over this amazing view of the Ozarks!

We even got lucky and had a large bird enter our frame!

But the excitement wasn't over yet, in fact, it was just beginning.  Because now it was time to see how our Duck does on water.  Yes, they actually do take you into the water on this tour.  It's so fun, because they drive into the water really fast and all the water splashes up around the boat (no, we didn't get wet),  and then you're on a boat ride!

We saw other boats and an island in the lake.

 And we even got a close up view of the Showboat Branson Belle.  It does a cruise, dinner and show.  If I ever go back to Branson, the Showboat is next on my list of things to do.

 If there are any children on board the duck, they let them take turns driving the boat (although I'm sure adults would be allowed to drive as well).

After everyone had a turn driving the boat, it was time for our duck to go back on land.  The path you see through the woods is how we got in and out of the lake.

But I tour wasn't over yet!  We had to go back downtown to return to Duck Central and we were able to see even more fun tourist attractions.

This is the World's Largest Titanic Museum Attraction...another thing on my list of things to see and do in Branson.  It looks amazing!

Branson is known for it's country music shows, so everywhere you look, you will see theater buildings and advertisements for country music.

And if you love to shop, Branson is for you!  They have a great historic downtown filled with fabulous shops.  We didn't go there on this trip because we did that the last time we were in Branson. You can read about that HERE if your interested to know more about their downtown.  But in addition to their downtown there are so many places to shop it's ridiculous!  My favorite place to shop in Branson, is Branson's Landing, which I covered last week, but there is also the Grand Village,  Tanger Outlets, Branson Mill Craft Village, and so much more!

We always love to just drive or walk around and look at all the fun tourist attractions.  This is a Wax Museum.  I've never been to a wax museum.  Someday!

 When our tour ended, we headed out to lunch.  We went to Danna's Barbecue and Burger Shop because my husband's co-worker recommended it.  I'm glad he did, because it was literally THE BEST BARBECUE I've ever had in my life.  The meat just melted in my mouth it was so tender!

It's a small, cute little place, but it's very popular and fills up fast.  By the time we got our order, every table was filled.  They do have a server that helps people find tables.

You have to stand in a line to place your order.  They then give you a marker to place on your table and a server brings your food out to you.

We both got pulled pork baskets.

Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about how good this barbecue sandwich was!

After lunch, we shopped a bit and then we went to a matinee performance at the Sight and Sound Theater.  It is a Christian theater that does musicals based on bible stories.  This is our second visit to this theater.  The first time we saw "Joseph"; you can read my review of that show HERE where I shared our visit to downtown Branson.   This time we saw "Moses".  Although we loved "Joseph" we were absolutely blown away by "Moses".  It was absolutely amazing!  The special effects were truly stunning, and the story line was so touching and meaningful.

Of course we had to get our picture taken next to the Moses statue!

If you can only go to one show in Branson, I highly recommend the Sight and Sound Theater.  Just get your tickets in advance!  We didn't, thinking we could easily buy tickets when we got there (we did the first time to see "Joseph")  but they were all sold out.  I actually started to cry, I was so upset.  It was suppose to be the highlight of my trip!  But somehow, my husband managed to get two tickets by talking to the ticket agent at the counter.  The seats weren't together, but I didn't care.  I was so happy to get tickets I burst into tears.  The ticket agent then gave us a free Moses soundtrack.  She was so sweet!

And that concludes my Missouri Travel Series!  I won't have any more travel posts to share for awhile as I am all caught up sharing my adventures with you all.  We can't do much this winter because we have too many home projects to get caught up on.  I am going to Chicago to visit my children for a week in February, so when I come back from that trip I might have a few travel posts to share.  Our next major road trip will be in April when we go to Savannah!  I'm really excited about that trip.  I booked an apartment in a historic home in downtown Savannah for the week.  It's so beautiful and romantic!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A Return To Branson, Missouri, Part One

 This is a continuation of a series of posts of my Missouri Vacation which I took the first week of September.  To start at the beginning go HERE.  The rest of the posts, in consecutive order are HERE , HERE, HERE, HERE,  HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The last stop of our vacation to Missouri was Branson.  The last time we were here was with our children four years ago.  I wrote about it in THIS POST.   Back then, we only spent the day.  We visited the historic downtown and saw a play at the Sight and Sound Theater.  This time, it was just my husband and I and we spent the night in Branson;  we ate at a fun restaurant in Hollister, Missouri and then we went enjoyed some night life at Branson's Landing.  The following morning we took a Duck Tour, did some more shopping and dining, and finished the day seeing another play at The Sight and Sound Theater.  Today's post will cover our night in Branson, then next week I'll conclude this travel series with our day experience.

Hollister, Missouri is a nearby town to Branson.  There is a cute little street in Hollister called Downing St. which is not to be missed if your ever in the area.  It has such a cute European charm.

 We were in the area to find a restaurant, Hook and Ladder Pizza Co., that a co-worker recommended to my husband.  Finding all this beautiful, historical architecture in the area was just the icing on the cake.

Hook and Ladder Pizza Co., is a quirky, fun restaurant that is decked all out in a fireman theme.  They even have a real fire truck parked outside.

The inside of the restaurant was decorated with all the fireman paraphernalia you could imagine.

The wait staff even wore firemen pants!

By now your probably thinking, "Ok that all looks cute but hows the food?"  Well, it was amazing.  We got the special that evening, which was a "Super" pizza with just about everything.  It was so good!

The outside of the restaurant was so cute too!

Of course we couldn't leave without getting a picture next to the fire truck.

After dinner, we headed down to Branson Landing to do some shopping.  The last time I was here during the day, this time we arrived just as it was getting dark.  It was so pretty lit up.   This Hot Air Balloon Ride was so striking against the dark sky.

This is my favorite place to shop in Branson.  It is so pretty, and the stores are a mix of modern popular stores that you would find in any mall in the United States, plus some especially suited to the Branson area like Smith Creek Moonshine.  There are also so many fun places to eat, and a great river walk and view as well.

The atmosphere is very family friendly.  We saw so many families walking around enjoying themselves.

They have a Fountain Show that is very similar to the Fountain Show at the Bellagio in Vegas, but maybe not quite as good.  The Bellagio Fountain Show syncs their water display to the music better than the Branson Landing Fountain Show.  However, the Branson Landing Fountain Show also uses pyrotechnics, which the Bellagio does not.  That was a lot of fun to see at night!

I did take a video of the water fountain show too.  You can hear me squealing with delight as I watch the show.  It was such a beautiful, happy evening!

Doesn't this fudge in a candy shop look yummy?  My husband and I are always looking for fun candy shops when we travel.

One of my guilty pleasures is the television show The Walking Dead.  When we passed by an arcade, I saw this fun zombie inside and an employee offered to take our picture next to it.

They even had some Walking Dead video games to play.  So fun!

When we were done shopping we headed back to our hotel for the night to get a good night sleep for our big day tomorrow.  We were pleasantly surprised to find this bible opened up on one of the dressers with this note inside.  Isn't this sweet?

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!