Snowy, Snowy Days

This posting is just going to be of some pictures I took around the area during the 2 snowstorms we've had this month. I think they speak for themselves so I'll make it easy on me (and on you) and leave it at that.

This next set was taken after the first snow had melted. The ice on this wall remained at least another week. Pretty cool, don't you think?

Top Ten Rock and Roll Revue is a Great Show!

Last Saturday night, my husband, Byron, and I decided to go to one of the few shows playing in January, The Top Ten Rock and Roll Revue. I have one word for this show that featured hits from the 50s, 60s, and 70s
--FUN, Fun, Fun! It was voted the best new show of 2009, and I can see why.




What an exciting combination of superb talent and terrific song choices! One proof that this is a "must see" show was that my husband was smiling and clapping throughout the whole show. Byron is NOT a show person and he loved this show so much that we decided to take my niece and her fiance when they come for a visit on Friday. It is hard to get him to go once to a show, and for him to suggest that we go again in less than a week is amazing. The only other shows he has agreed to see more than once was The Haygoods and Liverpool Legends.

We were originally attracted by the crazy hair of Marvelous Marvin Short.



We had seen him around town on occasion, and we decided to see if he can do anything besides walk around drawing attention to himself with hair that is truly beyond belief. I mean who would actually want to be seen looking like that outside of the theater? You would guess that he is wearing a wig, but no, that is his actual hair and apparently that is the primary way he wears it. Only in Branson! Crazy hair aside, Marvin is an accomplished saxophone player, an excellent singer, an all around nice guy, and he is obviously good at advertising himself and his show.

You could tell from his performance that this is a person you would really enjoy getting to know, the kind of guy you want at your next party--maybe not a sit-down dinner (although that could prove to be interesting, too), but a surprise birthday party, a New Year's party, or even better, a Halloween party!

Marvin was not the only interesting and talented performer in this production. Darrel Croy's Jerry Lee Lewis set the theater rocking. There were only about 40 of us on this night, but I think everyone there was clapping along with the music. Darrel did a great imitation of Jerry Lee right down to shaking his head, playing the piano with his foot, tossing aside the piano bench, and all of Jerry Lee's other memorable antics.



The cast also sang some wonderful renditions of Doo Wop that took us right back to the 50s


and Steve Ragsdale and the rest of the band did an awesome job performing the hits of one of my personal favorites, Eric Clapton.



The women were featured singing hits from the 50s & Motown. Their voices, dancing, and numerous costume changes really added to the show!



If you are planning a trip to Branson, be sure to include this show in your "to do" list. You won't be sorry.

Oh, and by the way, the show is located in the Branson Mall of all places.
Be sure to take time to see the displays located right outside of the theater. They are some decade by decade highlights of the development of Branson into the Live Music Capital of the World.



I am providing you a link if you'd like to go to The Top Ten Rock and Roll Revue's website. They have a great video you might enjoy plus their show schedule and more pictures.

http://www.top10rockandrollrevue.com/

Ice Sculpting in Branson

We finally had a pretty day last Saturday with nothing to do so we HAD to get out of the house. As luck would have it, there was an ice sculpting contest going on in the Titanic parking lot so we decided to check it out. There were eleven professional ice sculptors and nine amateurs. I don't know what causes one to qualify as a professional, because they were all very impressive. They had approximately 2 1/2 hours to create their sculptures which evolved  from big blocks of ice (some used multiple blocks) to very detailed and often very delicate designs. It was a great day for the observors, but it was a little warm for sculpting from ice. In fact, one sculpture lasted just long enough to be judged and to have its picture taken before it went crashing to the ground right before our eyes. It is amazing to me what an artistic person can accomplish because I wouldn't have been able to draw most of these designs much less make a 3D representation out of ice! Although, I could agree with the 1st place winner in the professional division and I really liked the "Titanic" choice, my favorite (the angel hanging in the heart)didn't win a thing. Shows what I know.

After all of the winners had been announced, we still weren't ready to call it a day and go back to the house so we decided to go to downtown Branson and explore Dick's 5 & 10. When I stepped through the door, it was like stepping back into my childhood in the 50s. They had stuff in that store that I would have sworn was no longer being made, because I hadn't seen a lot of it since I used to walk a couple of miles to wander through the TG&Y or an old Woolsworth. The only thing missing was the grill and soda fountain in the back corner. Several years ago I went into a similar store in Fredricksburg, Texas, but it really didn't come close to Dick's.  If they don't have it at Dick's then I don't think they make it anymore. I do have to say, though, that I really don't want most of the stuff they have, but rummaging through the store and reminiscing was a great way to spend an hour or so on a lazy afternoon.  A word of warning--be aware that if you take a child in, you can easily spend several hours just looking at the toys. They have every cheap toy you ever even thought you wanted growing up plus some of the great toys that are hard to find today, like Tinkertoys and Lincoln Logs.  If you want to put together a model car or a model ship, or maybe just find the ones that you built as a kid, I think they have at least one of every model ever made. Do kids today still put together models? I doubt that very many have that kind of patience or attention span.

The front of Dick's is more like a museum than a store with its displays of model airplanes, trainsets, WWII memorabilia, and old farmhouse mementos Even if you never venture past these displays, it is worth going in just to see their fascinating collections. Another word of warning--be aware that if you take your husband in, you can easily spend several hours just looking at the trains and planes, etc.


 Although the store had quite a few customers wandering its narrow aisles, I think this will go on my list of things to do in Branson during the off-season, because I can only imagine how packed it must be in here when the streets are teeming with tourists. If you can't maneuver the sidewalks, it must be almost impossible to elbow your way around the store.

I hope you were able to enjoy the sunshine this week. I did. I know it is just January and too soon to start dreaming of spring, but we can always pretend that all of that snow is behind us. Unfortunately, since I first wrote this the weatherman has predicted the return of snow flurries here on Monday. At least we got a break for a few days. It makes life a lot more bearable.

Branson Museums Slideshow

Here are a few pictures of the museums I wrote about in my last blog. These were taken before all of the snow melted and while it was still pretty cold so some of the angles weren't the best because I took them "on the fly." For a few of them, I just stopped in the middle of the street and snapped which is something I could NOT have even thought about a couple of weeks ago before the cold weather and the off-season hit.

Getting this slide show on the blog is a MAJOR accomplishment for me. I can't even describe to you how long it has taken me to figure out how to do this. I know it is an easy process for most of you, but I have had to figure it out all by myself and it was not easy for this computer challenged blogger. One of the main reasons I started blogging was so I would force myself to learn new computer skills. I just hope I can do it again! I am not sure I will remember all of the steps it took to post this slideshow.

Think There's Nothing to Do in Branson in January or February? Well, Think Again.

It is official. It is now the “off-season” in Branson, Missouri, so many people think there is no reason to come here at this time of year. Well, those people would be wrong. There is still plenty to keep most people happily entertained plus they can do it without fighting the crowds.

My number one suggestion is to just rent a condo and relax. After all, the holidays are over and you deserve it. We did just that in January of the last two years when we came to help our son recoup after he had had surgery. We rented a condo at Tree House Resort on Indian Point Road (the same road that Silver Dollar City is on) overlooking Table Rock Lake. These are not the newest or the fanciest condos in Branson, but they are plenty nice enough, they are well maintained, and they are much cheaper than any other condo I contacted. I THINK we paid $75 a night for a 2 bedroom and we got a free night after 4 or 5 nights. Of course, you would have to check for this year’s off-season prices, because the rate we managed to get may not apply this year. We had a very relaxing and enjoyable time watching movies, reading, sleeping in, watching the activity on the lake and taking care of our son.  The best part was that we got to spend some alone time with Daniel which was very hard to do since he had a girlfriend and since he lived with 3 other roommates. Both surgeries were relatively minor so he was actually able to visit with us when he wasn't sleeping off the anesthesia and the pain meds.

If you need more to do than that, then there are plenty of nice restaurants to visit and you can shop at the 2 outlet malls, Branson Landing, or some of the many specialty shops. There are also a number of museums you could visit:

•  Ripley’s Believe It or Not
•  The Hollywood Wax Museum which recently completed a $5 million dollar renovation
• The Veteran’s Memorial Museum
• The Branson Auto Museum
• The Harold Bell Right Toy Museum (purportedly the world's largest)
•  The Ralph Foster Museum and Edward’s Mill on the College of the Ozarks campus, or
• The Dinosaur Museum
• The Titanic Museum

 The only museum that we have visited is the Titanic so it is the only one that I can personally recommend. I have to say that it is a great museum! Before you even enter the parking lot you’re captivated by the building, which is a two-story replica of the Titanic. The museum is full of artifacts and has a number of areas that are interactive. When you first enter you are given a boarding pass with the identity of one of the actual passengers, and at the end of the tour you find out if you lived or if you died. You can also look throughout the museum to see if there is any mention of your person at any of the exhibits. FYI--I have been to the museum three times now and two of the times I died.

I know that some of you who are reading this blog have visited one or more of the other museums and I encourage you to write a comment telling the rest of us your opinions of what you have seen. I will try to visit a few of the other museums myself during the next 2 months and will fill you in when I do.

Another place you might find interesting this time of year is the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure. At any given time, you will walk among 1,000 living butterflies.Until January 15th, their exhibit is called White Flight and features real white butterflies, living angel statues, twinkling lights, and beautiful holiday music. If you are into photography, I understand that you can find some great photo ops here. If you like wine (and if you are a friend of mine then I know you do), you can visit the Stone Hill Winery for a free one hour tour that ends with a wine tasting. Palate in downtown Branson also holds a wine tasting on Thursdays. I could not tell from their website if they hold tastings in the off season, though. I almost forgot to mention trout fishing. I'm not crazy about fishing anytime of year, and I'm sure not getting out on that water in the cold, but I know there are many people who will fish in any kind of weather. I know this is true, because I see them out on Lake Taneycomo every day--rain or shine, blistering hot or freezing cold. In fact, I read that this actually a great time to fish for trout. There are several guides in the area who will take you out if you don't have a boat of your own. There is a guide that lives in our neighborhood that seems to stay busy all year if you are interested. He runs a service called Chartered Waters.

Surely by now you get the idea. There is plenty to do in Branson even in the winter. After a 2 week hiatus a few of the shows will even fire back up occasionally, so come on, don't let a little cold stop you from having fun.