A Week in Branson, Missouri!

On October 14th we went to Branson, Missouri for a week.  Branson is all about musical shows- really good shows.  In each show, the emphasis is on God, family, and our country (Veterans are honored at every show.)  We loved being there.  The weather was perfect and the country beautiful.  

Our first night, Saturday,  we went to a restaurant very close to our condo.  This couple was entertaining while we ate.  

These deer were right outside our condo.  Right before I took the picture they all were posing for the picture, but broke and ran just as I clicked. Rats!

On Sunday, after church , we took a short drive into Arkansas so we could cross it off as a state we visited.

Us in Arkansas

And back to Missouri

Right on the busy main highway that goes through Branson is this beautiful garden dedicated to Veterans.  You'll see a few pictures we snapped while driving by.  We never did get a really good one.

The dinner we cooked that night: Grilled chicken, green beens, cantaloupe and baked potatoes

We bought all of our tickets through our resort.  These are the six shows we went to while in Branson.  All were good.

Monday morning- headed into our first show- a tribute to John Denver.

This guy was good.  He didn't really look or sound like John Denver, but he sure could sing and play his songs.  

We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch after the show.  I guess I forgot to take a picture of our food.  That doesn't happen very often.  Why do I feel a need to document our food?

Grilled chicken salad at the condo that evening (with leftover chicken from Sunday)

Tuesday- ready for the SIX show.

We were right on the front row.  They had this audience member sing a little solo.  I snapped a picture then went to him at intermission and got his email and emailed it to him.

These guys are all brothers and sing beautiful acapella music.

Wednesday morning we attended the George Dyer show.  George is a Mormon.  You may remember he sang with the Tabernacle choir as one of their guests artists in a Christmas concert.  He has done a lot of opera and other big stuff.  He is the nicest guy.

Selfie at the Dyer concert

Man, he can sing

His wife and son also perform with him.  His daughter does, too, but she was on a mission when we were there.

After the concert, we talked with them.  They spent a good five minutes with us.  They are really genuine, nice people.

That evening, we went out for barbecue.  You have to have barbecue while in Branson.  We found this cute place on Yelp.  The waitress was very nice.  As we were leaving, she told us, "This may sound weird, but I just want to tell you I feel something very special about you."  I wish we had thought to share a pass along card with her, as I'm sure that is what she was feeling.

Ready for the Hughes Brothers concert

They call themselves the Hughes brothers, but the whole, huge, Mormon family performs.  Most of the wives, and most of the kids are part of the show.  

The brothers- they were really good.  

Some of the kids and families

The older children did a couple of numbers.  They were really good.

Another big Mormon family also has a show in Branson- The Duttons.  It was fun to meet them and go to church with them on Sunday, then watch them at their show. Most of the Duttons, George Dyer, and one of the Hughes brothers were in the ward we attended-all very active.

They were also really, really good musicians

Their children also performed.  We thoroughly enjoyed their show.

After the show, we went down to the old part of town to eat at this Greek restaurant, owned by an older Greek gentleman.

The gyros=a big yes, The potato salad=a big no.

And, of course baklava.  I don't think I had ever had that before.  It was delicious.

Here's some more pictures of that Veteran's garden

On Thursday, we went to hear this guy's tribute to Neil Diamond.  He did really sound like Neil Diamond.  It was probably my least favorite show of the week, but it was still good.

After the show, we went to lunch out at the College of Ozarks.  It is a college for Christian students who may not be able to afford a college education.  They work fifteen hours a week at their self-sustaining college in exchange for their education.  There is a huge garden, cattle, other animals, a bakery, gift shop, a hotel and this restaurant.  The students are the cooks, bakers and waiters.  It is always packed.  You have to have reservations.  The food was delicious and it was a beautiful, peaceful setting.  

A great concept

Beautiful scenery on the way home

The concierge at our resort recommended this to us and wrote the phone number for us.  I wanted to put it on here in case we ever go back and for you, if you go to Branson.  You won't be sorry!  This is the number for the restaurant at The College of the Ozarks.  We loved it so much that, as we left, we made reservations to come back the next day.

On Friday we went to hear this lady do a tribute to Karen Carpenter.  I'll be danged if she didn't sound like her!  

Karen did a lot of wedding/ love songs and she did a series of those.

We loved that College of the Ozarks restaurant so much that we went back on Friday- our last day.  

Ken had this salad

I had chicken fried steak- their most popular dish

It was a great week in Branson- and from St. George, pretty easy to get there.  We flew out of St. George to Denver, then Denver to Springfield and rented a car.  Branson is about a 45 minute drive from Springfield.  That is pretty painless travel.  We hope to go back to Branson sometime.  It was really fun.