We texted with friends in Texas about going to visit Branson and one of them replied; "What do you want to go to Branson for? It's for old people." I'm not sure where our friend got his information from but I do know it was not from first-hand experience as he had only been on a vacation once in his life and we were with him when it went down at the beginning of the 1980's. And it was just a day at Six Flags Over Texas.
We knew where we wanted to go today based on our scouting expedition in yesterday's afternoon rain. There was a main drag in the old, original part of downtown. It had the obligatory ice cream and fudge shops but it also had an incredible general store, Dick's 5 & 10. This place was amazing, to begin with it was huge, but even being huge the isles were narrow and every square inch of the place was crammed full of so many things that your head needed to be on a swivel to take it all in. Many parts of the store were locked in a time gone by, housewares, toys, board games and nick-knacks from the 50's and 60's. The rest of the store was a collage of necessities, dry goods and tourist memorabilia.
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Branson, MO Old Downtown
Dick's 5 & 10 on the right where the red car is parked. |
Lunch was just up the street at a restaurant called The Farmhouse. Plenty of good, home-style comfort food here. We don't remember what our main course was but we both can't forget the blackberry cobbler and apple dumpling for desert.
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| Just up the street from Dick's 5 & 10 is The Farmhouse Restaurant |
Rolling out of The Farmhouse we go in the only direction our over-filled stomachs will let us, down the street toward Branson Landing and its river boardwalk.
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Branson Landing Boardwalk.
Dancing Waters show every half hour with balls of fire coming out of the black cylinders accompanied by music. |
Branson Landing is a relatively new mixed use development with upscale shops at street level and ritzy living accommodations rising four or more stories above. Between the development and the river/lake is a boardwalk with common areas for small events.
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| Cyndee with a small fraction of the Branson Landing development as a backdrop. |
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| Branson Landing is a shiny new nickel for this mountain town. |
I had no more than taken the above picture and put the camera in the backpack when a Bald Eagle appeared directly above. It glided just above rooftop level, following the length of the street and disappeared into the trees. I kept watching for it with camera ready for the rest of our stay but we never saw it again.
We have kept most of our activity isolated to the old downtown and the landing area, which are adjacent to each other and all within walking distance of a single parking place. But there is so much more here. The town extends for many miles, wondering through the hills and mountains of the Ozarks. In addition to the dozens of theaters, there are numerous outdoor attractions such as go-cart tracks, water parks, golf courses, and hiking adventures. One place in particular, the Shepherd of the Hills, has a monster zip line, over a mile long and starts from an elevated structure (170' high) called Inspiration Tower. Even with school still in session we saw plenty of young families taking in what Branson had to offer. So much for Branson being for "old people."
The weather is closing in late in the afternoon so we head back to the camper and batten down the hatches for the evening.
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