| Submitted by: David StybrUnited States |
| Submission Date: 14 February 2005 |
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This included country, popular and even some classical music, good clean laughter and spectacles such as a 22-piece marching band, a tornado, a flying saucer and a 3-D movie. Jim's wife Annie Stafford helped warm up the audience before the show, and both Jim and Annie were on hand for photos and autographs after the show. The concession stands were heavily promoted during the show and well stocked with snacks, souvenirs and crafts. Pie Annie's Boutique was especially attractive and permitted quiet browsing whereas the lobby downstairs tended to be very crowded before and after show time and at intermission.
The Osmond Brothers were on our schedule for Tuesday evening. This fabulously talented family have performed together for more than 40 years. They were the first to incorporate lasers and lighted dancing fountains in their shows. At the Osmond Family Theater we saw their award-winning Variety Show on Ice which featured world championship ice skating talent, ventriloquist Brad Cummins and Rex, female vocalist Babette Young, the award winning Jay Osmond Band and of course the Osmond Brothers themselves (Merrill, Wayne, Jay and Jimmy) performing in all of their favorite musical styles. The concession stands were heavily promoted during the show and well stocked with snacks and souvenirs. For most of the hour before show time, a video documentary in the theater provided a fascinating background of the Osmond Family from the period of World War II to today.
We also managed to see 2 opening nights in Branson. The Steamboat Branson Belle began its season on Wednesday March 31 with a dinner cruise and variety show which evoked the showboats on the Mississippi River of the late 1800s. This boat itself was launched April 13, 1995 and is the largest boat built on a land-locked lake in the United States. It measures 278 feet (85 meters) long, 78 feet (24 meters) wide and 112 feet (34 meters) tall, with a passenger capacity of 700. Dinner was good and the service was outstanding. Vocalist Steve Grimm hosted the Steppin' Out show of American popular music from the 1890s to the 1960s. This show also included ventriloquist Todd Oliver and Friends with Irving the real talking dog. The exquisite Russian Adagio dancers Andrei & Marina performed a wonderful blend of dance and impressive acrobatics. This production also featured the talented Steppin' Out quartet of singers and dancers, and the lively Steppin' Out Orchestra performed in a variety of styles such as Big Band and Dixieland. The 3 hours went quickly, and still we wish we had had more time aboard.
Our 2nd opening night came as The Lawrence Welk Orchestra conducted by John Bähler began their season in the Champagne Theatre on Thursday April 1. Their show was A Century of American Music, a song and dance tribute to 20th Century popular music in the United States. Featured along with the orchestra itself were The Lennon Sisters, pianist Jo Ann Castle and Welk favorites Ken Delo, Jack Imel and Ava Barber. Wunnerful, wunnerful. Before the show we enjoyed a fair buffet dinner at the Stage Door Canteen, which was decorated in a World War II motif. Especially nice touches were the WELKOME mats at the entrance doors, a pun on the name Welk.
Whereas our evenings were filled with shows, our days were occupied with shopping. We were pleasantly surprised by the outlet malls, where we stocked up on loads of loot. Chief among these were Factory Merchants Branson, Tanger Outlet Center and Factory Shoppes of Branson. Branson is also filled with countless small shops for crafts, antiques, souvenirs etc., both downtown and along the West 76 Strip. Among the most prominent of these are the many quilt shops throughout the area. We saw many quilts that were tempting, but none really captivated us.
It may come as a surprise that the West 76 Strip and downtown Branson are 2 separate entities. Downtown Branson is located on MO-76 east of US-65, whereas the Strip is to the west. Downtown Branson caters to both local residents and tourists and is filled with small shops. Many downtown buildings have been restored to their original architecture with local limestone and red brick. Replicas of antique street lamps line the streets. We spent a very pleasant afternoon in downtown Branson after we finally managed to find a place to park the car nearby.
We also made sure to spend a few hours each day doing absolutely nothing except sit back and relax. This was a vacation after all. Our condo was located in a lovely area and it was fun to explore some of our nearby surroundings on foot. We were certainly lucky to have almost perfect weather almost all week.
The food in Branson itself was fair to good, but little really stood out. Here is one of my typical exchange with a local resident. Q: How is the food at Restaurant XYZ? A: It'll fill you up. Q: But how is the food? A: They serve so much of it you won't believe it. Q: But *how* is the food? A: If you go away hungry it's your own fault. Q: But *HOW* is the food? Oh never mind. The emphasis generally seemed to be on quantity over quality, but at least this helped keep the prices relatively low.
Generally we ate breakfast at our condo and our other meals elsewhere. For breakfast one morning Country Kitchen was adequate. For supper Shorty Small's Restaurant was good and Landry's Seafood House was excellent. Two of our evening shows included dinners. Our dinner aboard the Steamboat Branson Belle was good and the service was outstanding. Our buffet dinner was only fair at the Stage Door Canteen near the Lawrence Welk Champagne Theatre. Our only bad meal was a lunch at Noodles Pizza & Pub at the outlet mall Factory Merchants Branson, because our pizza was burned. The manager eventually replaced it but gave us no discount for our wasted time. His rude attitude was a stark contrast compared to the extreme friendliness of almost everyone else in Branson. In the final analysis, however, our best meal of the week was actually Sunday brunch at Jumer's Château in Bloomington, Illinois en route to Branson. Landry's Seafood House in Branson was a close 2nd.
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After breakfast on Friday April 2 we drove home from Branson, a total distance of about 550 miles (885 kilometers) in a single day. First we drove on US-65 north and I-44 east to the St. Louis area, and next we bypassed St. Louis itself via I-270 south and I-255 east across the Mississippi River into Illinois. Then we continued the rest of the way on I-55 north to suburban Chicago, Illinois. Along the way we stopped in Springfield, Illinois for a late lunch.
We are glad we went to Branson during the last week of March because we understand that it becomes outrageously crowded in summer and we can easily imagine the gridlock. The tourist season officially began in April, so we left just as the crowds were on the increase. Another reason we are glad we went to Branson the last week of March was because the highway construction season began in earnest in April. Luckily this construction had not yet begun on Monday March 26 when we were on westbound I-44. However on Friday April 2 between St. Louis and Rolla, Missouri we saw 2 sections of westbound I-44 where the traffic was literally stopped due to lane closures which fortunately did not affect us in the eastbound lanes.
Branson was well worth a visit, but once is probably sufficient. The shows were great fun, although by the end of the week we had seen enough. The shopping was excellent and the food was good. Prices were reasonable and the overall atmosphere was warm and friendly. Branson has a policy to treat tourists courteously, and we did our best to return the courtesy. Country music and homespun charm are the predominant themes, but the attractions are actually so diverse that Branson seems to have something for everyone in a clean family atmosphere. Branson is indeed fortunate to have carved out a place for itself as a thriving entertainment, shopping and tourist center. In general it was an excellent way to spend a week of rest and relaxation.
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