Visiting Branson

We have been through Missouri a couple of times but never stopped in Branson. I noticed on the map that Branson wasn’t too far from Hot Springs and not too far off of our route to Kansas so I suggested we head that way. Definitely a benefit of not having plans or reservations; you can wing it and just explore wherever you want!

Branson was a bit different than we anticipated. I guess we expected lots of theaters and restaurants since it is known for musical entertainment. While there are many theaters and shows to chose from, there were not many restaurants outside of fast food spots and the rest of the area seemed like a huge tourist trap to us. It is one long strip of lots of entertainment for kids with go-cart tracks, amusement rides, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, etc. With everything being on that main road, traffic was very heavy too. Of course we chose to be there Mother’s Day weekend so crowds were to be expected. Overall, it reminded me of the Pigeon Forge area.

This is one of the few pictures I took in branson. This ferris wheel was very close to our hotel.

We chose to stay for 2 nights at the Lodge of the Ozarks with hopes of finding a couple of shows to see and celebrate Mother’s Day with at a nice restaurant. Being tired after a long day of touring in Hot Springs, then the drive to Branson, we wanted to find a show close enough to be able to walk to and hopefully one that had a dinner included. Unfortunately the main road is pretty long and the theaters are spread out so walking is a bit difficult. Also, since we were looking last minute, most of the shows were sold out or had limited seating left. Luckily, we found one to attend on Saturday evening.

The Hughes Brothers Theater was next door to the hotel and had seats available for the show that evening but no seating left for the dinner. We really lucked out on the show tickets - they were having a fund raiser that evening for a local food bank and if you brought a donation, the tickets for the show were free. Ruby Tuesday was close enough to walk to, so we had dinner there then headed to the show.

Overall, the show was quite good but a bit different in that it wasn’t just the Hughes Brothers performing. They had their children and grandchildren performing as well. We were amazed at how talented and comfortable performing some of the children were; they are a very talented family. Being Mormon and originally from Utah, it was also a very large family. One of the brothers had 15 children and another one had 12. We are not sure how many the other 2 brothers had but as you can imagine, the stage was filled when the entire family was performing.

Table Rock state park

The shows on Mother’s Day were already booked so that was the only show that we saw. On Sunday, we visited nearby Table Rock State Park for a late morning walk on the paved lakeside trail and soaked up some nature. The Branson Belle Showboat was docked at the end of the trail but unfortunately it wasn’t operating on Sunday or else we may have taken a cruise on it. At least it was docked there so we could at least see it.

table rock state park

After a nice long walk, we headed to a local winery for a glass of wine and lunch. Overall it was a great way to spend Mother’s Day.