May 14, 2010
Branson
Several weeks ago Portland Firefly took a trip to Branson, Missouri to meet up with some friends. There was a total of six of us and we had two time share condos. We stopped at Sam’s Club on the way and bought most of our food supplies for the week. I still don’t know how we did it, but we all ended up paying about $20 per person for the week for food! That does not include the dinner show that we attended. One of our party won a side of bar-b-que ribs that was outstanding — Yummy!
People who have never been to Branson have asked me what it all about and the best description that I can come up with is this: “Branson is like a Christian Las Vegas in that all of the shows are absolutely Family Friendly and it is surrounded by natural beauty.” And that is a Portland Firefly quote!
We attended several shows. We saw ‘Noah, the Musical’ which was pretty cool because at the beginning of the second act, you are inside the Ark and surrounded by all the animals ~~ some of which are animatronic, some were real, and some were just stuffed! I bought a cute umbrella for my Grandson there!!
One of our favorite shows is the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede where a dinner is served inside a huge arena while you watch and participate in a horse show. We arrived early so we could walk around and see all of the beautiful horses. One of my friends used to own and ride and train horses, so it was especially enjoyable for me to look at the horses with him and get his observations about the horses. Wow, what a great horse education I received in a very short time!!!
Then we saw The Shoji Tabuchi Show. For many years this show has been touted as one of Branson’s best. Portland Firefly was disappointed. I felt that the show was entertaining, but lacked the piazza that it should have had. It was ‘tired’. The restrooms at the theatre however are something else. The Women’s restroom is absolutely ‘over the top’ with wisteria-like crystal chandeliers and ornate gold mirrors everywhere. There is even an attendant that will squirt hand lotion on your hands after you dry your hands!
But the best show we saw was the last show we saw. It was The Haygoods show and consists of seven brothers and one sister all of whom are extremely talented. They presented a fast-moving, high-energy polished performance that was enjoyed by the multi-generational audience. And to my delight they presented for the first time ever, their rendition of ‘Firefly’.
All in all it was a wonderful week spent with wonderful friends having a wonderful time!!! Truly another trip for my memory book.
