Branson Vacation

Last year’s family vacation to Pennsylvania would be hard to top but we may have just done it…

This year, our family decided to visit Branson, Missouri as we have heard about its wholesome family atmosphere and entertainment. We awoke at 2:30am on Thursday, June 30th for a 6:29am departure from Phoenix. Although none of us got more than four hours of sleep the night before, our excitement kept us going well into the night. We had one plane stop in Denver where Katie ate fried rice from Panda Express at nine in the morning and the rest of us snacked on chocolate covered peanuts and candy (healthy breakfast). We played wooden board games such as Tic-Tac-Toe and then caught the last leg of our flight to Branson.

The Ozarks this time of year were lush and green with lots of oak trees, pine trees, and lakes winding their way around the city. We rented a Chevy Traverse SUV for the week and made our way to The Wilderness Cabins where we were pleasantly surprised at our quaint and cozy cabin #2, appropriately named “Pa’s Place”. It was decorated inside with a fishing and hunting theme. We even had a stuffed deer staring at us from the wall. The girls had a trundle bed which was new for them. Lauren got the lower pull-out portion for her bed. The cabin had a kitchenette with a table and a small bathroom and outside the cabin was a front porch with a bench, a back porch with two rocking chairs, and an expanse of forest with lots of squirrels foraging for food.

After quickly surveying our cabin, we headed to Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City where we took a step back in time and experienced the cave just as the early explorers did – by lantern light! Guides shared historical facts and little known stories as we walked over 500 feet below ground. We saw pools of water, a spectacular waterfall, bat guano and the only known “Spanish ladder” left in the cave circa 1541. After riding in a train car back to the surface, we headed to our cabin for some much welcomed sleep.

We were back at Silver Dollar City the next morning for a full day of fun as we stepped back in time to the 1880’s theme park filled with thrill rides, a craft village, shows and numerous wholesome family attractions. The favorite rides of the day were The Great Barn Swing and Powder Keg which were bravely ridden by Katie and Lauren about a half dozen times each. We saw the Stunt Dog Experience combining tricks, comedy and unique skits by extremely talented stunt dogs with lights and special effects for a fun show. We also saw The Fabulous Wallenda’s Family Circus! Katie and Lauren were in awe and Kory and I reminisced about seeing the family in the Barnum and Bailey Circus when we were young. The girls made wax molds of their hands by dipping them many times in warm wax, which were then painted in three colors and sprinkled with glitter. The concept of preserving a mold of their child-sized hands is great but the wax was so thin that fingers broke off when we tried to transport them. We had to give them a burial in the trash. Overall, Silver Dollar City proved to be a great family experience.

Day three started with a tour of the Titanic Museum which took us back to 1912, where first class maids and a variety of officers and crew members brought the stories of the ship and its fascinating passengers to life by retelling their tales. The artifacts throughout the museum shed additional light on the lives of those passengers and crew members. We saw actual belongings of those on board and artifacts that sailed on Titanicʼs voyage. Upon entry to the “ship” each of us was handed a boarding pass bearing the name of a Titanic passenger. The fate of this passenger was revealed on the Memorial Wall. Along our tour we got to walk an elegant replica of the Titanic’s Grand Staircase, touch the frozen surface of an ‘iceberg’, examine the world’s largest Titanic ship’s model on display, see a First Class Stateroom; Third Class cabin, and learn about Molly and Carter, the dogs that were onboard the Titanic.

As hungry passengers, we decided to leave the museum and get some lunch at Starvin’ Marvin’s, a country/Cajun restaurant. We all selected items off the buffet which ranged from fried chicken, catfish, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, green beans, salad, biscuits and gravy and more. The meal ended with our own personal ice-cream cup. We weren’t starvin’ when we left, that’s for sure.

We then headed to the Sight and Sound theatre for the day’s grand finale where we saw the musical production of Noah. This great Bible story was presented on a 300-foot wraparound stage with 40 foot high sets, a cast of 50 actors, elaborate costumes, amazing special effects, and hundreds of live and animatronics animals. We relived an amazing time in history when God told Noah to build the ark and fill it with every kind of animal, then came the first raindrops and God shut the door. “For just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will also be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” We watched a reenactment of Noah and his family as they experienced being cooped up at sea for more than a year. When their trying journey was finally complete, we marveled at the wonders of God’s reward for Noah’s unquestioning obedience and devotion to Him. What an amazing story and lesson. I think we all walked away with increased love for and faith in our God. This was the highlight of our trip.
On our way back to the cabin, we stopped to get burgers at Steak ʻN Shake, which turned out to be a favorite of the trip. We ate there three times during our vacation. The “steak burgers” were some of the best fast food burgers we have had. Too bad there arenʼt any franchises in Arizona. We ate these in the cabin while we played Uno.

Sunday morning, July 3rd, we went to Friendly Baptist Church. The people were definitely friendly, as we received hugs in the parking lot before even getting inside the church. After church we ate Steak ʻN Shake burgers in the car as we drove to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. We were going to rent Segways but Lauren and Katie didnʼt weigh enough to make them operate correctly. We then tried to ride horses, but Lauren wasnʼt big enough (by their rules). After that, we paid for two ATVʼs to ride around the park, but we missed the start of the tour and were unable to do that so we had to get a refund. We decided maybe we werenʼt meant to do any activities in the park that day, so we took a nice leisurely ride back to Branson.

We checked into a new hotel at Still Waters Resort where we stayed the rest of the trip. We had a nice room with a view of Table Rock Lake which was just a few minutesʼ walk to the lakefront. The resort had several pools, one with a waterfall and hammocks, a marina, playground, market, and Parmesanʼs Restaurant.

That evening we went to Dolly Partonʼs Dixie Stampede. We had a fantastic four course feast that we ate with our hands. The meal included a cheese biscuit, cream soup, a whole mini chicken, pork loin, half of a baked potato, corn on the cob, and an apple turnover. We were stuffed. We ate all this while watching an exciting dinner show filled with friendly competition between the Union and Confederate armies. The show included great horse stunts and a live musical production. Katie deemed this her favorite attraction of the week. That night back at the hotel the girls went down by the lake to watch fireworks which were also visible from the balcony off our room. We thought we were going to get to see a big fireworks display on the 4th, but apparently almost the whole city did their fireworks on the 3rd, so the small display we saw near the lakefront was the biggest display we would see this year. I guess I should have researched that better, but no one was overly disappointed.

On July 4th, we started the day off with much excitement. We rented a brand new 24ʼ triple pontoon boat and everyone went tubing and swimming for the first couple of hours of our morning. It was beautiful out on the water and turned out to be so much fun that we decided to rent the same kind of boat the following day. Both days on the boat were a blast and kept us cool and energized. We also found out that the 115hp Mercury motor was powerful enough to pull all of us out of the water with ease. We were all famished after the first morning on the water and went to Steak ʻN Shake yet again for lunch.

We then went to Ripelyʼs Believe It Or Not Museum and saw some really strange oddities. The next stop was to the Worldʼs Largest Toy Museum which took us on a trip down memory lane. We saw thousands of toys, from die cast cars and trucks, to antique bicycles, dolls, action figures, Kaleidoscopes, cap guns, games, figurines, lunch boxes, and tin wind-up toys. Interacting with the salesman was an experience in itself. He was like a kid in a candy shop with so much passion and childlike enthusiasm for the toys and the patrons who visit the museum and toy store. If only we could all live with such zeal and fervor as this guy. Katie was able to guess 9 out 10 songs in his ‘name that tune’ contest which he played on his plastic clarinet. She became an instant hero and was even given a write-up on their Facebook page. Here is an excerpt:

HOOOOOOEEEEEEEE! What a great 4th of July at the Museum. We were visited by a ton of cool people, but kudos go out to the awesome Nakatsu family, with the Golden Bear Award going to Katie Nakatsu. Katie smashed the record of our mind boggling game of “Name that Tune”. The most ever gotten before was about 5 out of 10 but Katie crushed all other competitors with an astonishing 9 out of 10!!! So everybody join me in the “Krushing Katie” cheer.

Katie, Katie you’re the best,
10 times greater than the rest!
“Name that Tune” is where you rule,
you’re so awesome and so cool!

Thanks for the fun time at the museum.

Our next stop was to Shepherd of the Hills where Katie and Lauren zip-lined their way down the side of a hill from the top of Inspiration Tower. They were both so brave to try the Vigilante ZipRider (170 feet high, 1/2 mile long and 50mph). They werenʼt afraid at all and both loved it.

That evening we were back at The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre to watch Harold Bell Wright’s epic story of love, loss, power, hardship, and faith come to life on an outdoor stage . It took over 80 actors and actresses, 40 horses, a flock of sheep, several guns and rifles, an actual burning log cabin, and a vintage 1908 DeWitt automobile to create the live action performance. The Shepherd of the Hills show told us the story of the Ozarks which leaves us with a greater appreciation of the surroundings we visited on our vacation.

Day 6 started out with three hours on the boat, this time with a tube and a knee board. Boating on Table Rock Lake was definitely a favorite activity for the family. What a fun memory.

Our day continued as we drove to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where we saw an evening performance of The Passion Play recounting the last few days of Jesusʼ life on earth, his death, burial, and resurrection. The story was presented amidst a scenic background with the sun setting in the distance as the story began but it was much more than a production, it was clear that the writers and producers have ministry in mind over mere entertainment.

The last full day of our trip was spent at White Water, Bransonʼs only outdoor water park, featuring rides like Kalani Towers, Pipeline Plunge, Aloha River, and Splashaway Cay. Katie and Lauren had a great time getting soaked while Kory and I found lounge chairs in the shade and read a book together. We were so exhausted from being out in the heat all day that we picked up a quick dinner to take back to our hotel room and played Uno on the kidsʼ pulled down Murphy bed until 10pm.

The final day of our vacation we explored the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure, a tropical experience with an interactive and educational expedition through the butterfly aviary, living rainforest science center and Emerald Forest mirror maze. We ate brunch at IHOP before heading to the airport and flying home.

Last yearʼs trip to Pennsylvania and this yearʼs trip to Branson were unforgettable family vacations. It will be hard to top these next year, but we have some ideas in mind that weʼre sure will be just as exciting and memorable, maybe with just at a little slower pace.