Branson, MO – August 2012
The last weekend before school started the weather was beautiful and I called up Lori on Friday afternoon and asked her if she thought we should fly somewhere for a last minute weekend trip. We discussed going to the Wisconsin Dells or Mackinac Island but decided on Branson, Missouri as this was also on our list of places to visit. I checked hotel rates and called the FBO at the airport in Branson and our plan was to be off the ground around 4:00 PM. We quickly packed our bags and we were off to the airport. After a pre-flight inspection we were off for the easy two and half hour flight to Branson.
There are multiple airports around Branson but we landed at KBBG and parked the plane at Branson Jet Center where the rental car was waiting for us on the ramp and the line man gave us great service unloading and securing the plane. He gave us some good recommendations on shows to see and places to stay. I went on Priceline and got a very good rate on the Raddisson which seemed to be one of the nicer hotels in the area. We headed out to find someplace for dinner as it was getting kind of late and we were all hungry. We ended up driving around exploring the Branson strip for awhile and ended up at Jackie B. Goode’s Midtown Cafe. When we walked in there was no one there which seemed kind of strange for a Friday night but we decided to sit down and eat anyways. It was not good and was very expensive for essentially what you could get a fast food joint. It was late though and we needed to eat so it met our needs from that perspective. After dinner we checked in to the hotel and called it a night.
On Saturday morning we started making our plans for the day. We decided that we would go see a show called The Finalist’s Live which featured 5 different finalists from different seasons of American Idol including Bo Bice and Ruben Studdard. We were lucky as this was their last show! We had a great breakfast at Bob Evans and then headed to the Andy Williams Moon River Theater box office where we got excellent tickets for the 4th row center stage. The show wasn’t until later that evening so we headed to the Talking Rocks Cavern. This 90 foot cavern was really interesting and we all enjoyed it. After the cavern we drove around Branson seeing the beautiful scenery. We stopped at Branson Landing where we checked out the shops and had frozen yogurt for lunch. We bought some souvenirs and then left to grab an early dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse before the show.
Our trip to the Talking Caverns in Branson MO 08182012-09
Our trip to the Talking Caverns in Branson MO (see the angel)08182012-05
Watching The Finalists Live at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson MO 08182012-73
Watching The Finalists Live at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson MO 08182012-70
Watching The Finalists Live at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson MO 08182012-65
Watching The Finalists Live at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater in Branson MO 08182012-75The Finalist Live was a really good show. We had great seats and all the performers were very good. After the show we were able to meet all of the performers, get their autographs and take pictures with them. After a great day we went back to the hotel. We got up early in the morning and after a quick breakfast at McDonald’s we went back to the airport and had another smooth flight back to Champaign. Our weekend in Branson was a success and everyone in the family had fun. It is great to have an airplane that gives us the flexibility to get away for quick weekend trips like this.
Click here to see all of our pictures from our weekend trip to Branson.
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Sounds like a great weekend get away! I’m noting hotel and show info for out future trips.