I was invited to spend a long weekend in Butler County, Ohio, just after they became Wheel The World certified for accessibility. The tourism board wanted me to write about how wheelchair accessible the region is. I hadn’t been there before, and it sounded like an interesting area, so I made plans to go. My trip to Butler County turned out to be one of my most unusual adventures, with new experiences, and a lot of donuts! I brought Teddy and my friend, Heather, along for the ride, about three and a half hours from home. We had a nice welcome basket waiting for us at the hotel. Our home base was the Marriott Cincinnati North in Westerville. I was happy at the start with a flat entrance and automatic doors. They didn’t have any accessible rooms, so we had two connecting rooms. Teddy loved going back and forth between the two rooms. Mine had plenty of space for me to wheel around, a well-equipped desk area I could reach, and a large bathroom with a shower chair. The handheld was...
We got up early at the Radisson Hotel
for our first full day in Branson and had a
quick breakfast.
Marsha, Brittany, Amanda and I got in the car and headed to
Table Rock Lake, where we were going kayaking at Flat Creek Resort in Cape Fear.
It was a scenic drive on winding roads, something we didn’t
see in Central Illinois.
Flat Creek Resort is Just outside the city of Branson and we
had been invited to check it out, specifically the kayaking.
It was something
new they started this season and everyone was excited to be out on the brand-new
boats, especially Brittany, who was trying stand up fishing from a kayak for
the first time.
The staff helped us get started.
After Brittany did the
fishing kayak for a while, she joined Amanda, while Marsha and I in the other
tandem kayak.
They were much sturdier than kayaks I had previously been in.
It was the perfect
partly cloudy and warm day to be out on the water. It was the most relaxing
hour I’d had in a very long time.
Flat Creek Resort itself isn’t very big, but the lake
availability is huge, as is the very popular restaurant and bar.
After kayaking
we went to the restaurant and found out why so many people, especially locals,
come out here.
The drink menu was so inviting, Marsha, Amanda, and I (it
was still two days until Brittany’s 21st birthday) had to give some
of their signature cocktails a try and they were delicious:
Everything on the menu looked fantastic and we were really
hungry so we got a little carried away.
We started with the Pulled Pork Nachos Supreme and the
Loaded Potato Skins while we made our decisions for main dishes. We chose the
right ones.
Amanda and I had the Hawg and Slaw, a pulled pork sandwich
topped with cole slaw, and the mashed potatoes.
Marsha had the brisket salad.
Brittany had an assortment, ordering the Flat Creek Trio:
Ribs, Brisket, and Catfish with two sides (she had green beans and baked beans).
As full as we were (our “doggie bags” were quite big), we could not resist the
desserts our waiter was offering.
We succumbed to Red Velvet Cheesecake,
Chocolate Tuxedo Cheesecake, a Cherry Fried Pie, and (fried bread pudding)
After we left Flat Creek, we went back to the Radisson Hotel
to chill for a while before our 4:00 pm Showboat Belle Branson dinner cruise.
We made the short drive to White River Landing for the boat.
We were disappointed that it was starting to drizzle, but I noticed that the
boat was very large and mostly indoors.
I had been on a lot of dinner cruises, but the food and
entertainment on the Showboat Branson Belle was top notch.
We had a choice of steak, fish, or pork chop
with vegetables and potatoes.
Soft drinks and dessert, turtle cheesecake or chocolate
cake. Didn’t eat much.
The boat is beautiful, clean, organized and very well kept. Our
table (premium section) was in the perfect position to see the show. Performers
were fantastic.
I loved the Billy Joel medley as I had been about overcome with
country music prior.
The clouds were quite ominous, though it didn’t rain hard.
We took a walk outside. No sunsets on this night.
We had talked about doing something after the show, but we
were all wiped out so we just enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi when we got back to
the Radisson Branson before bed.
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