My First Trip to Branson, Missouri

Branson, Missouri has been on my list of places to visit in the Midwest for years. Since it was a bit of a drive (about seven hours) and there is a ton to see and do there, I wanted to make sure there was enough time.

I planned the time and the crew for a perfect five days girls’ getaway, that would end with an extra-special birthday.

Brittany has traveled with me many times, but this was my friend Marsha’s first adventure with us. Marsha and I had actually met on social media when I saw we had mutual friends and a very similar name.

She’s Marsha Lynne and I’m Marcia Lynn. As we became closer, our friends started referring to us as ML1 and ML2. So, this was the first of many trips for ML^.

We picked up Amanda in Alton, Illinois, and decided our lunch stop was going to be our favorite barbecue place in Missouri, SuperSmokers in Eureka.

Their BBQ Nachos, corn chips topped with brisket, chicken, pulled pork, tomatoes, cheese, and baked beans, are not to be matched anywhere.

We over-ordered as usual and took the leftovers to go as we hit the road to Branson.

The trip went smoothly and we checked into our hotel for the next four nights, the Radisson Hotel Branson. It’s a very large hotel and has a lobby welcoming families and groups with seating areas and plenty of information available on everything to do in the area.

We had two adjoining rooms with two beds each (the Radisson is very accommodating to families). We also had refrigerators in the rooms which were perfect for drinks and leftovers.

The hotel is in the center of this resort town, filled with restaurants, hotels, and attractions. It was just a few minutes from our first activity, the Legends in Concert show.

I had only been to one other Legends in Concert show before (on a cruise ship) and this was much better than I expected.

Marsha and I had some fun posing with the Blues Brothers statues inside before grabbing some popcorn and settling into the very large Dick Clark Theater.

Dancers welcomed us first, followed by the impersonators. Each had a chance to do multiple songs.

The Brooks and Dunn singers started were first, looking like the originals and finishing with a wonderful tribute to Vets, with the American Flag in the background.

The Blues Brothers performers were not only right on, but they encouraged audience participation, making for a very funny performance.

Elvis didn’t look much like the Mr. Presley, but he certainly sounded and danced like him.

The Michael Jackson impersonator was a perfect choice in every way, including when it was time to moon walk.

I was disappointed when the Celine Dion came out because she didn’t look anything like her, but when she started belting out the tunes, it didn’t matter.

Every month there is a different additional performer and we were lucky enough to see the Bruno Mars impersonator, who was great at and off the piano.

The show ended with all the performers singing and dancing.

They had one of the Blues Brothers cars, as well as the Car from Cars. Inside the museum they show all 7 cars from Fast & Furious, as well as vehicles from Transformers, and Back to the Future.

Before we left the parking lot, we Looked around at the outside cars from the adjacent Celebrity Car Museum & Attraction.

Since we had a big, late lunch, we never did have dinner. We discovered the one thing Branson doesn’t have is restaurants open late.

It was a good excuse for some Dairy Queen comfort food, before we headed back to the Radisson for a good night’s sleep. It would be a full next day in Branson.