Wine and Spirits Travel

It was the final day of my Branson, Missouri adventure with friends Brittany, Amanda, and Marsha. We had been out late celebrating Brittany’s 21 st birthday, but sleeping in wasn’t on the schedule. We packed up and said farewell to the Radisson Hotel Branson staff.  It is a convenient hotel and they had done a good job of making it feel like home. After we left the hotel, we drove down to Main Street, an area we had not previously made it to.  We all looked at each other at once as we saw all the interesting shops, knowing that we would need to explore. First, we were having breakfast with Tamra from the Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau . She had been the one who had worked so hard on providing us with a great itinerary of things to do over the last four days. Tamra had also picked a great place for breakfast. The Farmhouse Restauran t is a popular spot in the city and their menu is inviting. She told me they were famous for their

It was the last full day in Branson for Marsha, Brittany, Amanda, and I. We had a full day of fun planned, as well as a very special nighttime celebration. We were up and out of the Radisson Hotel Branson early to head to Silver Dollar City, one of Branson’s most popular attractions. I expected an amusement park, but I also got a period attraction that reminded me of Colonial Williamsburg. Silver Dollar City has as many depictions of historical sites as rides, including period costumes and vehicles, an old school house, animals, walkways that looked like streets from long ago, woodworkers, a glassware maker, a pottery store, and other shops that had a lot more than your typical theme park souvenirs. The park also has lots of shows, such as “Mean Murphy Rides Again” at the Saloon, McHaffie’s Homestead, and the Silver Dollar City Street Troupe. They also have seasonal shows in the fall and Christmas shows in December. Unlike most amusement parks, Silv

It was day three in Branson and I continued to enjoy this Missouri city with my friends Marsha, Brittany, and Amanda. Our first stop for the day was at an attraction new to the city this year, Bigfoot on the Strip.  We thought it would be a quick stop, but we soon realized there was so much to do (and eat) that it was fun for the day. Bigfoot, a joint adventure by three locals, who also happen to be in the food business (more below), is an adventure park with unique activities to keep kids and adults occupied and having fun. Brittany and Amanda took off for the maze immediately. It was nothing like you’d find at chuck E Cheese. This one required a lot of climbing and crawling, with stops in a tall water tower and the opportunity to jump onto a trampoline-like pit. Before checking out anything else, we stopped for lunch at Bigfoot’s food trucks, Big Ds BBQ and P arlor Pizza Wood Fired Pizza . It was a unique and delicious alternative to a snack bar.

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 match