Branson, Missouri!

Branson Day 1:

After having camped for the past few days sleeping in a bed was amazing. Because of this we slept in. And then lay by the pool. For a while. For once we actually felt like we were on vacation. And the air conditioning! So long story short we did absolutely nothing our first day in Branson. Since we had a kitchen, Jaimie made dinner. Afterward, we went out for ice cream and checked out the nighttime landscape. Go karts and mini golf everywhere.

Branson Day 2:

So I always had this mental image of Branson being like a southern version of Atlantic City or Las Vegas. While that was the case, in that it is very touristy, lots of flashing lights, big restaurants, etc., it’s in the Ozark Mountains. Hills all over the place! Because of this, you can’t ever actually see all of Branson at one time, which is different and interesting. We headed out to our zip lining adventure in the afternoon. 

Branson water tower; the light up at  night

Now, Jaimie had gone zip lining in Costa Rica, but I’d never been. Not knowing what to expect, I was admittedly a little nervous. Our guides were very friendly and, after a brief safety speech, we headed around the back of the main building to the garage. We suited up and got into a van to take us to the top of the mountain. A lot of this experience so far was very much like Zorbing, so I was comforted by the familiarity. 

We had three other people in our group, one of whom was an older woman from Florida who, after traveling to all 50 states last year by herself was now zip lining from state to state. There were seven zips in all with a snack/water break in the middle somewhere. All in all for a 3 hour adventure through the trees it was well worth it at around $129 each. 

Throughout the excursion the guides kept mentioning their large zip. I knew they were upselling, but it still sounded interesting. When we got back to the garage, they asked us if we’d like to do the big zip. Figuring we were already hooked up and considering this ~60 year old woman was going back up, it was hard to say no. Did I mention at the end of the zip was a 100ft free fall? Cuz they did. Repeatedly. I figured we might as well. The long zip was fun. It was a quarter mile, lasting 40 seconds about 100ft off the ground. When you get to the second tower, the only way off is with a 100ft free fall jump. Basically, you are harnessed to a vertical guideline and attached to an inertia brake. What this means is once you hit a certain speed (which probably occurs somewhere around 50ft down), you start gradually slowing down. And I mean gradually. Honestly you don’t really stop moving until you hit the ground. Dear. God. Words cannot describe the feeling of jumping off a 100ft tower. Except possibly for the two expletives that came out of my mouth so loud they echoed off the mountains. Jaimie had the fortune of going after me and my vulgar drop. 

Adrenaline coursing through our veins, we headed back to our hotel, but not before stopping at Fall Creek Steakhouse for dinner. In this restaurant a guy comes out and throws hot rolls to anyone who wants them. We ate our fill and all was well. Until Jaimie got sick. We suspect food poisoning, but we’re still not really sure. Sad times to be had.

Do Not Eat Here

Branson Day 3:

Today we woke up and, because of Jaimie’s illness, we stayed in for most of the day. The only excursion we made out was to… drum roll please… a dulcimer store! Yes, I, in my nerdy musical fervor went to a dulcimer store in the Ozarks! We spent about an hour there learning all about dulcimers and other folk instruments. The guys there were amazingly knowledgeable (which is to be expected as they build their own instruments), friendly and welcoming regarding their niche field. We had a lot of fun learning about all these instruments. And yes. I bought a dulcimer. Walnut sides and body with a sassafras soundboard. She is a beaut. I’m really looking forward to getting home and delving into a whole new world of music. We then headed back to the room (food poisoning and all) and opted to dine in a la Papa John’s. Tomorrow we leave this hilly senior citizen hotspot for Alabama!