Family Travel Go – Branson Trip Overview
Grandpa and Lesie (Short for Elesie which is Cherokee for Grandma) Deatherage invited us to go on a family road trip in their RV – Motorhome to go explore Branson, Missouri for a long weekend! We left Friday October 9th and returned the evening of Monday October 12th of 2015. It had been 6 years since they had last taken me to Branson, that was before I had met Kayla and long before Cash was born, so it was a great new family experience for us all!
It was a rainy Friday morning, when we arrived at my grandparents excited for this family adventure. Our first stop was Lamberts Café Home of the Throwed Roll for lunch. Lesie and Papa had tried many times to eat there but the parking lot had always been too full. We got lucky enough to find a parking spot, and waited a brief moment before being seated. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Every 10 minutes or so an employee would come with a tray of rolls and holler “Who’s ready for a hot roll?” and then start tossing them across the room. I’m nearly drooling writing this thinking about how amazing the food was. After leaving Lamberts Café we continued on our voyage. Once arriving in Branson we grabbed a rental car to get us through the city without having to worry about the “rolling turd” (as they call it, based off of the Robin Williams movie titled RV) getting around through the streets. We were very pleased with Tall Pines Campground It was scenic with many campsites sites and as a bonus it was only a few short miles Silver Dollar City. After parking and setting up RV for our weekend stay we realized we still had enough time to do something. We had heard great things about the show Jonah at the Sight and Sound Theatre and luckily they still had some great seats left! Jonah was extremely entertaining, we all loved it (even Grandpa and I loved it and we are not too big on plays!) The show consisted of many live animals, great singers, amazing props and sets. We had a section close to the front and sat by an aisle that frequently had animals and actors singing and running up and down. It was a truly great show for the whole family.
Cash and Lesie and Papa waiting for the great show tonight! @sightandsoundtheatres #jonah #jonahandthewhale A photo posted by Dylan, Kayla and Cash Myers (@familytravelgo) on
The following morning we woke up and headed out to Silver Dollar City. We enjoyed a stroll through the old 1800 style town seeing a working blacksmith and glassblower among other shops and displays. It truly felt as if we had stepped back in time. Before long we arrived at some of the amusement park rides and Cash was pumped up! Throughout our two days at Silver Dollar City we rode every ride that Cash was big enough to ride, which was surprisingly a large portion!
On day 2 of Silver Dollar City Kayla and I explored the Marvel Cave which runs underneath Silver Dollar City. It was EPIC. The cave tour took us through many rooms and tunnels throughout the cave. The first room was so large that they had flown hot air balloons in it before. Other rooms had stalagmites, stalactites, bats, and waterfalls. The cave had many steps and hard to fit places, so it is not recommended for everyone, but with that said many older people and children were able to make it through in our tour group. At the end of the cave tour we rode a train car out of the cave and back up into Silver Dollar City. After enjoying Marvel Cave Kayla and I met up with the rest of the family, riding rides and enjoying the town.
Later that day I got to enjoy the twists, turns and loops of the roller coaster Wild Fire with Kayla while Cash ate ice cream with his Lesie and Papa. Our family favorite ride was River Blaster which Cash rode twice, Once with Kayla and I , and once with Lesie and Papa. On that ride you need to be prepared to get soaked… not wet… but soaked. Throughout the ride you take full advantage of the mounted water cannons that allow you to shoot at the other boats and at the innocent and not so innocent bystanders, where they had water cannons of their own. While Cash rode with Lesie and Papa, Kayla and I camped out ready to blast them with our water cannons. Throughout the rest of the day people pointed at Lesie exclaiming, “wow that lady got soaked” haha. Cash truly has the best great-grandparents willing to get soaked and ride the rides with him.
Group #family #photo in front of #silverdollarcity #familyphoto #familytravel #familyadventure #branson #missouri #fall #pumpkin #autumn #harvest A photo posted by Dylan, Kayla and Cash Myers (@familytravelgo) on
After both full days at Silver Dollar City Saturday and Sunday, Monday we decided to head to Johnny Morris’ Top of the Rock Ozarks Heritage Preserve which we had never heard of until the day before by some fellow travelers. Top of the Rock was an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone traveling to or around Branson.
Top of the Rock is owned by Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops. At the Top of the Rock drive a golf cart along a beautiful 2 ½ mile trial through a cave, around and across many spectacular waterfalls. It was filled with “Kodak” moments and it was all accessible by the golf cart! After driving though the gorgeous trail through the Ozarks we arrived at the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum which was filled with ancient Missouri creatures such as prehistoric Mammoths, Bears, and much more. It also held many Native American artifacts and civil war items. We were extremely thankful we hadn’t planned anything else or had to rush home for any reason. Every adventure we take we always leave room for something random, you never know what you may miss out if you don’t.
The trip was a complete success and we definitely had the time of our lives.Thank you Lesie and Papa Deatherage for taking us on this adventure and creating these special moments with us that will be in our minds and hearts forever.
Across the bridge and over a waterfall! #topoftherockozarksheritageresort #missouri #topoftherock #johnnymorristopoftherock #johnnymorristopoftherockozarksheritagepreserve #ozarks #branson #missouri A photo posted by Dylan, Kayla and Cash Myers (@familytravelgo) on