We had always been interested in what Branson had to offer. We sure found out. There are really high quality shows there done by intenationally known stars. We didnt hear a cuss word spoken from the stages and there is no mention of alcohol, gambling or lotto! Imagine that! This is a place you can go and have genuine fun. Branson caters to the family environment and you see it right away. The town and entertainment are all centrally located and you actually rarely need to drive. The only thing wrong with Branson is that there is not enough time to do all the things you want to do. Shows run in the day and night so you can get a couple in per day. The Shepherd of The Hill show is an all day deal. You go and take guided tours, shop some, tour more, eat dinner then see a live play... all for one ticket price. This is outside with live animals and even burning buildings.
Another good place to tour is the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage MO which is about a 2 hour drive from Branson. Precious Moments are collectable ceramic figurines. They are not the Dollar Store types and can get very valuable. The facility has an extensive museum that displays the evolution of the product line and in depth displays about the owner. If you have the time to work this in, you should. One price includes a full day of activities including the most unreal computerized lighted water display you have ever seen.
Rhonda at Shepherd of the Hills
Touring an old local log cabin
Time out for a group photo
A hug keeps us going
This clock is made of flowers
Time for the play. Live animals and all
The play goes into the night
Get this... They even burn a building
Tim at Yakov's comedy show
Yakov is a real hoot!
In many costumes
He even brings his horse on stage
We got our photo taken with Yakov. Too bad the guy working our camera was blind. He nearly missed us...
Rhonda with a group of Russian dancers
We went to another show where a guy played 2 grand pianos to an animated water show with lots of colored lights
Meeting the pianist was interesting. He is from the Netherlands. When he was visiting Branson, he fell in love with the place and decided to stay.
This is Shoji Tabuchi's theatre. It is a huge place that even has a full sized pool table in the mens restroom. A good show
Precious Moments Chapel
At the entrance
These singers perform before the water show
This is all inside since it is so huge
Photos dont do justice to the size of this water show
Lots of action and colors
Even more fountains to the sides
After the show you can go hang around the fountain and get a better view of the detail. All of this used to be outside but to run it in the winter, they added a building around it
This is inside the wedding chapel
Rhonda liked the lights and stained glass
Time out for a photo on the foot path
This is the honeymoon suite and reception house!
Inside the reception house
No, Rhonda didnt bounce on this one
Bath time... sort of
How about this for a camper? It is a real one too, only changed up for the attraction. By the way, our camper key fit the locks
There are all sorts of things to see on the foot path to the chapel
This is the ceiling of the chapel all hand painted by Sam Butcher. The ceiling size is about 50' X 150'
Here is Rhonda near the huge mural that Sam continues to work on
A panoramic photo of the chapel interior. Each painting along the side is about 6' X 12'
Some large dioramas in the reception area
There are lots of these that depict different scenes pertaining to their products
Biking Kansas
We went to Kansas to look at the place we picked for a family reunion and decided to take a Kansas backroad bike ride. This was a lot of fun to ride and look at the fields.
