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| Top of the Rock Lost Canyon Cave Ridgedale Mo |
Sunday, August 27, Day 1:
Today, we left the house around 6:30, arrived at the Robertsons, loaded their luggage into our car, and began our journey to Branson.
Our first stop was for breakfast at Jack in Tuscumbia, Al.
I ordered gravy with sausage biscuits and a soda.
After we finished breakfast, we began our journey west on Highway 72 toward Iuka, MS.
We traveled through several small towns, entering the interstate in Memphis.
We crossed the Mississippi River into West Memphis, Arkansas, stopping at the Welcome Center.
Our next stop was to meet friends at Western Sizzlin Searcy, Arkansas.
There, we enjoyed a lovely lunch while enjoying the company of old friends and making new friends.
After lunch, we headed north toward Missouri, stopping at South Mountain Scenic Overlook, where you can see Bryan Mountain Elevation 1760, McCutcheon Gap Snowball, Bear Creek, Searcy County Airport, Point Peter Elevation 2040, Round Mts., Buffalo National River, Boat Mountain Elevation 2221 Marshall, St Joe and Harrison, Arkansas.
It's a great place to stop and take pictures.
We arrived at Paradise Point Resort in Hollister, MO, checked into room 9404, and took the elevator up to our room. We had three bedrooms, a kitchen, three bathrooms, a living room, and a pool room with a view of the White River.
We unpacked and headed outside, where we walked alongside the swimming pool, hot tub, and floating pool.
We were all too full to eat dinner, so we just snacked.
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| Arkansas Welcome Center |
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| Standing near the Swimming Pool |
Monday, August 28, Day 2:
We ate breakfast at the Hungry Hunter Restaurant, where they serve you very large portions of food.
The pancakes would cover a very large plate. The bread from which they made French toast was homemade and served with two very large slices of bread.
Eggs, Ham, and hash rounds were also served. Great place for a hungry man. I could not eat all of my French toast.
In Ridgeland, Missouri, we took a golf cart that holds four down into the canyon, which is a 2 1/2 miles-long tour of caves and waterfalls. There were several places where we would park the golf cart and look around.
Inside the cave was a snack bar where you could get snacks and a drink.
After we finished the tour, we took the shuttle to the Top of the Rock, where we toured the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum, which was filled with artifacts back to the Woolly Mammoth.
After the museum tour, we were told to come back around 7:30-8PM for the sunset, playing of bagpipes and cannon firing.
We rode to the historic part of Branson, stopping at B’s Ice Cream Parlor for a strawberry cheesecake waffle Cone. We rode to Bass Pro Shop and then took a short trolley ride around the historic part of Branson.
We walked along the River Landing, where we saw several new restaurants, fountains, and pipes that shot out fire.
We ate lunch at World Famous White River Fish House, where I ordered 3 shrimp tacos. I could not eat all of them, so I just ate the shrimp.
We shopped at Elks but didn’t buy anything.
We rode back to Top of the Rock to see the sunset, tour the old church, and watch the canon being fired.
We came back to the condo, showered, and went to bed.
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| Sunset at the top of the Rock Ridgedale, MO |
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| French Toast |
Tuesday, August 29, Day 3:
We ate a cinnamon roll for breakfast.
We rode to College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO., where we toured the War Memorial at the Keeter Center.
We ate lunch at Dobyn’s Dining Room at the Keeter Center. I ordered steak soup with rolled and butter.
We toured the East End Mill, where I bought a handcrafted basket.
Next, we toured the Ralph Foster Museum, which housed three levels of artifacts.
Which included musical talents from Missouri, musical instruments, Quilts, dishes, dolls, circus, cars, and animals (taxidermy) such as Polar bears, Grizzly Bears, Lions, tigers, buffalo, elk, deer, etc.
It included butterflies and birds of every kind and just so much information in this one building.
At 7:30, we boarded the Branson Belle for a dinner cruise and show.
The show was great it started a little slow but finished with a bang.
It was another long day, so off to bed we go.
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| Keefer Center at College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, Mo |
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| This little fellow will greet you with a loud growl! |
Wednesday, August 30, Day 4
I ate a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast, and off we went.
Today, we are going to Silver Dollar City Branson, MO., for a fun-filled day of shows.
We will also enjoy a train ride into the woods only to be stopped by train robbers.
Then we will enjoy a hamburger and onion rings at the Lumber Camp Restaurant.
Today was the hottest day yet, and after all that walking, we were ready to leave the park.
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| Train Robbers |
On our way back to the condo, we stopped at Little Hacienda in Branson, MO, where I enjoyed a Margarita on the rocks. I also ordered Churro with Ice Cream.
Hubby ordered a burrito supreme.
We were all very full when we left the restaurant.
I took a shower and went straight to bed, and did not wake up until 2AM. Everyone was asleep, so I took out my journal and wrote for about an hour and a half, then went back to bed.
Thursday, August 31, Day 5
The last day of the month and our last day in Branson, MO.
Packed our bags, loaded the car, and were on our way around 6:30-7AM.
We stopped to fill up with gas in Black Rock, Arkansas.
We didn’t stop for lunch until we reached Dyersburg, Tennessee
We stopped at The Bus Stop Restaurant, where I enjoyed a half turkey sandwich with pasta, which was very good. We sat outside, for it was a very nice, excellent day.
We dropped our friends off and stopped at the car wash to wash off all the bugs that we had accumulated on the highway.
We were home by 5PM.
We had a great trip, but glad to be home in my own bed.
Our next trip is a cruise unless we decide to take a day trip or maybe an overnight trip to the beach.
