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Branson, without the boat
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Branson, without the boat

A week in Branson! Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 17, 2025
    C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    I don't see the sunrise very often!
    Inside the car wash!Still inside the car wash!Cheap gas at Buc-ee's!Me and Buc-ee!Rosanne at the Purple Building!

    Tuesday, drive to Branson

    December 16, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °F

    This is just one of our winter trips without the boat. Pulled out of the driveway just a few minutes after 7am. Watched the sunrise, stopped in Springfield, Illinois to fill the gas tank and wash the salt from home off our car. (Tired of getting white all over our clothes anytime we got near the car!) Next fuel stop was at a Buc-ee's in Springfield, Missouri. Gas was only $2.14/gal, and Rosanne took my photo with Buc-ee! First stop in Branson was at the Two for One Tickets, Purple Building! We've found they offer the best deal, without a time share pitch! We are staying at the Meadows by Wyndham, one of Rosanne's sister's timeshare. Plan to see David at the Sights and Sound theater, the Haygoods, the Hughes Brothers, and Christmas Story and dinner at Shepherd of the Hills. Also would like to get out to Silver Dollar City to enjoy the Christmas sights there. Otherwise, just enjoying the warmer temps down here, and relaxing in our rooms whirlpool bath!Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Buffet line up
    Other guests that also attended the breakfast show. Rosanne at the far right.Entertainer AJSREntertainer Catfish.Catfish, with our Emcee who did some fancy pistol work.Entertainer AJSR, with his second set of Christmas music.Dalton, the magicianOne of Wyndham's own maintenance guysEntertainer AJSR's third setEven the DJ performedSanta Claus getting in on the actHe said we wouldn't be too big for his knees, but that I was a little bigger than last time. lolAh yes, the sales presentation video. The skinny kid presenting was also our one on one salesman.Big Christmas tree in front of the Sights and Sound theater.Me and RosanneAbout 20 minutes before showtime. Theater was pretty full at showtime. We were next to last row.

    Branson Wednesday

    December 17, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    Started the day by attending the Wyndham Meadows Wildwest Breakfast show. Nice buffet of sausage, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy. Also had orange juice, hot chocolate, water and coffee. Several entertainers performed including, AJSR, Catfish, the DJ, one of Wyndham's own maintenance guys, the Emcee, and Santa Clause.. Oh, and Dalton, a magician. After this, back to the room for a short span and then we went up the hill to Wyndham's offices here for a sales presentation. Now normally we know when we've signed up for one, and yes, they are very high pressure. However, you can earn upwards of $200 by listening to their presentation. However, the welcome agent we checked in with last night was pretty slick sliding us into signing up for the presentation before we knew it....ok. We still got heavily discounted tickets for David at the Sights and Sound theater, and a gift certificate to Little Hacienda Mexican Food Restaurant. And they still got a hard no from us on any sales. (Thanks to Rosanne's oldest sister who lets us mooch off of her timeshare points.) Back to the room for lunch, and then, up to the Sights and Sound theater for the excellent presentation of David. If you haven't had the opportunity to attend a showing here, it is every bit worth the cost and time to go. After the performance, we headed to Little Hacienda for supper, and then back to the resort and whirlpool tub for the evening!Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Wine and Cheese over at the Vista rec center.
    Catfish playing guitar and singing.Rest of the photos are of the HaygoodsGuitarist that comes in upside down getting hooked up.Entrance playing guitar upside down.Elvis was in the building. (Lazer? generated)Banjo boy came in on a souped up riding lawn mower.Tap dancingBoys tapdancing. Cat in the center on the drums.Right after intermission they have a race with beach balls.One of the brothers playing harmonicaLousy photo of one of the brothers doing a back flip off a small tampolineCat playing her Harp.

    Branson Thursday

    December 18, 2025 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 37 °F

    Slept in this morning, and then some time in the whirlpool tub. Rosanne made us breakfast, and then we headed up to the rec center for Christmas drinks. Basically, Hot Chocolate, and socializing. Afterwards, we came back to our room and relaxed, then had lunch. Took a drive downtown to make use of a free carwash at WildBlue car wash. (Equivalent to the FB ads you may have seen for Mr. Splash carwash back at home.) Stopped by Walmart for a Pizza and a few other items, then over to the Wyndham Vista (just across the street from the Meadows, where we are staying), for wine and cheese. And more socializing. The entertainer we met yesterday at the WildWest Breakfast show, Catfish, was also here. Passed out some bells and taught us to play a couple Christmas Hymns. Fun way to enjoy the "happy hour". Afterwards he played his guitar and sang a few songs. After that it was back to our resort room. Had our pizza, and then off to see the Haygoods. It's always a great show. Lots of lazer lights, some comedy and great music. The one guy did his trademark entrance by hanging upside down playing his guitar, sliding in on a cable overhead. This year they did one set using quite a few drones. Wish I could have gotten some photos of that. Probably two dozen drones all changing colors and buzzing around the stage. I highly recommend the Haygood's show if you get to Branson! Driving back to the resort after the show, we had to detour out closer to Table Rock Lake and come in on the other side of our resort. Apparently there was some power lines down and law enforcement was redirecting us to the detour. Kind of a gusty day today, but don't know if that was the cause. Some rain here this morning, and with the wind, didn't feel like it was in the 50's. This evening suppose to get down to 28, but still warmer than home. Day time temps continue to be in the upper 50's.Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    The troupe playing bells for this set.Jacob, the guy playing guitar, is the drummer, and son of Marty Hughes, the oldest brother.Smore social at the Wyndham Meadows!Pond lights beside our resort building.

    Branson Friday

    December 19, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Slept in this morning...until maintenance came by to get our internet working. Rosanne texted the front desk about their wireless internet not working. Maintenance came by, checked out some stuff, reset the router and still no luck. I should have just continued using my iphone's hot spot instead of wasting 30 minutes this morning with maintenance. Tried working with the provider tonight, and still no luck. Guess I'll just stick to my hotspot.... Hung around the resort relaxing, which has included practicing some music for choir. Singing at both our Catholic and Lutheran churches for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and have about six pieces of music that I downloaded you-tube clips of before leaving home. Ate lunch a little later, then left in time for the 2pm Hughes Brother Christmas show. Another show we enjoy here in Branson. There are 4 of the brothers, and their families, that put on the show. (The fifth brother left the show a number of years ago and lives out west.) With every one on stage, there are probably 30-40 family members, ranging up from the age of 2 months. (The 2 month old played Jesus for one of the sets.) Even the 4 and 5 year olds are involved in the singing and dancing. Stopped at Danna's BBQ for supper on the way back to the resort. Then at 6pm we went across the street to the Wyndham Vista soup and cracker social, and at 7, came back to our resort here at the Meadows, for a Smore social. No shows planned for tomorrow, but there are some social events here at the resorts later in the day.Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Yours truely in front of a prop at Ozark Hills Winery
    An old wine barrel at Ozark Hills WineryAn old wine press perhaps?One of the waitresses throwing rolls at Fall Creek SteakhouseI managed to capture that roll in mid air. And Rosanne managed to catch it at our table. :-)Christmas Bingo crowd at the Meadows rec center.These were my yard decorations I referred to. :-)

    Branson Saturday

    December 20, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    Today was a, enjoy the resort day. No shows. Slept in, then Rosanne made us breakfast. Afterwards, she went up to the rec center to enjoy the indoor pool and hot tub. I enjoyed the whirlpool bath here in our room and did some reading and computer time, along with doing some laundry. Made/had lunch, then decided to drive over to a local winery and then down to Branson Landing. IPhone Apple Maps app decided to take us on a tour of several residential sections...lol. Not the way I would have gone, but it's always interesting to see the residential neighborhoods rather than the shops and resorts along the main streets and highways. It appeared that everybody in Branson was at the Landing area. After driving past all the full parking lots, we decided since we've been here before, to head back towards our resort and get an early supper at Fall Creek Steakhouse. Another one of the area restaurants that throw buns to you. After supper we came back to the resort and enjoyed Christmas Bingo. (You get a Bingo sheet with various songs instead of numbers. The staff play short clips of songs and folks name the songs and then you see if you have the song on your sheet.) Rosanne finally got a Bingo. Along with the Bingo, there were also some Christmas trivia questions. The second or third question was how many reindeer pulled Santa's sleigh. I jumped on that one. Nine! (And I knew this as some time ago I had made a Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer yard decoration. You could make two reindeer out of a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Well everyone should know there are nine reindeer, so I made all nine. That sucker stretched out across the entire front yard! lol Most everyone was able to win prizes, which were mostly snack bags of chips, candy, etc. After Bingo, we headed up to the Vista resort. They had listed Karaoke & music at 6p, and then Smores at 7p. We got there about 20 minutes late, and nothing was going on in the Karaoke event. Guess nobody showed up, so at 6:15, staff put stuff away. But the Smores went on as planned, with a number of folks showing up for that. I should have gotten a few photos of that, but was busy with my own smore! lol. Back to the resort, and did some more laundry to get rid of the campfire smoke smell.Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Rosanne at our table with our meal.
    One of the servers making his way between rows of tables.The narrator of the play. Rosanne says it was a popular play story.Cheese and wine table back at the resort rec center.Johnny, our host, getting ready to start bingo.

    Branson Sunday

    December 21, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    Up early this morning to make 8am Mass at Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. After church a quick stop at Walmart to pick up some more groceries. Then back to the resort to relax before heading up for the Christmas Story Dinner (lunch) at Shepherd Hills. Lunch consisted of Potato soup, Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, dinner roll and peach cobbler. Also sweet or unsweetened tea, lemonade & water.
    Door opened at 11:45, and they pretty much served immediately. The show then started around 12:30. After the show, we headed over to Andy's Custard for dessert. Along the way, we first stopped at another local winery to check out some local sweet wines. Back to the resort, and then up to the rec center at 4:30 for wine and cheese social. During which time we also played another form of bingo, this time music from movies. Rest of the evening back in our room.    Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Wyndham Meadows dinner show. Johnny the emcee at the microphone
    The chow lineSinger and Host, Joseph.AJSRJoseph introducing BrooklynBrooklynJosephRick ThomasCatfish playing Santa ClausSanta Claus pointing for bell ringers.

    Branson Monday

    December 22, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    This is our last day in Branson. Tomorrow morning we'll head out early for our 603 mile drive back home. Suppose to be 73 here tomorrow, while only 40 tomorrow at home. So, today was mostly a day of just relaxing. Sleeping in, then after breakfast we drove over to Country Barn Gifts and Crafts, to do a little shopping. We stop there just about every trip down here. Just some interesting crafts, along with some preserves, canned vegetables and breads. We always find something to help the local economy a little more. lol. Then over to Wild Blue Car Wash to get one more free car wash while here. Wild Blue is a lot like the Mr. Splash car washes that have recently been doing a lot of advertising, but Wild Blue is only located here and in one other Missouri location. So we'll leave here with a clean car. :-) Back to the resort to make and eat lunch. I'm fighting a cold now, so took a nap, while Rosanne went up to the Vista rec center for some more bingo. Then this afternoon at 4, we attended the Wyndham Dinner show. Dinner consisted of ham, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, dinner roll, some cake and tea and lemonade. Entertainers included Johnny the emcee, Joseph the host (Joseph has been touring with the Texas Tenors and also starred in Phantom of the Opera. AJSR sang a few songs. Brooklyn, a 15 year old who has performed at Sight's and Sounds, Illusionist Rick Thomas and Catfish as Santa Claus. Santa Claus did his bell routine again, where he hands out bells and directs the audience in songs playing the bells. All and all, a very enjoyable time.Read more

  • C-TravelerBranson, without the boatTraveler
    Hope it's this cheap when time to fill the boat up in the spring!

    Branson to home

    December 23, 2025 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F

    Well, we left home last Tuesday with a sunrise, and arrived back home today with a sunset. Gas at Springfield Mo. Buc-ees last Tuesday was $2.14 gal, and today was $1.92 gal. Uneventful drive home. We had a nice relaxing time in Branson, and enjoyed the shows we saw. Looks like home had some warmer weather while we were gone, than what was here when we left. A lot of the snow cover is now gone.Read more

    Trip end
    December 23, 2025
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