Our Honeymoon, for Our First Anniversary

I figured I should get this all down while it was still semi-fresh in my memory. We did SO much in 2 and 1/2 days that it seemed like 4 or 5 days. Sooooo.....

For our First Anniversary we decided to take a little weekend trip to Branson, MO. Like a little Vegas, without the gambling, but with the shows and buffets and lights and old people. But I love it! And now DH does too! He had never been so we started on our merry way early Friday morning.

We made it to Branson in record time, got all our reservations and tickets from the ticket broker (they're all over that town), and proceeded to find our hotel. Checked in, unpacked, turned on the TV to see how good the cable was (it sucked), then decided on our first outing - the Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum. We got there at the perfect time, meaning hardly anyone else was there so we had time to look at everything at our own pace. While we were there we even got into a photo booth and had the 'artist' draw our goofy faces in 'pencil'. Cheap souvenir. :)
After Ripley's, we headed over to a restaurant by our hotel called The Plantation. Had us a nice lunch buffet (missing the crowds again), stuffed ourselves silly then decided to lay down for a bit and nurse our bloated stomachs.
Once refreshed we set off to Silver Dollar City, for day 1 of our 2 days passes. There we rode 4 killer roller coasters, smelled lots of yummy food, watched knives and buckets and baskets being made, then headed back to the hotel to get ready for our show that evening.
I had actually planned the shows for the evenings on purpose so we would have all day to do whatever else we wanted to, and it worked out fabulously. Friday night we saw Shoji Tabuchi, a violinist who puts on an awesome show. And while I think we might have been the youngest couple in the whole audience we both enjoyed ourselves immensely. Me being a violinist myself I have a great appreciation for anyone who can do it well. And he does! He can play just about any type of music you lay in front of him and when he's not playing he's crackin jokes and even poking fun at himself. HIGHLY recommend this show for anyone visiting Branson.
Whew! So that was Friday. :)

Saturday we got up, hit a breakfast buffet at a little local place called Penelope's, then popped across the street to the Hollywood Wax Museum. So cool, kinda eerie. Well, it's just that some of them look so real that you almost think they're staring at you. They even had a little hallway of movie monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, Freddy Krueger, Jason from Friday the 13th, Michael Meyers from Halloween) and with spooky music and nobody else around I have to admit I was a little freaked out. Thankfully I had my big strong protector with me. :) I always feel safe with my DH.
After the Wax Museum we went back for day 2 at Silver Dollar City. We really got lucky and missed the crowds again! No standing in long lines for roller coasters. Yay! Even did one water ride which might have been a mistake considering it's October and the water was freezing! Still had fun, nonetheless. :)
So because of the lovely little water ride we had to go back to the hotel to change clothes before heading off to another activity, which was go-karts. :) DH had never driven anything but a homemade go-kart before so it was really fun for him to do something new. And really fun for me to see how happy it made him. We were the only people on the track and we had a blast! We also did a different track later on, a 3-story wooden go-kart track. He liked that one better while I found it to be very bumpy and hard on the neck. Eh, to each his own, right. We also hit up some arcade games which was super fun, felt like we were 8 years old again. Except they didn't have arcades that cool when WE were 8! After that we went over to Dinosaur Canyon mini golf and played 18 holes of putt putt. Another first for DH.
So after all the fun and games, literally, we headed back to the hotel to shower and dress up for our second show...the Dixie Stampede.
For years I'd been hearing how great of a show this was because not only is there a show but you get dinner too. So for years I've been wanting to go. And can I just say....WOW. Such an awesome experience! We got our picture taken, a yummy slushy drink in a commemorative boot cup, a meal that makes my mouth water just thinking about it, and a fun show! The menu is the same for everyone, and everything is made to eat with your hands. They don't even have utensils for you to eat with. But it's a show with horses and pigs and ostriches and longhorns and chickens...so much to see and watch and enjoy. That is one show that is definitely worth every penny because there is so much that adds to the experience. So another HIGHLY recommended show for Branson visitors. :)
And that was Saturday. :)

Sunday we got up, hit up the breakfast buffet at Starvin Marvin's (yummy!), packed everything up, checked out of the hotel. We put gas in the truck, got a couple of fountain drinks and were on our way. First we stopped down at the Table Rock Lake Dam to throw a line out just to say we fished it. DH caught a bass while we were there, I came up empty. Then we headed over and took some pictures of the lake and the dam and the hatchery. And such a beautiful day too!

After all the excitement of the weekend we decided to make our way home. We got home, unloaded the truck and I went over to my parent's and picked up the dog, as he had been staying with them over the weekend. He was sooooo excited to see me, such a wonderful thing to come home to!! I love my puppy dog! When we got home he was just as excited to see DH and we all had a lovely little reunion. :)

Tomorrow (the 6th) is our actual anniversary and we both have the day off work so we are going to have another round of putt putt followed by a nice dinner out. This weekend has made me realize that I truly did marry my best friend, cause we enjoyed every minute of our little vacation together. And we're already planning our next trip to Branson. ;)