Branson...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways

I thought that I would do a kind of fun reminscing post of our trip to Branson.  Many people have travelled there but we have found some awesome new places to explore and eat at!

1. College of the Ozarks-The Keeter Center.  For those not familiar with C of O this is a Christian College where the students do not pay for their tuition (but pay for room & board) in exchange for working on the campus.  The Keeter Center has a DELICIOUS restaurant in it.  We have been there 3 times now.  They have a fabulous Sunday Brunch...albeit $21.95 per adult, but very much worth it! If you like to save a little bit of $$$ there are some coupons out there to save 15%.  The lunch is reasonably priced-no more than any sit-down restaurant we go to regularly.
2. Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse-as someone said-what is NOT to like about a place that has Texas & Steakhouse in it?  We went there for lunch one day-it is at the Branson Landing.  Craig had this absolutely fabulous smoked Sirloin dinner.  It was so tender you could just use a fork and not a knife! We definitely got our money's worth there, too.
3. Silver Dollar City-Their slogan is "You have a great past just ahead of you!" We went to the Harvest Festival and saw many crafters/artisans displaying their wares.  I bought some homespun wool to knit some scarves out of.  It is unbelievably soft! Of course there is also the Marvel Cave which is fun to go in.  We didn't go to it this time, but we will at Thanksgiving.  I also loved their GAC Country Nights show in the Echo Hollow Ampitheatre.  2 Thumbs up!
4. SHOPPING!  I don't have to say much more than that.  Tanger Outlet & the Red Roof Outlets are our favorites.  We are starting to like the Branson Landing more & more. Got some great bargains including tank tops at Old Navy Outlet for $1.38 each! Can't wait to be down there for Black Friday.
5. Dixie Stampede-The place where you have dinner & a show.  The dinner is so that you eat without any utensils.  The horses are magnificent. 
6. The Lakes-We didn't get to spend much time around them but there are nature trails, and of course you can rent a boat if you so desire. 
7. Westgate Resorts-where we own our timeshare.  We didn't stay there this time, but believe me...we will only stay there from now on!  I love the pillow top beds and the roominess of the units. 
8. Andy's Frozen Custard!  Yummy stuff!
9. Okay...so I know that this REALLY isn't in Branson, but it's just north about 25 miles...LAMBERT'S-Home of the Throwed Rolls.  Yummy!  We always walked out of there with full bellies and left overs for at least 1-2 more meals at home.
10. This is in Springfield, but again, only about 35 miles away. Bass Pro Shops Headquarters!  There is a nice outlet/catalog return store next to the big granddaddy of them all.  I got 2 shirts, a sweatshirt and the brand new WII hunting game for $32!

There are some great shows.  We have seen Pierce Arrow, the Hughes Brothers and Six.  Six was probably my favorite, but Pierce Arrow has the funniest comedian.  We will be seeing some shows over Thanksgiving, so I hope to have some good reviews.

So, that about sums it up.  We had a little excitement on our trip.  There was an EF0 tornado about 20-25 miles north of us on Wednesday night.  We just had a great time getting away from it all.  When we got home, our doggies came running up to us as they were so excited to see us.  We missed them greatly!

If any of you ever need pointers about Branson, just holler.  It's a fun place to go visit!