Family Weekend Trek to Branson

We decided to take a quick weekend trip to Branson, MO from our home in Illinois near St. Louis, MO. It was small getaway before school started up.

But what we were not ready for was the heat as the mercury hovered at or above 100 degrees for all three days we were there. But we took the necessary precautions and pushed forward each of the days we were there.

We arrived on a Friday to the Music Capital Inn Best Western on the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. We were lucky to find a room as we soon realized, this was the weekend of a huge classic car show and midnight cruise. So all the hotels were full and the people drove up and down the strips in some very cool cars. It added to the weekend.

It had been quite a bit of time since we had been to Branson and things had really changed. More roads and even more shows, entertainment, shops, you name it, it was here. Our main reason for coming was to take the kids to Silver Dollar City as this was the last week of Kids Fest. Even with the heat, we were able to make it a day at the park and with free ice water everywhere, that made it much easier.

As the weekend ended, we walked the roads of Branson and took in all the sights, sounds (revving engines) and shops. As night fell, we dropped to bed as the day wore us out. The trip had ended but not before a cool visit to Fantastic Caves near Springfield, MO. With the ever increasing thermometer, the cool air of the cave made it a great end to a nice weekend retreat with the family.

Quick Tips:

Here are some tips that we followed:

• Traffic is very heavy on 76. Try to use alternate routes or centrally park and walk to any destinations on Highway 76.


• Make good use of the front desk at your hotel/motel. They are very knowledgeable and will answer any questions you may have. Ours did with dinner suggestions, alternate routes, and things to do.


• Make sure to catch as many shows as you can at Silver Dollar City. Some people may think they are hokey or whatever but they are quite enjoyable.


• Many of the water rides at Silver Dollar City will get you EXTREMELY wet. Not just a tad, but quite a bit.


• When purchasing items at the various stores at Silver Dollar City, have the employee send them to the front of the park for you. You can then pick them up right before your leave, near the exit of the park


• Buy gas before your hit the Branson city limits. On our recent trip, it seemed that the gas prices shot up about 20 cents as we neared the city lights of Branson and the area around the main hub of all the entertainment.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you can, walk to the sites and sounds of Branson. With a small two lane highway through the main area, it can get backed up, quite quickly. There are different routes now that make for a little bit of and easier way to get around but walking by far during the busy season will get you where you want to go, quicker.

With a classic car show the same weekend we visited Branson, there was not a lot to choose from in regards to hotel/motel rooms. We found on the Internet, the Best Western Music Capital Inn located off the strip but close enough to allow for a visit to most of the things Branson has to offer.

Across the street from the Shoji Tabuchi theater, the Best Western offered my family a nice two queen-size beds along with a fridge and microwave. The decorations were your normal hotel style, however, I did like the fact that they had very nice room darkening shades especially with little ones who need their sleep. The bathroom sufficed although I thought it be a little on the small side but I did like the fact that we had two sinks. One in the bathroom and one outside the bathroom so I could shave and my wife had her area for makeup and hair. Nice touch.

The Continental breakfast offered a good start to the morning with the normal bagels, donuts, fruits, cereals, and even a make-your-own waffle station. A nice little area even allowed for a quick place to sit and eat. But get there early, the seats fill up fast.

I did have a couple of disappointments though at the hotel.

* On our first night, the pool was very dirty and cloudy. It did not make swimming very appealing. Although to their credit, I did see it being cleaned the following morning. And the pool resides in a beautiful atrium.

* One elevator can be kind of tricky on Sunday checkout day. It can be full and slow at times but I only found this to be the case on Sunday during the mass exodus to leave. Another elevator may be a thought.

All in all, Music Capital Inn was a very nice place to stay. The rooms were nice with very comfortable beds, a fridge, and microwave as well. We would like to come back around the Christmas holiday season and Best Western Music Capital Inn will be a choice of stay.

After a long drive to Branson, the family was tired and hungry but most of all we were hungry. As we neared the hotel, we saw what looked to be the typical, steakhouse with the rustler, outdoors, old west motif. Sure enough BT Bones had all that. With two small kids we wanted food, fast, and a somewhat loud atmosphere as well.

We were seated towards the back of the place which was fine with us. We both ordered the BT burger and the kids some chicken. We both talked about getting a burger and that is what we decided on.

While we waited for our dinners, we minced on the artichoke spinach dip. As far as that dip goes, it was not at the top of my list for favorites Artichoke Spinach dips. Too much spinach with very little cheese in the dip. It was all on the top.

And a husband-wife group sang country favorites for the crowd. It was a nice touch and the kids enjoyed it. They got up and danced to a couple of the songs. Not being a country music fan myself, it was fine.

Our food came in an acceptable amount of time. Not extremely fast but not as bad as I have had at other places. Both burgers were cooked perfectly and very tasty. By the looks and taste, these were freshly made patties cooked on an open flame. Not a processed McDonalds pattie. Two thumbs up on the burgers. I assume the chicken was good as well. The kids ate them up although they could have been just that hungry.

Now with all this good food, you would have thought the night could not end any better and, well, it didn't. A real damper to the evening was the slow service to get our check. It took nearly 15-20 minutes from the time our entire table was completely finished, to receive our bill. For a good 15-minute period we did not see our waiter once. Finally we had to grab an assistant manager to get the bill. That did put a damper on the evening especially with one very restless child.

B.T. Bones is similar to the steakhouses that we are all familiar with more of a Down home feel such as LoneStar or Longhorn. The burgers were very good but nothing out of the ordinary for this steakhouse.

Paradise Grill came as a recommendation by the hotel staff at our hotel. It had been a long day at Silver Dollar City, and we wanted something tasty and close to the hotel. Paradise Grill was our choice.

We sat down to a nice booth. It was a quaint restaurant with a Hawaiian theme. The waitress was extremely friendly and went out of her way to help us with drinks, condiments, and extra napkins. A must with small children. They did offer a buffet but we decided to order from the menu.

I had the Catfish. It was not a fillet but a full catfish. It was cooked to perfection with the flaky white meat, tasty, and still juicy. it came with salad and steak fries. My wife ordered the French dip and she agreed the roast beef was cooked just right and still very juicy. Just enough seasoning to make it just right.

We quickly finished our dinner. With two restless children, it was time to go. The waitress quickly got us our check and we were out the door, full from a great dinner.

This place is great if you want a quick, tasty meal. Casual atmosphere with friendly staff makes for a nice dinner, off the beaten path.

So our last day in Branson was scheduled to be another scorcher. We had a dilemma. What to do and fun while staying cool. We browsed through the little Branson entertainment brochures and came across Fantastic Caverns located in Springfield, MO. The best part was that it would take us in the general direction of home.

Fantastic Caverns is located down a few back road country roads. Getting to it, you thought you might have taken a wrong turn at some point, but soon enough the building and signs proved that wrong.

We bought our tickets for the ride. Soon enough we were on our way in the back of a long trailer with bench seating. See in this cavern, you ride through the entire tour of the cavern. It is that big! We passed through the entrance and the air soon became a nice cool 55 degrees. Such a great relief from the Midwest heat. The tour takes you through a mile-long ride where the tour guide stops at several points to explain things about the geology of the cave, the history of the cave and answer any questions people may have. Our guide took great care and time to answer any and all questions from people young and old alike.

As we continued through the cave, we moved through area where the ceiling was 30 feet or more higher. The formations were just amazing from stalagmites to stalactites, this cave was truly a wonder. And the one stop everyone really enjoyed was where the tour guide wanted to point out how dark it is. Basically total darkness. That was truly an amazing thing to experience especially when your young son grabs your arm very tightly.

As we left the exit of the cave, the scorching air of the sun once again hit us square in the face. This was certainly a neat way to spend a hot afternoon. And the beauty and history of this cave will not leave you disappointed. Plus, you don't have to walk. I like that idea.

Our main thrust for heading to Branson, MO was to spend a day at Silver Dollar City. Our daughter was just about to start kindergarten so we wanted one last summer adventure.

We headed to the park about the time it opened. People were streaming in from all available parking lots. We knew it was going to be a large crowd. And with the weather predicted to hit 101 degrees, we knew we had to take it easy and stay hydrated with plenty of cool water. We entered the park and immediately were greeted with a group of young cloggers. They performed at the main stage and put on quite a show for those early spectators. This was part of the last weekend of Kids Fest at Silver Dollar City. This celebration added some additional children's shows, entertainment, and various cartoon characters to visit (my son was so excited to meet Curious George, his favorite).

For little children, we headed to the area called the Great Exposition which had about 10 rides geared towards small children. it was perfect. The kids loved it and I must say the people who run the rides were great. They constantly interacted with the kids on the rides as well as squirting everyone with a water bottle due to the excessive heat. Made for a great part of the day.

We also visited several shops to shop as well, as cool down in the air conditioning. Made it more barley when we headed out to the outside rides. From crafts to out of the ordinary items, SDC had it all. My wife even found a beagle bowl that held candy. Of all places. We also grabbed a quick bite to eat and I recommend the skillet dinners. The employees cook a variety of dinners in a huge skillet from a potato skillet to a squash skillet. I recommend the squash skillet which came with squash (both green and yellow), chicken, peppers, and a smattering of sweet corn. Very tasty!

As late afternoon approached, we knew that water rides HAD to be on the agenda. The temperature was rising quickly even in the shade. First we hit the American Plunge which is your standard log flume ride. Nothing to thrilling but little kids will love it. We did get a little wet but not enough to thoroughly cool us off.

The final water ride we hit was the WaterWorks Waterboggan and YES we did get wet. In this raft ride, you slosh from side to side down the tube as water splashes from all sides. Cover your valuables, they will get wet. But it did its job. It was what we needed in the Midwest heat.

We ended the day with a stop by the candyshop at SDC, a must for anyone with a sweet tooth. The smell of the chocolate floated through the air. The perfect way to end a great day at Silver Dollar City.