Branson Vacation, Part 1

In the spirit of celebrating Ryan's homecoming, we decided to take a little vacation over to Branson, Missouri. This was actually pretty special because we've never taken a real family vacation. Sure, we've travelled to visit a lot of friends and family, but we've never set out with a child or children to a vacation destination with the sole intention of vacationing.

We had an amazing time in Branson, and I'm already noting ideas for our next trip there. Branson is a great town for families, even families with very young children. We certainly kept busy, but when we weren't running around town, we were relaxing in a beautiful condo on Lake Taneycomo, or as Clayton refers to it, "our new house." Yes, Clayton, I wish.

Day 1: Wild Animal Safari and Duck Boats

When I was 12 years old, my family met up with some of our extended family for a few days in Branson, which was my first and only time visiting there. I remember a few things from that trip, but no memory is as vivid as visiting a safari park and almost being eaten alive by a camel. If you were in Gayle's Suburban that day, you remember it too. We can all laugh about it now, but it was definitely an experience never to be forgotten.

When Ryan and I started talking about the possibility of going up to Branson, I felt compelled to see if this safari park still existed. I believe I may have found the park in question, and that's why it was our first stop on our vacation.

Due to my previous experience with safari parks, and the fact that I had my two babies in the front seat with me, we were much less adventurous with rolling down the windows, so a lot of my pictures are through the glass, but nonetheless, a great time was had by all, and we got to see a lot of animals very close up.

Could the guy above in the top right corner be the infamous camel in question? I don't know. Just googled camel lifespan, answers ranged from 40 to 50 years, so maybe he was the one. Either way, camel=windows up!

The safari also had a walk through zoo section with lots of exotic animals and several petting zoo type animals. Clayton loved feeding the pigs and goats.

After lunch at a nice little pizza place, the boys napped on the drive back to Branson, and we headed into town to Ride the Ducks. The Ducks are amphibious vehicles that take you on a little tour of town and then drive you into the water for a tour of the lake. It's definitely the touristy thing to do, but we had a very relaxing ride and learned a little about Branson and the area.

Clayton was in heaven the entire ride, especially when the captain allowed him to steer on the lake. The captain was keeping one hand on the wheel while talking to the rest of the passengers. That was until Clayton, in full three year old glory, kindly, yet somewhat forcefully, removed the captain's hand from the wheel. It was pretty funny. Clayton just wanted to do it by himself, which is the theme of his life lately.

After the boating we rested for a little while and then headed out for a late dinner. A warning to all Branson vacationers: this is not Las Vegas. At eight o'clock we had a bit of a difficult time finding an open restaurant. We were finally successful, had a quick dinner, and then headed home to put the kiddos to bed.