Thinking Regional: Branson, Missouri

I'm a midwest girl with one husband, three sons, and a recent job change. With all of that and the price of a certain essential automobile additive that will remain unnamed reaching a number that frightens us in our sleep, I've decided to take the advice given early last month on this blog and think regionally for my next vacation.

I plan to gush here all about the trip when I return. We plan to spend a couple of days in Silver Dollar City. I love that park. It's like Disney World for Daniel Boone fans. Only so much more. (Maybe you don't know who Daniel Boone is, but I guarantee you about one in five Missourians claim to be distantly related to him. He's fairly big here.) My first roller coaster ride ever took place (barely) in Silver Dollar City when I was 5 years old. (I clutched my dad's shirt the entire ride and screamed for Mom. You know I wanted back on the ride the minute it was over though). At the time, that was the only actual ride in the park. Not true anymore. And I can't wait to discover the new ones and get a permanent imprint from my own child's fingernails. I hear they also have a giant swing. I rode one of these once before. As I recall, getting to the top was the second scariest thing I've voluntarily signed up for in my life. The first scariest? Actually being at the top. I rode with my husband and his brother, who ended up in charge of the string-pulling that would plummet us back toward ground. I asked him later how he ever managed to pull that string. "I wanted DOWN," he said. Ah.

So I don't know if I'll do the swing again. But listen, frankly you don't go to Silver Dollar City for the thrill rides. You go for the culture. The deep, Ozark-mountain, I-can-carve-your-likeness-into-this-pine-log-right-before-your-eyes craftsmanship, and down home fiddling. You go for the one hour tour in the giant cave and the black paved streets that wind their way through the Missouri hills, opening your eyes to a world you might never have appreciated before.

The day after that we plan to turn into giant, human prunes at White Water, and the next maybe visit the Titanic Museum. My kids have only seen bits and pieces of the film - what with the adult themes and all, but I saw it three times in the theater. The second time as the crowd swarmed from the building in a giant teary mass, I felt like we were reenacting those horrible moments when the passengers knew they needed off the ship but that not all of them would survive. I look forward to walking on a beautiful replica of the grand staircase and seeing one of the life jackets with my very own eyes. It's a tragic story in our human history. It evokes compassion, something I love to see growing in my children.

After that perhaps we'll hit Silver Dollar city again. I hear there are giant water guns hidden in the trees in which you can deposit a quarter and soak the unsuspecting people on a neighboring ride. The lesson there of course will not be compassion. More like - how to make a stranger's ride more fun - without getting caught. Yea, I think we're going to enjoy this trip.

I'll let you know how it goes.  Maybe you'll want to check out one of our company's Branson graduation trips for your next adventure.