Lil Blue Hits Branson, Day 2

     Decided to go down to old Branson.  Nice older buildings, mainly flea market type stores that try to disguise themselves as antique stores.  Some crafts places, couple of pawn shops, and more souvenir shops.  There happen to be a craft fair going on also.  We went into a store called Dicks Old 5 and Dime that was suppose to be just so full of just about everything like the old 5 and dimes.  Full it was, not only with collectibles, but just stuff, and people galore and narrow aisles.  Lori left after about 5 minutes because she was getting claustrophobic, and I about 5 minutes later for the same reason.

                                                          Mural on a wall in an alley.

     We then wanted burgers for lunch, so we went to The Burger Shack which was really good, they cut their fries there and the shakes were excellent.  It was expensive though, 27 bucks for 3 burgers (though they were good sized), 2 fries, and 2 drinks.  Fortunately it filled us both up so much we didn't do dinner.  No place to sit, so we brought them back to the hotel to eat.  Afterwards we both took a nap before we went back out.

     Finally decided to do a Branson-ish thing, we went to the Titanic exhibit which was really well done.  They had actual artifacts from the Titanic, showed the different types of rooms that were on board, and told different stories.  It's like the one that's on tour where they give you boarding passes at the beginning with the name of a person on board, and you find out at the end if he/she lived or died.  I was the Reverend Thomas Byles who was a 42 year old second class passenger on his way to NY to perform his younger brother's wedding.  Lori was Dorothy Gibson, a 22 year old 1st class passenger who was an actress/model.  She lived to perform in movies here, I died..of course.  All in all well worth the money.  It was informative, interactive, and very well laid out.

One thing, no photography inside which is disappointing, but other than that, we were pleased.

     It was dark, but a nice night so we decided to drive around a bit, stopping in different souvenir/craft shops, including one called The Tourist Trap (at least they were honest).  Picked up a couple of things here and there. and went down to Branson Landing which is a bunch of higher end shops, and they have a fountain display.  You have to pay for parking, 1st 20 mins. are free, but after that $2, and goes up a dollar every 30 minutes until you reach the max of $8.  Never heard of what is basicly a outdoor mall that you have to pay for parking.  We got there at the ideal time, just about everything was closed, or closing up, so no way to spend money.  Caught the last "show" of the fountains..which was the Star Spangled Banner, and rested our legs.

Afterwards, with it being chilly, we decided to head back to the hotel for the night.  Tomorrow we head home.  No scenic route, just straight there.  We have dogs that are missing us according to our friend and neighbor.  It was a nice break to be away.  

     A couple few things about Branson, it's congested, expensive, but can be done cheaply if you don't get caught up in all the tourist traps, and everyone here is trying to get you to go someplace that's going to try to talk you into buying a time share.   Every store clerk seems to be on the payroll.  Go figure.