Well, there is so much to talk about. We left at 5 am on Thursday, August 9th with Steve's parents to go to Branson. We made it through the border at Windsor with no wait and no problems. About noon, it was starting to get hotter, about 84 and I turned on our air in the van. About a hour later, it was now 92 and the van was getting warmer by the minute. Of course the air conditioning picks now to decide to not work. We just got our van not too long ago, so this was unexpected of course. We turned up the fan to high and trudged through. We arrived in Dayton, Ohio, our first stay along the way about 2:30. We asked the hotel clerk where the nearest dodge dealer was and we were in luck, it was only 20 minutes away. Steve phoned and they did have a shuttle but couldn't get us in that day. We explained that it now was over 100 degrees and were on our way to st. Louis the next day and couldn't do without air. They told us to bring it in and they would see what they could do. We were very lucky that they fixed it for us. It was very hot outside, so we swam for the afternoon, then we went to CiCi's pizza for dinner. It is an all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad and dessert place for 4.99 for an adult and 2.99 for children. We were stuffed. We did some shopping at a Kmart nearby to wear off our food and then went to a grocery store to load up on food for the next day's trip.
Friday, August 10th
We had breakfast at our hotel and left around 10 to go to St. Louis. It was only at 5 and a half hour drive so it wasn't bad and we crossed a time zone so we actually gained an hour! It was very hot, over 100. We got there about 3 or so and toured the giant arc on the mississippi river and went on a tour boat down the river. We then made our way to bush stadium for a cardinals game. It is brand new and very nice, very much like PNC park in Pittsburgh. The game was very good and it was a beautiful night.
Saturday, August 11th
We left our hotel today to go to our final destination:Branson. It was only a little over 3 hours drive. We arrived in Branson and stopped at the tourism centre to pick up our tickets that we had pre-ordered for the shows. We were glad that we did as they were very helpful showing us all of the back routes to travel by as the main strip is very congested. We also go roped into a timeshare presentation and earned 100 dollars towards our tickets. We got to our resort and found out that we had to check in someplace else. After doing so, we found out that the pool that was suppose to be built at our resort hadn't been yet. However with our unit being brand new, it was beautiful and fully equipped. It had two bedrooms and two baths, with three televisions, music unit, full kitchen and washer and dryer and a balcony. We went and grabbed some groceries for a quick dinner and then we were off to The Spirit of the Dance. This show was amazing. We had 5th row seating.
Sunday, August 12th
Today we slept in and then went to our timeshare presentation. Very interesting but didn't buy as we already own, but worth earning the 100 bucks. In the afternoon we went to the Walmart supercentre and did more grocery shopping and got the kids some clothes for back to school. 'That night we went out to dinner at the Golden corral, a chain of buffet restaurants. It was carver's night and had ham, turkey, roast beef and all you can eat steak. The salad bar was incredible and the whole thing had over 100 items, including mac and cheese, pizza, chinese food, soups, ribs, mashed potatoes, gravy, buscuits, shrimp, corn on the cob and other veggies, pasta and sauce, meatloaf and the list goes on. The bakery/dessert bar was much the same with ice cream and all of the toppings.
Monday, august 13th
today we went to the outlets and shopped till we dropped, then went to one of the nearby resort to swim. At night we went to The acrobats of China show. We had 2nd row seats for this and the show was amazing. These kids from 8 -18 were incrediably flexible and talented. It went too fast.
Tuesday, august 14th
today we went to another timeshare presentation and earned another 100 towards our tickets that we purchased at the last minute for the Liverpool legends show. we then went to the dolly Parton's Dixie stampede dinner and show. It is much like the Medieval times show here. they had a great pre-show with free drinks (non-alcoholic) and peanuts and popcorn. The main show was in an arenawith the seats all around. It was two teams, the north and the south. We were the north. The show was fabulous with horses, pigs, ostriches, doves and lots of audience participation. The dinner was great: all you could drink Pepsi or ice tea, a whole chicken, a good piece of pork, cream of vegetable soup, a buscuit, a potato, corn on the cob and apple turnover for dessert. we were stuffed again. The kids loved every minute of it.
Wednesday, August 15th
Today the temperature reached 110 so we went off to the local waterpark for the day. Steve's parents stayed behind. The park was great and we had a lot of fun in the wave pool, going down the family waterslide and the lazy river and other great things a water park should have. Ryley and Steve actully braved a waterslide that had a vertical drop. NO way for me. We all went out for supper at another buffet called the grand country buffet. This restaurant was good, but the Golden Corral was better for choices, however was food was there was terrific.
Thursday, August 16th
today we didn't do too much, except swim and take a ride out to the dam and see the fish hatchery and the mountains and table rock lake. It was beautiful. Then we went to the 50's at the hop show at night. It was a much smaller theatre, but very personal. we were again near the front and enjoyed the show thouroughly. shyla even wanted to get up and dance. Surprise, surprise. Steve's mom said she didn't want it to end.
Friday, August 17th
Since we bought our waterpark tickets through the branson tourism centre, we received another day for free so we were off to the park again. We only went for a couple of hours as we had to come home and pack to go home. That night we went to the liverpool legends show. It was a tribute to the beatles. We were a little further back this time as we didn't book this show until we were here, but the view was still great. The show was great and had a lot of hisory in it. The guys even had a very strong resemblance to the beatles. george harrison's sister louise was there also and had a lot of interesting background tidbits to share.
Saturday, August 18th
It was home time. We travelled to dayton to stay again. It was a long day with a 10 hour drive (we had some construction stops) and we lost the hour we gained we we came. We went to cici's pizza again and watched highschool musical 2 .
Sunday, August 19th.
our ride home was uneventful and crossed the border with no wait and no problems. All in all a great trip. The kids were awesome in the van and on the trip. We couldn't asked for more. Steve's parents were great to travel with and I think that they really enjoyed themselves also.
here are some pics from the trip
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