The Beam's: Branson Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, Brian and I took off to Branson with our friends Jordan and Kristen. We always talked about going to Branson when they lived in Tulsa, but it never happened. I guess it took them moving to Austin to make us actually plan the trip.

We left Friday morning earlier than my normal wake up time for work, but Panera coffee made it worth it. To be completely honest, we had Panera coffee every day on vacation. I have an addiction. I admit it willingly.

Our first stop was Silver Dollar City aka Steal your Dollar City as Brian calls it. I had only been once before to SDC with Brian when he was in excruciating back pain so couldn't ride any rides or do much. Don't know why we even attempted SDC then. This time we rode as many rides as we wanted, because the park wasn't that busy! It was awesome! Jordan and I rode the Barn Swing 4 times in a row. I've never been to an amusement park where you didn't have to wait in line for a ride. Plus the weather was gorgeous! We couldn't have asked for a better day at SDC.

Saloon show!

We ran into one of Jordan's friends who took the only picture we got of the four of us together

not too thrilled with shopping at the Christmas store

I would have bought the painted Christmas ball had that dog been yellow like Bear

Since we got to ride all the rides without waiting, our trip to SDC didn't take as long as we expected. We were able to leave a little bit earlier and go check in to the hotel before heading to dinner at a local Italian place. After dinner we went to Starbucks then the Branson Landing to see a Journey cover band. We fully expected to get there at 8 when they started and get a seat. No such luck. People got there at 6 pm to get seats, because this band was awesome! They even had their own groupies.. I was kind of shocked!

Our view

Don't stop believin'

Finally we found a seat after about an hour and people started filtering out

Perfect weather.. all you really needed was a light jacket

The next day was devoted to shopping which just happens to be my favorite part about Branson :) After a stop at Panera for a cup of joe, we started at Nike and made our way to all of the good stores. I warned Brian before we stepped foot in the Yankee Candle Outlet that I would be spending a good amount of money there to stock up on candles for the year, and I didn't disappoint. Regretfully, I got wrapped up in the thrill of shopping and forgot to take pictures showing my new treasures! But I did snap this one to show Lindsay my new camo pants. Shay and Sheaffer would be proud of me!

After the outlets, we went home to get ready for dinner and then Joseph at the Sight and Sound Theater. We went to a hole in the wall Chicago style pizzeria where we were the only tourists. The ambiance wasn't great since our waitress was smoking about 10 feet away from us at the bar, but the pizza sure was yum!

these cuties

The view was amazing!!
Granted, it was sprinkling in these pictures so we had to squint a bit

Before our hair fell limp from the rain

Joseph was so great! I highly recommend the Sight and Sound Theater! I had heard wonderful things from friends about their productions, but I was blown away by the sets, actors, and the live animals. If you ever go to Branson, go to a Sight and Sound Theater production. I really want to see the Christmas show now! After the show, we went to find custard. I always associate custard with Branson since we would get it with Brian's family when we were there. Culver's was closed so we went to Andy's. Now we actually have an Andy's 2 minutes from our house, but we never go there really. It's definitely a vacation treat for us.