The weather is turning colder, so there's only one thing to do! (Apart from unpacking the ten boxes vaguely labeled "winter" and eating gallons of soup, of course...) Fly south!
We migrated back to our old stomping grounds in Southern Missouri for a little weekend getaway. Travis had the week off (the bulk of which we spent finishing up the girls' beds... I'll get to that later) and the girls had a few days off for parent-teacher conferences. So we drove to Branson and spent two days at Silver Dollar City!
[Nolan loves it when we force him to be in photos with the other kids.]
I love that place. Like... I might choose it over Disneyland love it. It's nestled in the woods, of course, so the fall colors and gorgeous crisp weather definitely help its case. And the little signs peppering the park were scrawled with classic literary quotations about Fall. Perfect.
But let's take some time to talk about the motel. Yes, the motel. Keep in mind that we are in Branson, so the motels there are pretty much what you would expect of a budget motel in a high-traffic tourist town. But sugar-coated with genuine, down-home service and little family-friendly perks, of course. Well, remember when you were a kid and staying in a motel made you feel like Annie setting foot in Daddy Warbucks's house? Yes, the magic lives on! The kids were in raptures over this little motel ("Free mints! Free cookies! Free breakfast! (Microwavable waffles, biscuits, or oatmeal?) And what? Our beds were made for us while we were out???") They were so impressed. When we returned after our first day out, Troy surveyed our neatly tidied room with approval. "This is a good hotel! They have great servants!" And the girls insisted on writing cutely illustrated letters to our housekeeping staff before we left. (We were in a rush, so I didn't think to get a picture!) Of course, this is the best part of staying in a motel:
The NOT BEST part is the part where everyone has to fall asleep at exactly the same moment... or else no one falls asleep. Addendum to that: Nolan will not sleep alone in that pack-n-play in the corner. What a preposterous idea!! Please "cuddle" with me, i.e. hold me while I squirm myself to sleep, preferably with both little feet planted firmly on your spine, thank you very much.
[They're pretending to be statues]
When we weren't enjoying the 5-star amenities that Branson's finest has to offer, we were outside in the perfect Fall weather, riding all the little kid rides we could handle! Oh and there was the Wild West show, which was a definite favorite! I am also pleased to report that we managed not to consume a single funnel cake. And Travis confined his fishing time to only 30 minutes, as per my text request early that morning...
Okay, I have to admit that in the past I've avoided this ball pit like the plague. I've never emerged from its hot, high-decibel confines without a splitting headache. I guess it's best when you don't go in the middle of summer. But this time, when we needed a break from rides and shows, we stopped in here to let the kids play, and Travis had the brilliant idea of pelting strangers with the cannons (not the kids - the parents!) and we had the best time! Extra points for the sidelined disengaged parents, bonus if they are holding a cell phone! HA! I'm pretty sure we made a bunch of adult enemies. (The kids, though, were all very good-natured about being attacked with foam projectiles by someone else's parents!)
Last spring we went on the tour of the Marvel Cave (which Silver Dollar City was built around as an extension of its tourism), but we had so much rain last spring that the majority of the cave was flooded, and they were only giving partial tours. I was excited to see the rest of the cave, and it was worth every treacherous step! Nolan fell asleep toward the beginning of the tour, so it was an extra challenge to navigate the steep, slippery, uneven steps with a heavy sleeping toddler in my arms (how come they are so much heavier when they're asleep??) but the whole cave was amazing! My favorite part was the "draperies" - ceiling formations that form thin ribbons marbled with color. I thought it looked like strips of bacon on the ceiling! At the end, a train pulled us up and out of the cave and up the side of the mountain - beginning at an angle that was closer to the vertical and ending at a mountainside-sized angle. So crazy!
Toward the end of the last day, the kids discovered the big swinging ship that they had been afraid to ride before. They loved it and rode 3-4 times in a row!
2 sweet nothings:
Sounds like you guys had lots of fun and I wish I could've seen you pelting strangers with foam projectiles. I enjoy reading your writing! Miss you :)
Yep, better than Disneyland! That looks fabulous.
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