I just got back from five days in Branson, Missouri.  The countryside is breathtaking, the rock formations fascinating, and Table Rock Lake is deep and clear. Branson also happens to be known for it’s entertainment. If you love nature but also crave activities, this is a wonderful place to spend some time. Be prepared however, a lot of other people have the same idea and the one thing you probably won’t enjoy is the traffic.

Some friends and I had initially drove up to see the Broadway show, Menopause the Musical. If you are a man you probably won’t appreciate the humor, but women will love it. Getting older isn’t always fun, but it’s certainly amusing when viewed through the lens of this show.  Teri Adams, Patti Gardner, Megan Cavanaugh, and Donna J. Huntley are touring the United States with this particular musical parody production, so if you get a chance, go see it;  it is worth the price of a ticket.

There are a lot of other shows to be found in Branson, including one on the water. Presented on a showboat known as the Branson Belle, “Forever Young” is a new production and which, if I’m not mistaken, has some original music.

Another especially fun night found us down on Branson Landing at a Piano Bar.  Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar lives up to it’s name and entertains you with just that, dueling pianos. It’s a great place to spend an evening!

What I ended up liking the most was something I wasn’t even sure I would, and that was the Butterfly Palace. I have never experienced anything else like it. Patterned after a Costa Rican rain forest complete with several species of orchids, it is hot and humid but the butterflies are absolutely beautiful. As you enter, they give you a small vial of nectar with a plastic flower on top and before long, their winged charges will come to feed.

They call us the flyover states because we are the places you fly over to get from the East coast to the West coast and back. Stop in between and take time to look however and you will find plenty of places worth mentioning. Branson, Missouri is definitely such a place, so go check it out!

Oh, and don’t forget a good book, just in case you need a little down time. 

Happy reading, Linda