Oz to Branson

This trip is testing our patience.  Each day we have stopped, we have had to deal with something relating to the RV or our car. From day one getting tires put on, day three having a dead battery on our car, day four the wheel lining coming loose, day five the slide not going out and day 8 a dead battery again.

We finally have figured out what we are doing wrong when we set the car up to be towed.  Should NOT have a dead battery again. 

On our way through Kansas we decided to stop and tour someplace for a little cultural experience before our next stop. We chose between the Eisenhower Library and the OZ Museum.  We picked the OZ Museum! 

Nine miles off the interstate is a town called Wamego, that dubs itself the  City of OZ.   Supposedly the town Dorothy lived in, and many of the businesses reference OZ, like Toto Tacos!  There is  a wonderful museum with everything OZ.  Memorabilia from all over the world, and a nice section dedicated to the author of the Wizard of OZ and all his other literary works.



Deane the Wizard

Terri and the Tin Man

We also found the Oz Winery..... of course we went tasting!  Wines do not compare to Oregon (in my humble opinion) and some of their wines were from grapes that I've not heard of, like Norton, Baco Noir, Chambourcin, and Seyval.  http://ozwinerykansas.com/  They do have some great labels tho.



As we were heading back towards the freeway, we passed a sign showing the way to the Rifle and Bible Church.  Had to check it out and found out the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church is a historic church named after Rev Henry Ward Beecher, a New York financial backer who helped smuggle rifles past pro-slavery forces in crates marked Beecher's  Bibles.  http://www.visitwamego.com/Things-To-Do/History/Beecher-Bible-and-Rifle-Church/default.aspx


Made it to our next Walmart stop, Harrison, Missouri.  Quiet night except we had a dead battery again!

 

 

Branson is an interesting little town.  There is only about 10,000+ people here, but I think during the summer the number including tourists must jump 4x or 5x.  This town is like an unpolished Las Vegas without the gambling.   There are over 100 theaters of all sizes and 50,000 seats.  You you can enjoy entertainment from good old country western, Gospel, music from the 60's to the 80's, comedy's and serious plays, a Cirque theater and headliners like Bill Cosby.  It seems we are seeing a  number of entertainers who were finalists on America's Got Talent over the years.  So now we know where they go if they don't win a show in Las Vegas.
This town is also very big on supporting our Veterans.  Some of the shows offer show free to them, and all of the shows salute and acknowledge them. 

 

Coming in the off season is a benefit as the town bills itself as a family experience.  All of the shows are family friendly and there are more miniature golf courses than I've ever seen in one location, zip lines, go-cart tracks for all ages, amusement parks, etc.  Being here now the only people we are seeing are our age.  Another interesting observation, at least at this time of the year, Branson does not seem to be an ethnically diverse community.  One other observation that Deane picked up on, is, there are NO political signs....anywhere!  Even for local or state races.  We found it quite refreshing, even though there was no way to avoid the ads on the TV.

 

We did manage to have 3 fun filled days.   Especially since our last day here was our 3rd anniversary.  We saw four shows, one of which was a dinner cruise on Table Rock Lake on the Branson Belle, a paddle wheeler that originally was on the Mississippi.  The show is interactive with the audience with a magician, a flying violinist and a musical group called the Showmen.  The night was made more special when I was selected to go up on stage.  Had these 4 young men singing a few 1960's songs to me.



sunset before the dinner cruise

 

 

We also rode the Branson Tour Train that took us further up into the Ozarks where we saw some beautiful fall colors.

Ozark Mountains

Rode the Duck sight-seeing tour which took around town and then for a ride in Table Rock Lake.

 

 

 

 

We caught one matinee, and it turned out to be one of the best shows we saw.  It was made especially fun when Deane was called up onto the stage.  We were seeing the show #1 Hits of the 60's  and one of the singers said she thought maybe Deane had been a hippie in his earlier days.  So up he went, they dressed him up and had him dance with them.   Can you believe neither one of us can remember what the song was!!!!!  He really got into it and had the girls laughing so hard they had trouble singing.  Can you see a resemblance to Willie Nelson?

 

 

 

Lastly we stumbled onto Stone Hill Winery.  Actually there are 3 winery tasting rooms in town.   Stone Hill is the largest winery in Missouri and one of the oldest in the US.   They have a great story of how the winery survived Prohibition by growing mushrooms in their cellars.  During prohibition, the 'powers that be' at the time actually pulled up all of their commercial vines.  Once prohibition was over, a couple bought the property and returned it to a winery.  http://www.stonehillwinery.com/  Again, like Kansas, they grow grapes unfamiliar to Oregon.  I did manage (of course) to find two wines I enjoyed, a Vignoles and Norton so added them to my growing wine cabinet.

 

Onto Arkansas tomorrow, to Hot Springs National Park for a couple of days and hopefully some good soaks in a natural hot spring.