Branson, Missouri

It is a cool 19 degrees here in Oklahoma City, with the wind chill factor hovering around 5 degrees. We arrived at the Twin Fountains RV Park shortly after 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and after fighting 30 mph winds and freezing rain most of the way down from Branson, abandoned our plan to outrun the storm into Texas. Apparently there were over 100 wrecks across the state of Oklahoma yesterday, and one tornado near Tulsa, but thankfully we just caught the edge of the storm. We’ll wait till things thaw out a bit this morning, and then wind our way down to Arlington this afternoon.

Our one night stand in Branson on Monday was highlighted by a trip to see the Grand Jubilee at the Grand Country Music Hall. Here is Laura’s account of the day:

Today we took a long drive down to Branson, Missouri. To get to our campground, we drove through the town to see what it was like. The whole way, I was glancing out the car window thinking... "Cheap version of Las Vegas". There were tacky stores and hokey displays all along the road. I told the family, "I don't think I'd want to live here. I'm more of a NYC girl." Later, we decided to go to a play called the Grand Jubilee. While we were getting our tickets, someone decided they didn’t want their front row seats, so we immediately took them! The usher escorted us to our seats, and was very interested in our trip across the country (see our picture together). In the performance, there was a quartet, a female singer, and a couple comedians. I got to go up at intermission and get their autographs, and we all had a great time. Plus, at the beginning of the show, I recognized one of the singers in the quartet as a man named Jason Pitchett, who was in last season's "America's got talent" that I love to watch. As my brother put it, I was pretty "star struck". :^) I got to talk to him a little and got a picture with him, where I suppose my smile went from ear to ear. Yup, I would have to say I'd give that show a 10! It was a fun night full of great music, and amazing talent! **And I am so thankful for such loving, caring, amazingly BEAUTIFUL and HANDSOME parents! ;) Thanks mom and dad! **

Laura now thinks that living in Branson might be a great thing to do, assuming she can get a job performing in one of the shows!