The Landing

Today we took things slow and easy, just sleeping in and relaxing around the condo. We didn't even think about going anywhere until after 4pm. It was very pleasant.

*

This evening we drove down to Branson Landing on Lake Taneycomo (which looks like a river to me--it's narrow and it winds through this area for several miles). The locals just call it The Landing. Kind of like we call the Phoenix area The Valley, even though it isn't really a valley, I guess.

*

You can see from the photo above that it's a beautiful, peaceful place.

After driving the narrow, steep streets of this small area of shops and retaurants (it reminded me of San Francisco) and finally locating a parking space, we strolled calmly along the riverside. The weather was perfect, 84 degrees and low humidity with a mild breeze.We passed and greeted other walkers and watched a couple of boats go by. Otherwise all was quiet.When we reached the main landing at 7:15, we found people were beginning to gather there for a short "fire and water" program at 8:00, involving music, fountains, and fire. We sat down to wait with them.It was a very short program. We felt the heat from these flames all the way to our seats.
As we strolled back toward our car, we paused to buy cones from a Ben & Jerry's. It made the rest of our walk even more pleasant.

Before our visit to the landing, we decided to check out Ripley's Believe It or not museum. Here you see Jacob, Dylan, and Sarah trying to hold up the museum's sign.

And here they are outside the building, which appears to have been damaged by a terrible earthquake. I think I read somewhere that they modeled the building after one that was broken up by an earthquake, somewhere like Mexico.Sarah and I are standing next to a large mural made of real butterflies. It was pretty, if you don't mind dead insects.Some of the items in the museum seemed rather outdated. I'm sure this stretch limo with a small pool on the back was a big deal when it was built in 1982 for $170,000, but nowadays it seems pretty mundane in comparison with the huge limos that we see regularly.

*

In one room there was a display about people who have the gene that allows them to curl their tongues. There was a mirror and we spent a few minutes trying to curl our tongues.

*

At the very end of the museum tour we found ourselves behind that mirror, which turned out to be a one-way mirror, and we died laughing as we watched people on the other side trying to curl their tongues! Of course, we also wondered how hysterically the people ahead of us laughed as they watched us doing the same silly thing.

*

It was the highlight of the museum, and I could barely drag Jacob and Dylan away. I admit, it was extremely funny, especially knowing the joke was on us!

This is Jacob with a mannequin of the world's largest man. Jacob is exactly six feet tall--we measured all the kids a week ago--but he seems tiny by comparison! One of the man's actual shoes is on the shelf left of Jacob.

*

The museum was interesting and had its moments, but overall I felt it was very much overpriced. Believe it or not, I don't recommend it!

After we left The Landing, we returned to the condo. Jacob grilled chicken to go with the potato salad we made this morning (no low-carb diet on this vacation!).
I started laundry, Sarah did dishes, Jacob swept and vacuumed, Dylan put things away. Then we settled in to watch a DVD.
*
I can't believe our days as tourists are coming to a close. We still have a week of vacation left and plenty to do, but soon we will leave our idyllic home away from home and live out of our suitcases again for awhile.
*
It's been great here. We'll miss it, but the kids and I have made some great memories and captured it on film and on blog. We'll always remember these days together, and that's what a vacation is really all about!