News Taffy

The end of July means end of summer is about to creep up on us…I am SO pumped for that because, one, I’m a grown up and summer doesn’t mean free time to piddle anymore, and two, it means FOOTBALL season is around the corner! My question to you today is this: what will you do with the remains of summertime?

Let me offer you a suggestion. In lieu of movie-watching this weekend, my sweetie and I took a quick trip to Branson to party like pre-teens at White Water with some friends! Now, back up. When you think of Branson, what do you think of? Hokey shows, outlet malls, old-timey pictures, and probably a really bad Garth Brooks impersonator. At least that’s what comes to this chick’s mind….but that is no longer the case!

First things first, the drive to Branson is not quite the headache hassle it used to be. There’s a LOT to be said for 4-lane roads if you know what I mean. I think the trip used to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 hours, and now from Jonesboro that can be done in just under 3.5. If you really want to get crazy though, leave after work on Friday night and stay in Mountain Home. That’ll cut your drive way down and there are actually some good places to eat (and stay) there. If you can’t crash at a friend or family’s lake cabin (thanks for the bunk beds mom and dad), it’s pretty inexpensive to stay at one of the hotels. For dinner, go to Fred’s for the best catfish you’ll ever have in your life, and the lovely view of the lake is free! Or try Sean’s on Hwy 5. I love everything they have, but get there early because they close at like 8:30 p.m.! Remember, Mountain Home is a retirement community, so prime dinner hour is closer to 5 p.m. than 7 p.m.

Wake up Saturday morning refreshed and excited because now you’re only 1.5 hours away from the Branson fun! Like I said before, we went to Branson for the water park, and it totally exceeded my expectations! Yes it was crowded like Target at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, but I thought they did a great job of crowd control and we never had trouble getting tubes for rides or finding a place to chill in the shade. If you’re really adventurous, White Water even has this new thing called Night Water, where on certain summer weekends the park stays open til 10 p.m. Neat! Anyway, the rides were a lot less intimidating than I remember as a 10-year-old, and things were pretty clean (if you think about chlorine in the water killing germs I suppose…). The food at the little snack stands wasn’t bad either. I’m sure you’re also wondering about cost. I think admission was something like $40 per person for the whole day, including the night water thing. Pretty typical for that sort of thing I would imagine. I give the whole thing 4.5 stars on my fun scale!! Perfect for the kiddos, and SUPERB fun for the young at heart folks such as ourselves who want a fun way to double-date! See more at bransonwhitewater.com.

We didn’t do much else while we were there, but if you haven’t been to Branson Landing yet, let me take this moment to encourage you to check that out as well. Visit the website at bransonlanding.com. This whole place is NEW, and there is a GREAT outdoor mall with some really neat specialty stores (my personal favorite is the Kitchens store, and for the mom in your life, the Brighton store is really cute too). There’s also a Bass Pro, which is the perfect place to leave your man while you go spend his money. AND the whole place is right down on the river, so the views are really cool. Great restaurants down there too, and there’s a brand new Hilton that overlooks the river.

Bottom line, if you have time left in the remnants of summer for a quick escape, go see what’s new in Branson! It’s not quite like the olden days, but don’t worry, you can still get your Dixie Stampede and Silver Dollar City fix if you wish! Stay COOL! :D

Lacey