Just hangin' out in Branson

We are just hanging out in the Branson area waiting for the KEWPIE convention next week, April 22 - 25. We spent Monday driving around with just the truck to see if we wanted to go to a different rv park. After much investigating the ups and downs( there are so many hills as NOTHING is flat) we decided we were probably in the best spot already. Two rows from the lake (which was good since that area flooded last year!),walking distance to the "Landing" and old downtown and easy access to the main roads, what more could we ask for? So we went back to the City of Branson Lakeside RV Park and extended our time there.

For those of you who have not been to Branson in the past 2-3 years, let me tell you there have been some changes.
They have the "Branson Landing" now, with shops, restaurants, bars, condos and everything imaginable at the edge of Lake Taneycomo. They won the "INTERNATIONAL DESIGN and DEVELOPMENT AWARD in ANNUAL SHOPPING CENTER COMPETITON". They have a $7.5million night-time water feature that combines light, water, fire and music for some outstanding sights. We had walked the sidewalk along the lake and walked back through the business district. There was a guy setting up the chairs for an outside cafe at Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar and Grill. Now that was something we had never been to see. He informed us that there were 2 guys and 1 young lady that played there nightly. We would have to definitely put that on the 'to do' list.
We went back to the camp ground and lazed around for awhile. A couple came over to show us a picture of the oldest 7-UP delivery truck. The gentleman had been over earlier looking at our truck and told us about the 7-UP truck his brother owned. The only picture he had of the truck was on a t-shirt that his wife was wearing. He said he would send her over so we could check it out. While they were here we mentioned the bar with the pianos, they had heard about them and was considering going there, also.
About 8:30pm Bob put Grizzly in the truck. Grizzly behaves the best there, only barking if someone comes TOO close to his truck and is content to "guard" the truck for hours. So once Grizz was taken care of, we walked to the bar, which is the farthest from the rv park. As we were sipping our first drink, the other couple showed up. Little did any of us know that she was doing a solo that night. Yup, someone had requested a certain song and the observant piano player noticed the lady from our park was the only one who knew the words and was singing along. He had her come up on stage to do the song. She was great! This bar is very determined to have audience participation. They ask for requests, they "spotlight" you for any reason! Now something like that puts total fear in me. Other people do NOT realize how tone deaf some people can be and how unable some people are to carry a tune!!! I even have difficulty of clapping to the rhythm of the music so some people think I'm not enjoying the music. I am!!! I just have a different beat!!

We managed to see a couple shows this year, the Rankin Brothers at the Starlight and the Twelve Irish Tenors at the Branson Varity Theater. Both shows were well worth the effort, time and money. There are so many good shows and usually so little time after the convention starts. So we decided to take advantage of our unscheduled time in Branson. We always manage to stop at Billy Bob's Dairyland for a hamburg and shake, like the good ole' days. I think that has been as much a tradition as the convention has for the last 20+ years. Another favorite place to eat is the "Hard Luck Diner" where the waitstaff and even the cooks are ready to entertain us with songs.