Variety in Branson!

The first few days in Branson were rainy.  Yuck.  But then, did the sun come out and shine!  It was just beautiful, and makes you appreciate the little things after such grey, gloomy weather. 
We decided to venture out to the Table Rock Dam and the Fish Hatchery.  This picture just does not show how MASSIVE the dam really is!  It is so cool! 
Driving around Branson, for me, is truly a test of courage. :)  There are unguarded cliffs and mountains, and you are just feet from the edge.  UG!  I don't like that!  As long as I am driving slowly, I am o.k., and I am trying to conquer this fear.  The beauty of it, is all the "scenic views" along the way.  It is just amazingly beautiful to look over and see such scenery.  I will NOT allow my fears to keep me from witnessing the Lord's work in his creation, so I just pray, pray, pray. :)

The Fish Hatchery had a nice visitor's center with an aqaurium and small exhibits of local reptiles.  This was really interesting for the kids.  We could hear his rattle!  I always wondered how loud it would be!  Plenty loud to know you need to W-A-L-K  A-W-A-Y......slowly. :)
Outside, there were several large cages of fish.  And do I mean, LOTS of fish.  Millions!  When we threw in some food, they literally jump out of the water to eat.  That was cool too!

Later, as a family, we went to the Titanic Museum.  There are over 65 different theatres to choose from  in Branson, that show everything from musicals to magic shows to haunted houses or museums.  We have always loved to learn about the Titanic and its special story, so I thought that it would be a hit with the family.  We also read a small book this week, The Titanic..Lost...And Found, by Judy Donnelly.   It was a SURE success! 

This is the building of the museum!  AWESOME! :)
I was not allowed to take pictures inside, which is a real bummer, but as you can see, there is NO lack of resourcefulness or creativity.
Once your inside, they give you a Boarding pass which has the name of a REAL passenger.  It also gives a few details about the person on the pass.  At the end of the "voyage" you find out if your passenger survived or perished. 
They had so many artifacts from the ship or from survivors.  They even built an exact replica of THE STAIRCASE!  It was gorgeous.  The girls had fun pretending they were Rose walking up and down. :) 
As a side note:  Our kids have seen bits and pieces of the movie, but not all of it for obvious reasons. :)

They had dishes, dresses, purses, deck chairs, wallets, watches and much more.
There were interactive activies too:  28 Degree water for you to put your hand in to see how long you could keep it in there, just as the Atlantic ocean was that fateful night.  And, slanted decks for you to try and climb or stay on top of. 

It was a fun museum, but a sobering one as well.  Many lessons were learned from the sinking of the Titanic, which has made our travels much safer years later.  Hard lessons, that affected so many...

Blessings,
Steph