Category: Amusement & Theme Parks
Silver Dollar City–the Roller-Coasters!
March 28, 2012 by Diane Berry · 3 Comments
As far as my children were concerned, this was the main attraction at Silver Dollar City near Branson, MO; everything else was secondary. The rides, specifically the roller-coasters, were, after all, the main reason we made the decision to visit Silver Dollar City on an Easter break in the first place. They did not let us, or our dare-devil children, down. Our family favorite was BuzzSaw Falls. This was the world’s first liquid rollercoaster, combining a rapid water ride with the thrills of a dry coaster. Buzz Saw Falls twists and turns through the timber, following a cute and catchy story riders read from signs posted along the way, then plummets headfirst down a 9-story plunge. The story helps to distract those of us a bit nervous about that up-coming 9-story drop. When riding, be aware there is a camera posted and pointed at your faces as you drop down those nine stories that provides some hilarious photos once you arrive (drenched) at the bottom. On every visit we have purchased at... [Read more...]
Silver Dollar City–the Food!
March 25, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
We have been discussing our family’s favorite theme park, Silver Dollar City, in Branson, MO, in my last several posts. Today I want to focus on the sustenance available in the park. While most of the dining venues are casual and cater to families with children, the food is plentiful and satisfying. I want to highlight just a few of these establishments in this post to give you an idea of what is available. Aunt Polly’s provides a good old southern mix of golden fried chicken, catfish fillets, red beans and rice, corn bread and chicken with noodles. This was one of our children’s favorite places to eat, for obvious reasons. Buckshot Annie’s wins the award for most colorful name. Annie’s offers grilled barbequed half chickens, giant turkey legs, corn grilled in the husk and two five-foot skillets of hearty succotash and harvest potatoes. This was my husband’s favorite. He just couldn’t get enough of those giant skillets! Another kids’ favorite is the Lumber Camp, providing... [Read more...]
Silver Dollar City–the Music!
March 18, 2012 by Diane Berry · Leave a Comment
Branson, MO being the music destination that it is, it is not surprising that Silver Dollar City would boast some of the most entertaining music and shows any one family could hope for—all for one inexpensive entry fee. Quite an excellent bargain! In a previous post, I mentioned that we most often visited the City during our children’s Easter break from school. Every year Silver Dollar City celebrates World-Fest from early April to early May, a month long festival showcasing entertainment from around the world. Other times of the year, they produce festivals honoring other groups: from the Great American Music Festival in May to the Children’s Festival from early June to mid-August to the Festival of America in the Fall to the “Old Time Christmas Celebration” in November and December. There is always something going on at Silver Dollar City. On a recent trip out, the World-Fest included several dance troups, Stavropolye Cossacks from Russia, Dance Academy from Uganda and Rhythm... [Read more...]
The Unique Craftsmen of Silver Dollar City
March 14, 2012 by Diane Berry · 3 Comments
Following up on my previous post about Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO I would like to take time to profile the fabulous craftsmen and women who populate the park. Their workmanship is excellent, the materials, of first quality, and the products, unequaled in quality and craftsmanship. On every visit, we plan to purchase birthday, Mother and Father’s Day gifts and a number of special treats for ourselves. Upon entrance to the park, our first visit is always to the bladesmith, who is making first quality knives for purchase in the park. It was always our first stop due to our son’s fascination with knives, and to his location in the park. During our visits, Ray Johnson was the craftsman in charge of the knives and we loved to stop as we were wandering down the beautifully landscaped tree-lined pathways of the park. It was fascinating to watch him forge his knives over an open flame with sufficient heat to turn the metal into an excellent serviceable knife. We have also seen the most... [Read more...]
A Great Family Vacation–Silver Dollar City!
March 11, 2012 by Diane Berry · 1 Comment
The recent bad weather experienced in Branson, MO reminded me of some of our favorite family vacation memories. Silver Dollar City in the Branson area is one of the best values for your vacation dollar in this country. As I stated in a previous post, when our children were in school, we developed the habit of traveling over the spring or Easter break each year (hence our experience of celebrating sunrise Easter services all over the country!). On several occasions, Branson, MO and Silver Dollar City was our destination! This was true for several reasons. First of all, our home is in Wisconsin. Over Easter, we are all ready to move to warmer climes. Missouri is a mere 12 hour drive from our home and lots warmer, by spring standards, than Wisconsin, in which spring is often gray, damp and, on worst occasions, white with new-fallen snow! Missouri tends to be sunny and 20-40 degrees warmer than our home turf—in other words, a very appealing destination. In terms of amusement parks, Silver... [Read more...]
San Antonio River Walk: Jewel of the City
February 12, 2012 by Rex Vogel · 3 Comments
San Antonio is best known for being the Home of the Alamo and the San Antonio River, the center points of numerous activities in the downtown area. The river actually has its headwaters in northern San Antonio and travels southward through the city. The River Walk has grown to a stunning eight miles and will stretch to 15 miles by 2013. Each part offers a unique look and feel. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved The Alamo is part of a chain of five Spanish missions that still stand along the river and served as religious institutions and economic centers 200 years ago. The five missions are somewhat connected by their proximity to the river and signage linking them along a route called the Mission Trail. San Antonio’s Paseo del Río, or River Walk, ranks No. 1 or No. 2 each year as the most popular tourist attraction in Texas, with up to 3 million people visiting from throughout the world. The other No. 1 or No. 2 is The Alamo. It’s a moot issue really. If you travel here to take in the... [Read more...]
UFO Capital: Roswell, NM
November 20, 2011 by Rex Vogel · 4 Comments
Sixty-three years ago, a rancher named W.W. Mack Brazel checked his sheep after a thunderstorm and found debris made of a strange metal scattered in many directions. He noticed a shallow trench cut into the desert floor. The UFO Museum and International Research Center is located in the old Plains Theater on North Main in downtown Roswell. © Rex Vogel, all rights reserved As the story goes, Mac Brazel drove his rusty pickup down to the county seat of Roswell to inform authorities that something had crashed and scattered metallic debris across his ranch land. Figuring it must have come from the nearby Army airfield, officers accompanied him back to the ranch, and what they witnessed in the desert has, in the decades since, mushroomed to become the most widely publicized event in UFO lore. There had been 16 reported unidentified flying object sightings reported that year during the several months preceding what would be known as the Roswell Incident. The Air Force issued a press release... [Read more...]
Up, Up and Away: Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
September 16, 2011 by Rex Vogel · Leave a Comment
Countdown to Liftoff: 14 days, 14 hours, 14 minutes Part of the reason for the success of the Fiesta are the cool Albuquerque morning temperatures in October and the Albuquerque box. (Credit: Raymond Watt, balloonfiesta.com) Each October, New Mexico skies are full of bold blues, imperial reds, and vibrant yellows. The event is the world-famous Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest hot-air balloon event in the world. This extravaganza takes place from the first weekend through the second weekend in October—this year’s festival is from October 1-9—and attracts hundreds of hot-air balloonists from around the world. The balloons come in many colors and shapes with the special shapes category getting larger every year. There are balloons that look like cows, cartoon characters, automobiles, stagecoaches—and just about everything else. A century after the release of Jules Verne’s balloon adventure novel with Captain Phileas Fogg, Around the World in 80 Days, internationally-acclaimed... [Read more...]
Safari Niagara
September 14, 2011 by Canadianladybug · Leave a Comment
While visiting the Niagara region a couple of years ago, we stumbled on an interesting zoological park that will please everyone in your family. Formely known as ZooZ, Safari Niagara will keep your family busy for the whole day when you enter their park. Right at the entrance of the park we were welcome by a garden snake which was just exploring the area. This garden snake was immediately picked up by one of the employees when we told them about it… Multiple guided tours are available as well as zoo university. Through daily interactive animal presentations, you will learn interesting facts on specific animals and birds that you can find at the zoo. We particularly like the Gibbons area where we were able to hear them make their cry – which was heard throughout the park regularly! While exploring the zoo we also learned more about various birds, saw buffalos butt heading each other, learned more about the different kind of bears, had some great time learning about the... [Read more...]
Dinosaurs. Real Close And Nearly Alive In Seattle!
May 15, 2011 by Melissa A. Trainer · 1 Comment
Seattle has many wonderful destinations for children. There are waterfront parks, a wooden boat center, dozens of playgrounds, a fabulous market, and many healthy kid friendly restaurants. If you find yourself traveling through the Emerald City this summer, seriously consider a trip to the city’s Woodland Park Zoo. I visit this zoo often with my youngest son, and we absolutely love strolling through the zoo and exploring all the animals. Some of our favorite spots are the Family Farm and the Raptor Center. Both offer great opportunities for learning because there are usually zoo educators or volunteers in the area who are willing to answer lots of questions and share their knowledge. There is one temporary exhibit right now that looks super cool. It’s the “Dinosaurs. Real Close.” exhibit and it will run through September 5. I haven’t been to the animatronic exhibit of enormous North American species of dinosaurs just yet, but my son and... [Read more...]
