Branson was been on my bucket list for a while, but I put it off since getting there is a challenge since there are no major airports there.  However, in 2021, I finally planned out the best way to get there via Southwest Airlines.  We decided to fly into Little Rock, Arkansas and drive from there.  The drive is only a little over three hours, and we had a fairly direct route from Sacramento via Denver.  I remember all those cool Branson commercials set to the Doobie Brother's, "Let The Music Play," and it gave me the warm and fuzzies to visit this famous "Vegas of the Ozarks!"

    We left the Friday before Labor Day 2021 for our Branson adventure.  After our short connection in Denver, we were on our way to Little Rock.  There was a little weather in Denver so we were worried if the flight would be delayed or even cancelled which is sometimes a possibility in the summer months when thunderstorms are common.  There was a slight delay, but we made it to Little Rock with ample time to make our reservations at Arthur's Prime Steakhouse in West Little Rock.

    After getting my rental car, we checked into our Hilton Garden Inn in North Little Rock before getting dressed up for dinner at one of the top restaurants in Little Rock.  Upon arrival at Athur's, the valet took the rental car, and we walked into the beautiful restaurant.  It was cool to have valet again since many west coast operators were still worried about this Covid thing and not offering it.  I was suprised that Arthur's asked customers to mask up just to get to their table since Arkansas had no mask mandates.  The owner of the restaurant did come by later to apoligize for the inconvinience, but we could tell that he was super freaked about Covid since the hospitals were filling up with the unvaccinated patients.  Arkansas had one of the lowest rates of vaccinations in the country.  Although I got the vaccine, I respect one's decision to not vaccinate.  We are a free country, and I respect the diversity of thought in our country.

    Dinner was great however.  Arthur's had a live piano player too.  I started out with a Templeton rye.  The bread service included a honey butter.  We ordered ahi tuna tartare for our appetizer.  Afterwards, I had a crab and lobster bisque.  There was a piece of toasted bread with a shrimp on it on the bowl when the waitress poured the soup into the bowl.  I was very impressed with the bisque.  For my main course, I got the 8 oz prime filet mignon which was dry aged for 28 days.  After such a great meal, we enjoyed the strawberry cake for dessert.

    The next morning, we departed for Branson!  The drive up was scenic as we made our way through the Ozarks.  We did stop in Conway for some coffee at a local coffeeshop called Zeteos for lattes before our trip through rural Arkansas.  Once we crossed into Missouri, Branson was pretty much right on the other side of the border.  We had to pick up our tickets for the Sunday show at the ticket agency where I booked them.  I later found out that it is better to just buy the tickets directly through the show since the ticket agency was a scam and front for the timeshare industry in Branson, which is pretty big since it is a major tourist destination.  After turning down an offer to visit a timeshare, we got our two tickets and began our Branson vacation!  There was a cool amusement center with go karts and bumper boats so we did both.  As I was speeding along on the go kart, I kept humming the James Bond theme out loud.  LOL.  I am a kid at heart!  The bumper boats were fun, but I kept getting squirted by a little kid.  However, it was cool.  The water felt good on a humid day.

    We checked into the Chateau at the Lake Resort afterwards.  The valet took our rental car, and we headed up to our nicely decorated room with a partial view of Table Rock Lake.  Our balcony was pretty cool.  The staff at the resort provided us with great service starting out with the valet attendant to the bell staff and front desk.  Since it was Missouri, there were no mask mandates at all!  I loved cramming into the elevator with seven or eight other guests with no masks!  We have to return back to our normalcy.  The stupid liberals keep wanting to divide us Americans, but the reality is if you have the vaccine, you are good to go!  Let's live life!  It is too short to worry about stuff out of our control!  Speaking of the elevators, they were glass and provided an awesome view of the atrium that featured running streams, waterfalls, and even a koi pond.  One of the other guests said it best when he said it reminded him of the Lake Tahoe Resort (formerly Embassy Suites) where I used to stay every other week when I first started working with my second pharma company back in 2010.

    I hit the pool to relax after we checked in.  The views from the pool deck were really cool since the lake was in the background.  The pool and to my surprised the hot tub were not heated, but it was such a warm day, the water felt OK.  I did opt for the indoor jacuzzi which was next to the indoor pool instead since a jacuzzi needs to be hot!  The front desk staff texted me to make sure everything was going fine, and I asked if there was a bar nearby since my wife was wandering around the resort to get her steps in.  LOL.  Normally, Joy finds me a bar if there was no waitress in site to get me my tropical beverage as I relax by the pool.  LOL.  I know I am spoiled!  I did find a bar, and I got my tropical foo foo drink.

    The weather was turning stormy as a thundershower was expected to pass through the area.  The pool deck cleared out as the heavy rains began, but I still enjoyed my workout at the fitness center which overlooked the lake.  We had to get going for our 8:00 departure on the Showboat Branson Belle after my workout.  Luckily, the valet area was covered so we did not get wet.  The $20 for the valet was well worth it!  My mother always said never to be cheap when traveling.  Fortunately, Joy and I are well off financially to where we can not only travel a lot, but we travel well!  Joy and I do nice hotels always!

    I was surprised they required masks to board the showboat since the idiot Biden issued some maritime order since this vessel was regulated by the US Coast Guard.  The masks were only required to board the vessel.  Once on board, no one cared to enforce.  Most of the tourists were from the nice Red States so they were not into the mask bull shit either.  Masks don't work!  I saw data recently from a Canadian university where the efficacy of ordinary surgical masks was 10%.  Also, my own doctor told me that those surgical masks are worthless!

    We had a great table on the third deck of the showroom on the boat.  Our seats were right in front of the stage!  As we were seated, the waitress brought us our choice of beverage before the three course plated dinner was served.  For starters, we got a wedge salad with Vidalia Onion dressing.  The dressing was delicious!  When I saw that the menu had this dressing online when I booked the tickets, I was looking forward to trying it!  Our emcee was funny magician, Christopher James.  He did a great a job keeping us entertained.  There was a preview of what was yet to come when he played a little game with the audience.  Then, there was also a brief musical interlude after dinner was served.  They sang that old Doobie Brother's song, "Listen To The Music," which was featured in all those old Branson commercials!  Oh dinner!  Yeah, we got both pot roast and chicken with potatos and green beans.  We had about a forty five minute break before the main show started for us to explore the boat and the outdoor decks.  Since it was dark, we could not see much, but we could make sure out that the lake was nestled among the rolling Ozark mountains.  After we got back to our seats, the ooey gooey butter cake was served!  Then, the main show began!  There were both musicians and dancers, and they gave us quite a "Vegas quality" production before the magician finished out the show.

    The next morning, Joy and I enjoyed the private marina at the resort.  We drove down there, and then we walked on the dock by the marina.  The lake was nice and calm!  My understanding is that it is a warm water lake in the summer months!  I could not resist putting on some Otis Redding ("Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay") as we walked around the dock too.  We enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the resort afte our morning walk.  I loved the freshly baked cinnamon rolls!

    After we checked out, we headed up to Shepherd Of The Hills for our Funny Farm Dinner Feud Lunch show.  Shepherd Of The Hills is another amusement center with entertainment, rides, and dining!  An actor from the show dressed in hill billy garb greeted us as we all lined up waiting to go into the showroom unmasked!  LOL.  I love the Red States!  As one can tell, I am so sick of the idiots in some of the California counties who want to implement socialism!  I want life to return 100% back to normal!  Life is short!

    The show was pretty cool.  The meal service started out first, and we got both chicken and sausage with potatoes and a vegetable succotash.  There was fried okra too!  I love me some fried okra!  LOL.  I figure I got to put in a little hill billy talk in there!  The show featured two feuding families like the "Hatfields and McCoys," and the showroom was divided into two sections so we could cheer for our respective families.  Joy was afraid we would be called up to stage since we were seated in the front row!  LOL.  Audience participation was used, but we did not have to go up on stage.  LOL.  No one masked too as they headed up to stage.  Most of the country is maskless, but the "sheep" in California do not understand this.

    After the show, I got to ride the Copperhead Mountain Coaste at Shepherd Of The Hills!  It was really fun!  Last year, I did a mountain coaster like this in Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee.  I was flying down that mountain!  They had those candied warm nuts too when I was exiting the ride so I could not resist!

    We did some shopping in town afterwards, and I got a cool Nolan Ryan Starting Lineup collector's item from 1991 in the box from their old vintage section!  I like checking out those old vintage stores for collector's toy items.  Branson has so much to do that one needs a few days or even a week to explore it all.

    The College of the Ozarks is a faith based college located just south of Branson.  This college requires the students to work on campus jobs to pay for their tuition, room, and board to build hard working and patriotic citizens.  The college has a dairy on site where the students milk the cows every morning and use the cream from that milk to make delicious ice cream!  It is farm to fork!  So, we had to go by and try their ice cream!  It was one of the best ice cream that I ever had.  One must go to the Keeter Center at the university if one is in that area to try the ice cream!  We also got one of their fresh baked seasonal sugar cookies and a latte too at their coffee shop.  The students were so polite and friendly.  One could tell they came from great faith centered families who raised them right!  None of this liberal bull shit we see in California!  My wife and I hate California with a passion!

    We had to drive back to Conway, Arkanasas after since our flight back home was from Little Rock the next day.  Conway is about thirty minutes north of Little Rock.  After check into our Hilton Garden Inn, we found a sushi and Chinese buffet called Mulan's.  The food was decent for being a small town.  We were both amazed at how cheap it was too.

    The next morning, we enjoyed waffles at Waffle House!  One can not visit the South without going to the Waffle House.  We explored Little Rock with what time we had left that day in the area.  Our first stop was the Arkansas State Capitol.  The grounds were beautiful, and they had several monuments.  There were two Confederate monuments.  One monument was decided to the War of 1812.  There was also a sculpture to the "Little Rock 9," who were the African American students who were forcefully integrated into the Central High School in Little Rock after the famous SCOTUS case, "Brown vs The Board Of Education of Topeka, Kansas."  The Confederate monuments were pretty cool.  One has to appreciate history whether or not one likes it.  The Civil War was a dark time in our history, but we need to still learn about it like with any historical events.

    We explored the Little Rock Central High School area next.  There is a famous Mobil gas station there which was used as a staging ground for the press during the stand off between the Segregationists and the Little Rock 9.  Eventually, President Eisenhower nationalized the Arkansas National Guard and asked them to protect the nine students of color who choose to enroll at that high school after the SCOTUS case.  Once I saw the historic high school, I immediately remembered it in the black and white video footage we saw back in high school social studies.

    The River Market by the Arkansas River is really cool!  We found my favorite ice cream shop, Kilwin's there.  After getting ice cream, we walked on the Junction Bridge which is an old rail road bridge that was converted into a pedestrian bridge similiar to what we saw in Louisville, KY.  Joy and I were shocked at how nice Little Rock was!  Sacramento is just a major shit hole!  Little Rock was clean and safe!  California is really the third world state of our nation now!  Gavin Newsom and the leftist idiots have ruined this once great state!

    Our flight back from Little Rock was more complicated that getting there.  We stopped in St. Louis, but we were on the same plane.  Since we had enough time, Joy and I got off the plane and went to the Wing Tips lounge for a quick drink.  Afterwards, we headed to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  We had a few hours in LA, and I was shocked at what a ghost town LA had become thanks to the Covid protocols.  We had no more lounges or Priority Pass restaurants that we could use for free food and drink through our luxury credit card membership so we just grabbed dinner at CPK.  After a short flight back home, we had a car service meet us at the airport in a SUV to take us home.  Joy and I wanted to avoid Lyft or Uber since they might be requiring the mask crap in this backward county.  We just try to make our lives as easy as possible!