Branson Part 2

Tuesday in Branson continued with dinner at the Grand Country Buffet Restaurant.  Then a few of us went to an optional show - the giant stage Biblical Musical "Miracle of Christmas."  It was awesome.  The theater was beautiful.  The lobby had a beautiful tree with scenes from Bethleham and the Nativity all around the base.  It was lovely.   The first pictures are outside the theater. 

Betrothal of Mary and Joseph

Angel coming to Mary

Pharisees criticizing Mary

It was a wonderful program and a great way to start the Christmas season.
Wednesday started out with a sightseeing tour of Branson.  Since it was a pretty foggy day, we didn't get to see a lot.  We did stop at the Branson Overlook and could look down on where the Osmonds first lived when they came to Branson.  We also could see Andy Williams home.

Right in the center of the picture is the culdesac where all the Osmonds lived.

Clear on the right in the corner is Andy Williams' home. 
In our drive, we when to the College of the Ozarks.  It is a beautiful place.  It is known as "Hard Work U."  No one that goes there has to pay.  They have to qualify and then they have to work while they are there.
We went into a green house where they grown orchids.

Some of our group in the greenhouse.  Paul went on down to a tractor museum and I went in to the mill that was there.

At the College of the Ozarks, they have a bakery that makes world famous fruitcakes.  We got to taste and we bought one and ordered one sent to my mother in Arizona.  They were very good. 

There were some beautiful building on the campus that had awesome stonework on them.  Here is a picture of the Chapel.  All student are required to attend a certain amount of time at the Chapel each week.

We then went to downtown Branson, walked around, ate lunch etc.
There is a new area called Branson Landing  where we walked down to.  They have shops and fountains in the lake that is there.  Then we walked around the town and ate lunch in an ice cream shop.

After lunch, the bus picked us up and we were off to the Yakov Smirnoff Comedy Show.

Yakov was very funny and very patriotic.  We noticed, though, that at every show we went to they had all the veterans stand up as they played the song for that branch of the service.  The picture you see is one the Yakov painted and had it at ground zero.  He did it anonymously and spent over $100,000 to have it there.  From his site it says, "The depths of Yakov's development from naive young immigrant to gentle, loving patriot can be found throughout his show."

"It has been quite a journey for the man who became an American citizen on July 4, 1986, when he was sworn in (by Chief Justice Warren Burger) at the Statue of Liberty. The immigrant who, in 1977, landed in this country with his parents and less than $100 in his pocket has grown to become a command performer at the White House, a respected comedic voice, cultural observer, and family man. As Yakov says, “What A Country”! Since his rebirth in the United States, the comedian maintains his topical edge, traveling the world of comedy, and sharing his insightful discoveries."
On Wednesday night, we had dinner at the Uptown Cafe.

 Uptown Cafe with a 50's theme.
From there we headed to the Moon River Theater and the wonderful Andy Williams Christmas Show.  We had seen him quite a few years ago.  Andy is 83 and still sings beautifully!!! It was great and was a sold out show.

One of the acts that Andy Williams had on his show was amazing.  We all wondered how they could do it.  Take a look at the video for yourself.  They were great!   
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgZi5yoRwiI

Andy Williams had a wonderful show and it was one of our favorites.
Back to the hotel after a great day!!