A Return To Branson, Missouri, Part One

 This is a continuation of a series of posts of my Missouri Vacation which I took the first week of September.  To start at the beginning go HERE.  The rest of the posts, in consecutive order are HERE , HERE, HERE, HERE,  HERE, HERE, and HERE.

The last stop of our vacation to Missouri was Branson.  The last time we were here was with our children four years ago.  I wrote about it in THIS POST.   Back then, we only spent the day.  We visited the historic downtown and saw a play at the Sight and Sound Theater.  This time, it was just my husband and I and we spent the night in Branson;  we ate at a fun restaurant in Hollister, Missouri and then we went enjoyed some night life at Branson's Landing.  The following morning we took a Duck Tour, did some more shopping and dining, and finished the day seeing another play at The Sight and Sound Theater.  Today's post will cover our night in Branson, then next week I'll conclude this travel series with our day experience.

Hollister, Missouri is a nearby town to Branson.  There is a cute little street in Hollister called Downing St. which is not to be missed if your ever in the area.  It has such a cute European charm.

 We were in the area to find a restaurant, Hook and Ladder Pizza Co., that a co-worker recommended to my husband.  Finding all this beautiful, historical architecture in the area was just the icing on the cake.

Hook and Ladder Pizza Co., is a quirky, fun restaurant that is decked all out in a fireman theme.  They even have a real fire truck parked outside.

The inside of the restaurant was decorated with all the fireman paraphernalia you could imagine.

The wait staff even wore firemen pants!

By now your probably thinking, "Ok that all looks cute but hows the food?"  Well, it was amazing.  We got the special that evening, which was a "Super" pizza with just about everything.  It was so good!

The outside of the restaurant was so cute too!

Of course we couldn't leave without getting a picture next to the fire truck.

After dinner, we headed down to Branson Landing to do some shopping.  The last time I was here during the day, this time we arrived just as it was getting dark.  It was so pretty lit up.   This Hot Air Balloon Ride was so striking against the dark sky.

This is my favorite place to shop in Branson.  It is so pretty, and the stores are a mix of modern popular stores that you would find in any mall in the United States, plus some especially suited to the Branson area like Smith Creek Moonshine.  There are also so many fun places to eat, and a great river walk and view as well.

The atmosphere is very family friendly.  We saw so many families walking around enjoying themselves.

They have a Fountain Show that is very similar to the Fountain Show at the Bellagio in Vegas, but maybe not quite as good.  The Bellagio Fountain Show syncs their water display to the music better than the Branson Landing Fountain Show.  However, the Branson Landing Fountain Show also uses pyrotechnics, which the Bellagio does not.  That was a lot of fun to see at night!

I did take a video of the water fountain show too.  You can hear me squealing with delight as I watch the show.  It was such a beautiful, happy evening!

Doesn't this fudge in a candy shop look yummy?  My husband and I are always looking for fun candy shops when we travel.

One of my guilty pleasures is the television show The Walking Dead.  When we passed by an arcade, I saw this fun zombie inside and an employee offered to take our picture next to it.

They even had some Walking Dead video games to play.  So fun!

When we were done shopping we headed back to our hotel for the night to get a good night sleep for our big day tomorrow.  We were pleasantly surprised to find this bible opened up on one of the dressers with this note inside.  Isn't this sweet?

Have a Great Day!  Amy

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