Music, Music, Music! Part II

As I've shared before, Jack and I love trains, all kinds of trains,  So, whenever we have the opportunity to take a scenic ride, we try to fit it in our schedule.  The Branson Scenic Railroad offered a nice trip through the Ozarks into Arkansas and back, just short of two hours.  This was a vintage passenger train with a collection of unique passenger cars, sharing the railway with Amtrak.  One of the staff gave a narration about the history of the train and the land we were traveling through.  It was a fun ride with a couple of tunnels, over trestles and a couple of sharp curves where you could see one end to the other.  The train itself was interesting with each car a little different from each other.  There were Vista Dome Cars with panoramic views (my choice), a Club Car where you could get a snack and drinks, to a variety of Passenger Cars.  The countryside showed beginning of trees turning their leaves to Autumn colors, meadows full of Goldenrod, Lake Taneycomo, and even a remnant of a long ago town.  We never seem to tire of the sounds and ramble of these wonderful old trains.

A fun surprise was lunch at Mel's Hard Luck Diner, where professional singing servers entertain you while you enjoy some great food.  When I read about it, I thought the whole staff stopped what they were doing and all sang together, like in some places we've been.  This was different.  Each server sang a solo between serving their customers.  They would introduce themselves and their song and tout their CD if you wanted "more".  It was kind of like Hollywood, where everyone is "waiting tables until they get their big break in the movies".  Here it was probably in hopes of a show.  We heard about 4 while we were there, and for the most part, they were all pretty good!  Fun way to enjoy your burger I must say!  Pretty good burgers too!

In between these special visits, we browsed the area and found Branson's Landing.  It was a pretty mall along the lake, with fountains and a large variety of shops.  They have a huge Bass Pro Shop that I found several goodies I couldn't live without, but Jack - nothing!  Go figure.  ;-)  They even have a great restaurant there, the White River Fish House,  that we had a great dinner at.  We saw that one of the local bars had "dueling pianos", so we decided to try as well.  I'm glad it had a small cover charge because it wasn't worth much more.  Let's just say, we've heard better.

All in all, Branson was a fun stop that even Jack had to agree was well worth it!


 









 











 










 











 











 





























If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

 ...on the road, Marie