Dale and I had the opportunity this past weekend to visit the places our tiny cabin dream really began, two resorts we stayed on Table Rock Lake in Branson, MO. from 1988-2001. If you’re looking to downsize, I always recommend staying in tiny places first.
Last weekend was my annual Slumber Party weekend with my friends from my hometown. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since we reunited here at Campbell Town after I last saw them at our high school graduation 27 years prior.
I wrote last year about how we laugh – a lot – and a part of us feels like we’re young again when we’re together.
Each year, we do something a little different to celebrate our annual reunion.
This year, we met in Branson, Missouri at The Branson Landing, where we had lunch, did a little shopping at some of the fantastic stores (Yankee Candle, of course!) and headed out to the fabulous cabin resort, Big Cedar Lodge, where we planned to kick back in a two bedroom cabin for our girlfriend’s getaway.
Big Cedar is just eight miles away from Branson, located on 3,000 acres.
I’m a pretty serious person most of the time. Like many, I need to be.
I run my own business, I’m responsible for the care of six dogs on my own for most of the day, 10 acres with a house, studio and barns and I also take care of the family finances.
That’s all pretty serious stuff.
Two weeks ago, I went on a trip, not far away to Branson, Missouri, for work. The idea is to experience some of what the town has to offer so I can better write about it.
I signed up, along with two other writers on this trip, for a go-kart adventure one afternoon, something I used to love as a kid, but hadn’t done in a long time. Dale isn’t a go-kart adventure type of guy – he really isn’t into risk taking with much of anything – and even told me to be careful on “those things” before I left.
My go-kart days can be traced all the way back to when I was about 8, visiting my aunt (who now lives down the road) and cousins in the rural Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky.
It really amazes me when people tell me they don’t think there is much to do around here. We’ve still got a list of things to do and are still finding things to do in The Natural State, sometimes in our own backyard.
This weekend, it literally was in our own backyard, on the waters of Bull Shoals Lake. Peel, Arkansas is a little burg about 15 miles from our house and what makes it so unique is that it is home to the last operating ferry in the state. The ferry shuttles people and their vehicles from one side of Bull Shoals, to the other, most frequently connecting Arkansans with Branson, Missouri about 30 minutes away.
I’m told there’s ferries in other areas, but being Midwesterners from Kansas City, we had never rode one before, so we set off for a new adventure on Sunday. We ate breakfast at a small café and headed for the ferry loading spot.
It’s really surprising how much fun taking our truck out onto the water was!
