Branson Family Fun: Planes, Boats and Go-Karts

After touring the airport and sampling some of Famous Dave’s delicious barbecue, we headed to the State Park Marina in Table Rock Lake State Park. There are loads of things to do, including water-skiing, parasailing, diving, fishing or just renting a boat and tooling around. Table Rock is a warm lake, so it’s perfect for swimming and bass fishing. There is a really nice café there as well as the Boathouse Store, which is hands down the best marina store I have visited. I bought a pretty scarf and a sweatshirt for those chilly evenings on the water.

After a wonderful time at the State Park Marina, we were ready for some competitive fun. Where better to do that than at the Track Family Fun Parks? There are eight go-kart tracks, miniature golf, bumper cars, arcades, laser tag and batting cages. We picked the fastest and highest track to race on, and though I would like to lie and say I won, I came in last of about eight people.

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the downtown area, which has unique shops like Dick’s Five and Dime General Store. The place is full of nostalgic sweets and toys, the kind of stuff I ate and played with as a kid back in the 1970s and ’80s. No matter what unusual item you may be looking for, there’s a strong chance you will find it here.

For dinner, we walked to Branson Landing, a waterfront area on Lake Taneycomo with wonderful shopping, restaurants and an amazing fountain show that consists of water and fire. We opted to eat at Cantina Laredo, an upscale Mexican restaurant that had been highly recommended and I can see why as the food was excellent. We popped into Waxy O’Shea’s Irish Pub on the way back to the hotel for one of the local craft brews. It is a fun and lively place!

All in all, my time in Branson was a lot of fun and highly entertaining. I would return in a heartbeat!