Excellent food but too much, great show, smooth ride, and a lot of fun, that's the Branson Belle Showboat tour of Table Rock Lake near Branson.
EXCEPT, during the show I needed the restroom so, not wanting to distract the audience by going through the curtains to either side of the stage, I went to the back, up a flight of stairs and across an unlit section of tables, to get to the second floor front restroom. On my way back to the table I went down the stairs in the back and had intended to cross the auditorium through a section with shelf seating (like a balcony) and tables for four with an aisle between them when I slammed into a metal chair someone, probably a staff member, had left out in the aisle. I could see no one was sitting in this section but couldn't see the tables or chairs until I ran into that one.
By the time I had dealt with the EMT who insisted on icing the lump on my shin, and two Safety Officers with their reports, the show was over and most of the customers had gotten off the boat, including Frank. I finally caught up with him and the others.
We visited the College of the Ozarks where the Foster Museum is located. Signs all around campus say, "Hard Work U" or something similar. This college is free to any student as long as the GPA requirement is met and 15 hours of work a week for the college which pays for the books and tuition, and 40 hours a week in the summer to pay for room and board. Sounds like what every college and university should require!
We returned to the RV park for dinner then met the group in time for the Acrobats of China at the New Shanghai Theater in the evening. While waiting, I decided to look through my postcards and brochures to see if I had duplicates or if I needed to get more. In that stuff was my driver's license!
The show was fantastic! Our hands were sore from so much clapping. Those youngsters (they all looked to be no older than about 15!) were exceptionally strong and managed amazing feats: the young girl who juggled a table with her feet, the plate spinners, the drummers, the boy who look to be about eight or ten years old who walked the slack rope on his hands as well as other stunts, and the girls who twirled fabric squares with their hands and feet. And we saw all of this from front-row center seats. During the birthday/anniversary mentions at the beginning of the show, it was announced that Jon Provost (Timmy of the old "Lassie" series on TV) was present so he stood and waved.
