Celebrate Good Times COME ON!

Yesterday the John family spent their first day in the resort town of Branson, Missouri. Carrie's employer paid for all of their employees to go to an amusement park, Celebration City, and for a good ol' southern BBQ for everybody. We decided to go to the outlets in Branson before we hit up the amusement park. Outlet shopping is not my specialty, as I usually do not enjoy shopping unless there is something I need. After Carrie tried to convince me to spend her gift certificate money, I finally realized that I did need a new pair of shorts. It was 95 degrees outside and I was wearing jeans because my only pair of shorts had multiple food stains (big surprise to those who know how I tear through food like a tornado through the Ozarks). I bargain shopped, comparing prices at every store that sold shorts I liked, and I ended up finding a mismarked pair of shorts that I convinced the cashier to give me the sale price. I think that my mom would be proud. After shopping we went to the A&W, one of the many business entities in Branson with Mormon ties. I had forgotten that they have root beer on the tap there, and it reminded both of us the homemade root beer at the Crane fmily reunion. We are sorry we had to miss the reunion this year and hope to attend future reunions.


After shopping we made our way over to Celebration City. I decided to dance through the entry-way, which Carrie happened to catch on film. Now Celebration City is no ordinary theme park. It is not caught up in all the hoopla, the bells and whistles of other parks like Six Flags or Disney World. It is quaint. It stinks of fried food. The lines were short, never longer than 15 minutes, and the rides were simply fun. Also, amusement parks are not designed for 20 somethings like our family. However, if you get in the right mood you can have fun without mind-altering drugs. I think this picture of Carrie tells you how we were acting. It reminded me of the times I went toLagoon and Six Flags with my sisters, and the one time I was assaulted my a crazy woman in the final car of a roller coaster. Carrie and I were slap-happy. Our favorite ride was the "Orbiter". At other parks it is called the magic carpet. It simply is a bunch of seats on a floor that goes up and down in a circle. It pretty much is the part of the rollercoaster that is really fun, the sensation of weightlessness without all the side-to-side jostling.