On the chilly, late-March early morning that we visited the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri, many of the animals were where we should have been—indoors. That’s where other humans were, apparently, which meant we had the zoo practically to ourselves. So although we didn’t get to see as large a variety of animals as we had hoped, there also were no crowds of people with heads and hands popping in front of the camera lens just as we snapped photos.
We spent the early evening at a murder-mystery dinner in Pythian Castle’s ballroom. Now the mood changed, from light-hearted to eerie, on a 10 p.m. tour of the Pythian Castle. We were going to look for the ghosts that haunt the building.
What better place to hold a murder mystery dinner than a haunted castle, especially as a prelude to a ghost tour? A murder mystery would certainly set the mood for the haunted tour that we would attend later that night. We approached the daunting limestone Pythian Castle just before dusk, walking up the stairs toward the massive wooden entrance doors.
A good farmers market is a foodie’s gold mine. Veggies and fruits, organic meats and eggs, artisan breads and organic honey brought to the market directly from the growers and producers are as fresh as you’ll find. The Farmers Market of the Ozarks (FMO) brings all of that, and more, to you each week, year-round. The impressive market opened in April of 2012. Only one year later it was named the number 15 farmers market in the country by The Daily Dish.
It used to be if you didn’t eat dinner before going to an evening show in Branson, you were out of luck. The sidewalks pretty much rolled up just before or as the shows ended. Not so anymore. More restaurants are staying open until at least 10 p.m. weekdays and 11 p.m. weekends. Here are three of our favorites located right on the strip, Highway 76, near most of the theaters:
It was 1938, the heyday of The Mother Road, when brothers Elwyn and Lawrence Lippman built eight sandstone cottages on their grandfather’s apple orchard along Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, and accented the property with a rail fence. By 1946 the motel had grown to 28 rooms. In the early 1950s it became part of the newly formed Best Western chain of motels. The property went through many upgrades from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, including changing from cottages to a strip motel. However, by the early 1990s, the Rail Haven had started to slip.
