Farmers Market of the Ozarks: A Foodie’s Gold Mine

Connie Missouri, Shopping March 31, 2015May 14, 2015Farmers Market of the Ozarks, Missouri attractions, Missouri farmers markets, Missouri tourism, Springfield Missouri, Springfield MO, Springfield MO farmers market 0 Comment

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. Read more

Branson: Where to Dine after the Shows

Connie Food & Drink, Missouri March 25, 2015May 14, 2015branson best restaurants, branson missouri restaurants, Branson MO, branson mo restaurants, Branson restaurants, branson restaurants open late, restaurants in branson, Shorty Small's 0 Comment

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: Read more

A Nostalgic Stay at the Route 66 Rail Haven Motel in Springfield, Missouri

Connie Missouri February 18, 2015April 2, 2018Best Western Rail Haven, Rail Haven Motel, Route 66 motels, Springfield Missouri, Springfield Missouri motels, Springfield MO 0 Comment

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. Read more

Touring the College of the Ozarks: Hard Work U

Connie Attractions & Events, Missouri February 1, 2015February 5, 2015Branson attractions, Branson Missouri, Branson MO, Branson museums, Colelge of the Ozarks, Hard Work U, Keeter Center, Ralph Foster Museum 2 Comments

The College of the Ozarks doesn’t charge tuition. Instead, students at this southwest Missouri school are required to work fifteen hours per week. Student workers in many of those jobs create goods or hospitality experiences available for sale to the general public. We visited the College of the Ozarks, located about four miles from Branson, expecting to spend a couple of hours in the Ralph Foster Museum and to grab a bite to eat in the Dobyns Dining Room. We ended up spending a full five hours on campus, discovering there is much more to explore at the College of the Ozarks besides the museum.

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Keeter Center
Start at the Keeter Center, the rustic lodge recreated from Dobyns Hall, a lodge that was displayed at the 1904 World’s Fair. The original lodge was moved to the College of the Ozarks where it stood until 1930.

The Keeter Center houses fifteen luxury suites, the Dobyns Dining Room, an ice cream parlor, a gift shop and a small armed services memorial. The Keeter Center is also where you can pick up a map to take a self-guided campus tour.

Plan to eat lunch or dinner in the Dobyns Dining Room (reservations recommended). Many of the ingredients used in the dishes are campus-to-table and some of the other ingredients are sourced locally. All of the vegetables and fruits in my Spinach with Smoked Chicken Salad were raised by the students on campus, and so was my husband’s pork fritter. Yep, they raise pork on campus.

Hard Work U, as the college has been dubbed, also has a dairy, from which all of the restaurant’s dairy products are made, including the rich, creamy ice cream sold at the College Creamery.

The Maybee Lodge in the Keeter Center offers fifteen suites that accommodate up to six people each. We didn’t stay at the lodge and didn’t see the rooms, but judging from the descriptions and photos on their web site, the suites truly are luxurious. Every room has a fireplace, private balcony and other upscale amenities.

Edwards Mill
A 12-foot water wheel powers the mill where student workers grind whole-grain meal and flour.

You can purchase the meal and flour in the mill, as well as jellies and apple butter made on campus in the Fruitcake and Jelly Kitchen. Students also bake about 30,000 fruit cakes each year.

Upstairs in the mill we watched basket weaving and rug weaving demonstrations. Baskets, placemats, rugs and tablecloths that the students make are available for sale.

Greenhouses
Over 7,000 plants fill greenhouses, where we spent quite a bit of time photographing the beautiful orchids and other flowers.

I think this one looks like a rubber duck.

The greens for my salad were most likely grown in this hydroponic greenhouse.

Williams Memorial Chapel
The campus chapel used to be a Presbyterian church. It’s now non-denominational and the public is invited to attend Sunday morning services.

Ralph Foster Museum
The Ralph Foster Museum is named for an Ozark region radio pioneer instrumental in bringing country music to a national level. Besides broadcasting, the museum includes antique and archaeology exhibits.

One of the more fun exhibits is the car used in the pilot of The Beverly Hillbillies sitcom.

A huge collection of firearms takes up most of the museum’s upper level. I stopped counting after a hundred. I’d guess there is three times that number of firearms in the museum.

The upper level also includes natural history exhibits with taxidermied big cats, bears and other animals.

Be careful though. You never know what may sneak up behind you.

The College of the Ozarks, located southwest Missouri’s Point Lookout is an ideal side trip when visiting Branson. Check the web site for hours of the various campus sights or to make reservations for the Dobyns Dining Room or Mabee Lodge.

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Visit the World’s Only Precious Moments Chapel, Carthage, Missouri

Connie Attractions & Events, Missouri December 23, 2014June 4, 2024Carthage Missouri, Carthage MO, Precious Moments, Precious Moments Chapel 2 Comments

If you’re a fan of those adorable teardrop-eyed Precious Moments children, you will love the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri. After years of wanting to visit it, we finally did. You know how sometimes when you expect big things and then you get there and it’s a letdown? It was the opposite with the Precious Moments Chapel, the only such chapel in the world. I expected a small building with a few cute Precious Moments figurines and paintings. Instead, I found awesomeness in the true sense of the word. Huge paintings and murals cover the chapter walls. And the property covers acres of land, in a serene setting of hills and woods.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, Branson: Weird but Fascinating

Connie Attractions & Events, Missouri November 19, 2014August 15, 2016Branson attractions, Branson Missouri, Branson MO, Branson museums, Ripleys Branson, Ripleys museum 0 Comment

I always thought Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums were big tourist traps. After all, they’re located in all the touristy areas. However, something compelled me on my last trip to Branson to visit the Ripley’s museum there. Curiosity, I guess. Or maybe it was the rainy weather that weekend that made me want to do indoor things. It turns out that I really enjoyed it. Some of the exhibits are wacky, some educational, but I found all of them to be fascinating. Read more