Main Street Lake Cruises, Branson Tourism Center

While in Branson we had the awesome opportunity to go on the Main Street Lake Cruises thanks to the Branson Tourism Center!  This was new even for me.  Last time I was in Branson, I did the Showboat.  This was not a showboat, but honestly, I think I enjoyed it more because I got to see the scenery that Lake Taneycomo has to offer and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature while eating an incredible meal!

We were on the Landing Princess.  When we got there, we parked in the far north parking lot and called for a "ride" to the boat as MaKenna was still not feeling well.  I nice man came to pick us up in a golf cart limo basically!

He dropped us off at Main Street Lake Cruises.

The boat wasn't quite ready to load, so we walked around and shopped for a little while.  Main Street Lake Cruises is nestled within Branson Landing, a nice upscale shopping area.

We walked around and found Joe's Crab Shack...I'm going to have to eat there someday, just to say I did.

We also found a play area.  This is where we "dumped" Major and Daddy off at, while the rest of us went to places like Brookstone to rest our weary legs in their massage chairs!

Soon it was time to get back to Main Street Lake Cruises to load.  Before I have one of the kids tell you about it, I'm going to give you a little back ground on it.

Main Street Lake Cruises has two boats.  The Landing Princess (the one we were on), and the Lake Queen.

The Landing Princess is a luxury yacht with two climate controlled entertainment decks giving great views all around.  Private events can have up to 120 guests.  Perfect for a wedding, fundraiser or corporate event.  There are also restroom facilities on board as well as a Brides room!  Fully handicap accessible.  $40 for adults, $20 for children.

The Lake Queen is a modern day replica of the grand riverboats which used to ply the White River in Branson, MO.  The Captain narrates facts and trivia of the Branson waterfront.  The Lake Queen has room for up to 120 passengers and is perfect for both formal and informal gatherings.  This boat also has onboard restrooms and is handicap accessible and the lower deck is climate controlled.  $23 for adults, 17 and under are FREE.

HI!  My name is Cam Filleman!  I am 14 years old and had a great time on the Landing Princess!  We sat on the upper deck...here is my little sister climbing the steps.

We saw some great scenery.  We went on the dinner cruise, so the sun was just going down....so the beginning of the cruise was rough on the eyes, but we just looked out the other side while the sun was on its way down.  There were some really pretty and BIG river front houses.  I think they would be cool to live in, but a lot of them didn't have back yards....I'd hate to sleep walk some night in a few of the houses!

We did two passes of the Branson Landing waterfront.

There is this really neat water display.  On one pass it was just water blowing up.  On another pass there was also fire.  I think mom has that picture on here somewhere.

The first thing we ate was salad.  Here are Jake and Dad and I at the table.  We were still on the dock at this point.  The salad was pretty good.  I did get worried that that was all we were eating though...I'm a BIG TIME meat eater!

Here is my little brother Major.  He is so naughty....we are still on the dock in this picture.

At the far south side of where we went was this floating covered dock...mom thought it was pretty.

Here I am enjoying my free pop!

Here is my other little brother Jake.

This is my dad....trying to smile.  He did have a great time, but he doesn't usually smile.

Here is my little sister.  She wasn't feeling very good, but she enjoyed her trip.

Once we were done with our salads, they brought chicken, brisket, potatoes and green beans!  YUM!  I ate a lot of everyone else brisket.  I love brisket!  While we were traveling down the lake and eating, we were able to look out the windows.  We saw a lot of cranes.  I spotted the first one.  I am a hunter...I like to hunt.

There were some really pretty places...but I'm like my dad and don't talk a lot so I didn't say much.  I thought this picture that mom took was really neat though...it looks like a mirror image.

Some of the trees were really interesting, not like any trees you would find 8 hours north in Omaha.

Ah-ha!  Here it is....the fire comes out of those columns too!  That caught my attention!

It was a really pretty "drive" down the lake.  The water was really calm.  The temperature outside was really nice too.  Mom said that a few more weeks and the trees will be rich oranges and reds.  They were just starting to turn when we were there.  We probably went a few weeks early...but I am glad we went when we did.

If you look REALLY closely at the picture below,  you will see a house.  Do you see it?  See how well it is disguised?  It is said that this is the house that Al Capone hid in.

After dinner, we were brought dessert.  It was Apple Cobbler.  I am allergic to eggs, so I didn't try it...but my dad seemed to like it.  We had a lot of left over food, so we had quite a few doggy bags when we left.  We ate them over the rest of our stay! It was really good even left over!!  LOVE THE BRISKET!  DID I SAY THAT???

Pretty soon I spotted an eagle!  A BALD EAGLE!  I don't remember if I've ever seen a wild one before!  The captain and waitresses spotted it too, so we circled so we could watch it. This was only the first of a handful of spottings on our "trip" up the lake.

Here is my sister and brother.

And my brother Jake again.

Here is me...I was starting to not feel very good.  I found out a couple days later that I also had Strep...then a couple days after that I found out I had mono...so this was probably one of my last days feeling good.  

I thought this canoe on the beach was kinda cool.  I would love to live out there.

It got later and darker.  As it got darker the colors got even prettier with the setting sun.

Here is another eagle spotting.

Here is the family.

There was a full service bar on board, not that I could have anything, and a TV, not that we watched anything, and on our deck the bathroom was marked "Bride's Dressing Room".  I guess they must do weddings or something.  It was a nice big bathroom to change in and then the toilet was in a separate area.

Next to the brides changing room was the "bridge".  The Captain let my brother and sister "drive" the boat.  That was scary...

I had a good time.  I love the water.  I love to fish...I love to hunt...I love the woods...so it was really neat.  I would have loved to have gotten OFF the boat and explored, but I guess we couldn't do that!  The food was outstanding and the scenic view was gorgeous.  Worth the trip.

So that was my son.  He is the one of my 4 kids who enjoys nature immensely, just like his daddy.  This was a really neat ride.  Like I said at the beginning, I did the showboat last time.  Don't get me wrong I LOVED the Showboat...but if you want to see where you're riding, one of these dinner cruises is the best way to go.  On the Showboat we were unable to see the water when we finally did get 15 minutes to go outside because it was dark.  Again, don't get me wrong, LOVE the Showboat...but this was really nice to take in nature, while eating a spectacular dinner with my family.

My 5 year old loved it too.  I will admit, it was a bit long for him....about 30 minutes to the end he started getting antsy....but otherwise the length was perfect.

Thanks again to Branson Tourism Center and Main Street Lake Cruises for the wonderful experience!
Check it out next time your in Branson...it was really an outstanding "trip"!