Show Me the Christmas Lights, Half Pint

We took off right after Thanksgiving dinner and headed to the Show Me state for some Christmas cheer and dorky Little House on the Prairie fangirling. (There was no fanboying, although the male part of our group had a great time.) We were not disappointed on either front. Of course, we also jammed in some presidential stops and even a little frontier fun for good measure.

Vincennes, Indiana: We spent a couple of hours in Vincennes on our way to St. Louis, checking out William Henry Harrison’s home, Grouseland, which is on the grounds of Vincennes University. As you may recall, we visited his creepy grave just down the road from home a few months ago. His house was way better!

The architecture of the home was surprising and beautiful, with a unique, curved flow upstairs. We had a very chatty tour guide who was miffed when the other people who were on the tour with us told her that she said “you guys” too much and that it ruined the historic ambiance. Um, OK. Way to be rude, stern old people. Boo. We enjoyed the tour and told her that “we guys” appreciated it.

Hey, look you guys, it’s Grouseland!

We also went to the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park just a few blocks away. Something important happened here. Someday I will read the informational material I picked up here to refresh my memory. I DO remember that the park ranger at the visitors center was adorably into whatever did happen here, and as she described it to us, she sort of closed her eyes and floated off in a dreamlike state, as if she were picturing it all in her mind. At that point I vowed that I will look for a new job in 2010 that makes me float away like that!

Memorial to George Rogers Clark and whatever it was he did in Vincennes.

St. Louis: The destination around which this getaway was planned. We had primo fifth row tickets to Little House on the Prairie: The Musical at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

First, we wandered around the Arch area at sunset and took photos before grabbing a quick bite to eat.

View from the Old Court House

Little House on the Prairie: The Musical Review: Honestly, when I first heard about this, I thought (and even hoped) it would be just as cheesy as the TV series. But it wasn’t. At all. It was a fantastic,warm glimpse at a chunk of Laura Ingalls’s life right before she became Laura Ingalls Wilder. While Melissa Gilbert (Laura from the TV series, of course) was the main draw in her role as Ma, the true star was Kara Lindsay as Laura. She splendidly captured the independent and wild spirit of Laura. Also of note in the cast was Kevin Massey as Almanzo. What a cutie. Gilbert was fine as Ma, but she was slightly outclassed in her singing and dancing, which is understandable since she was surrounded by Broadway-caliber performers. And, not to be too mean to a child, but why does every kid who plays Carrie have to be so…not good? Sorry, but Carrie sort of jolted me out of the moment several times with her delivery. Still, overall, it was an excellent performance that we all loved (except one of use, who shall remain nameless, who fell asleep a few times). (I saw in the Fox Theatre’s lobby that White Christmas was going to be there soon. We saw this at the Aronoff in Cincy, and I have to say, it was quite charming. I totally recommend it if it’s coming to your area this holiday season!)

Before we left St. Louis on Saturday, we stopped off at the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site and Grant’s home, White Haven (which is green…a really ugly green). Nearby is Grant’s Farm, owned by Anheuser-Busch. It was closed, but we did see some Clydesdales outside enjoying the 70 degree day (yes, in November!).

May we call you Clyde?

White Haven was interesting as it had no furnishings because many of Grant’s belongings from that time period were destroyed in a fire. So, the home is bare but contains historical information and is definitely worth touring. Grant is a misunderstood president who lost a lot of popularity after his time. I was glad that the ranger who gave us the tour had the real story because Grant was pretty cool. I picked up a book here by Mark Perry called Grant and Twain, about the friendship between Grant and Mark Twain. I’m currently reading it, and it’s compelling.

Girlfriend, green just ain’t your color!

We finally escaped the pull of the St. Louis area and made it as far as Defiance (awesome town name) and Daniel Boone’s home and place of death. Ahhhh…this was a fun little find. This house was in pristine condition, still containing the rafters hewn by the Boones and a tree under which Daniel held counsel. OK, the tree was in the prone position and full of concrete, but it was there! We were on a tour with about 20 other people, which did my history-loving heart proud to see so many people in the middle of nowhere touring an old home on Thanksgiving weekend.

Boone home—quite the busy spot for a weekend getaway.

Branson: Saturday evening we made our way to Branson via Springfield (we had to stop and visit my college alma mater and partake of some Andy’s Frozen Custard). We also visited the Shepherd of the Hills Trail of Lights, not to be confused with the OTHER Trail of Lights, which apparently can be reached off of the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway. I know, right?

To our delight and surprise, this was the only place we encountered any crowds during our stay in Branson. We had heard horror stories of bumper-to-bumper traffic miles long, but we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Branson Hills, took the back roads, so to speak, and saw virtually no one until we got to the Shepherd of the Hills homestead. This attraction was fun and offered a nice, long display along with a ride to the top of Inspiration Tower, from which, unfortunately, the only thing you could really see was the Trail of Lights below. It was a good time.

On Sunday, we fooled around in the morning and watched a movie in the room before shoving off for An Old Time Christmas at Silver Dollar City. Again, no crowds to speak of except in line for the shows, but no big deal. A nice couple was standing by the ticket windows and said they had two free passes if we wanted them, so we ended up having to buy only one ticket.  Thanks so much, you wonderful season pass holding couple! You saved us a bundle! The temps had dropped from the 70s the previous day to the low 50s. The couple said the place was jam-packed the day before. We didn’t mind the cold if it meant we would get to see everything we wanted to.

SDC Tree

I wandered off to hit the coasters and other rides while the rest of the party went to see the A Christmas Carol musical. They loved the show, I loved the coasters. I made it to Wildfire, Powderkeg, Fire in the Hole (dang gum Baldknobbers!), the Giant Swing, and Thunderation and back to the Opera House before they were even finished with the show. I especially enjoyed Wildfire and was impressed with the rides that have popped up here since I last visited in the early ’90s.

By the time we came out of the “Frontier Fa-La-La Follies” show at the Saloon, it was steadily raining and getting colder. We ducked into the Mine Restaurant for dinner, which was so-so, but nice on theming. And really cold. When we emerged from the mine, it was dark and rainy, but we stuck it out and shopped, saw a few more shows, took a quick ride on the Flooded Mine, and by then it cleared up and we got to see the parade. The lights throughout the park were gorgeous and, in the rain, took on a blurry, dreamy quality. It was a wonderful day and truly got us in the Christmas mood. We were impressed with the quality of the shows, the rides, and the HOT CHOCOLATE. Yum! I would certainly return to Silver Dollar City for another Christmas adventure.

Mansfield: The surprise hit of the whole trip was the brief stop we made on our way home Monday morning via Mansfield. We made the prairie-lovers pilgrimage to the Laura Ingalls Wilder home at Rocky Ridge Farm. Wow! This place is exactly as it was when Laura died in the 1950s, with all the furnishings, the little rocking chair where she sat to answer fan mail, the desk where she penned her books…it was all there for us to spaz out over. We could have spent hours and hours here, looking through the photos and learning more about Laura and Almanzo’s fascinating daughter, Rose. I’m glad we waited around until 10:00 a.m. when this place opened when we really should have been on the open road headed home because it was a true treasure for anyone who grew up with the Little House books as I did. Just to add to my giddiness, as we were in the museum, a mom with two daughters came in and told the tour guide that her daughter had done a school project on Laura and now needed to see her home. Sweet! A new generation of Wilder geeks excites me.

Laura and Manly’s home at Rocky Ridge Farm