Last Friday was opening day for Silver Dollar City. Thankful to have the kids' happy place open again, we headed down Friday night so we could be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for an early morning arrival at SDC. The kids love staying in hotels, it must seem like a great adventure to them. We were at the park before open Saturday morning and got to take in the main square and shops for a bit. It was already over 50 degrees before 9:00 and the flowers blooming, warm air, and scent of sunscreen on the kids made it feel like we had skipped ahead by several weeks. We were lucky enough to find the bread bakery and mill already open and got a few quiet minutes with the baker there talking with the kids. Seeing as we had no plans to ride the new roller coaster at the park, but most people were there just for that, we were surrounded by a lot of quiet in the morning as they led those willing to wait hours for Outlaw Run, on down to that area. Opening Ceremonies at the park was off-kilter today as they went straight to the raising of the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem. I love that they honor our Veterans and our Country every morning, and I love seeing my kids place their hands over their hearts and participate in that honor. Our first stop was the measuring station. Davis has grown an inch and a half since December (!) and Riley is a mere 1/8 of an inch from being able to ride all but one thing on park and being able to ride most of the rides without an adult (Crazy, but a huge relief for a mom whose body can only stand a couple rides a day). The kids got to ride the little roller coaster and the teacups without an adult for the first time and we were thankful to see them use the rules for waiting in line and being polite to other riders around them. Then the four of us hit Thunderation for a couple of rides and then meandered a bit before letting the kids settle in at Half Dollar Holler for a run-around. We were disappointed to find that PowderKeg had broken down for the day and Fire in the Hole had a ridiculously long line. So we lored the new area of the park and watched the new ride before making our way back to the little roller coaster. Davis was ready for a break, so Riley went all alone which made her feel so grown-up. We decided that the kids were old enough to go in the cave for the first time, got in line for that, only to be a few people too late and having to be turned away. Rather than wait another 40 minutes we headed to the taffy shop to put together our to-go treat bags. Then it was time to say goodbye to SDC for the day and start planning our next trip.
When we left Branson it was 73 degrees, and we were welcomed back to Jeff City with 43 degree temps...our brief glimpse of summer got whisked away quickly!
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