May 9 Branson

After everyone left and I was in bed Dave laid down with me!
Then he went to sleep!!
He never does that. I can’t stay awake with a sleeping partner. Soon I was sawing logs too.

I woke up and Dave, Lee, and Tammy are sitting at the picnic table, planning the rest of our day. I apologized for being tardy and Tammy said oh she had just gotten up from her nap a few minutes ago. She is great to travel with. So kind.

We set out towards the Titanic museum. Going through downtown Branson I get all excited about the quilt shop. And the Five and Dime. But do we stop? Nooo. Then there is a water tower, with windows in the base. And I miss getting a picture of that. We are heading for a late lunch at a Burger Shack.
I love the colors. Turquoise walls, with yellow wainscoting, and orange ceiling. Old surfboards hanging. Endless Summer poster. Tammy got the best looking onion rings. I was jealous.

Then off to the Titanic.

The Titanic museum was very good. Other than making me cry a few times. I am too emotional these days.
They give you a boarding pass with information about one of the original passengers. The idea is to find out if you as the passenger makes it or not. So I am from Ireland, third class, and have two young sons traveling with me. I expect I will survive because a man gives me his lifejacket. Which makes me cry to think of how good people are to each other.

We saw recreated rooms. The Astor’s room was the grandest, and I wasn’t as impressed as I should be. The third class cabin was better than some crews quarters I’ve lived in. 😉 With four good bunks, two on each side, electric light, painted paneling, wash basin and water taps…
Steerage or third class is where the line made their money interestingly enough. And third class was better on the Titanic than many first class cabins on other ships.

My favorite part is a sort of doll house view of the various levels. Kitchen, pantry, and dining room, next to each other. Boilers below. And coal. Lots of coal.

Near the end of the tour we were in the room with information about the musicians. And they actually did play music all the way to the last. They gathered near the lifeboats, so they could have gotten aboard one and gone on to safety, but each chose to play music for the passengers instead. It makes me weep.

There is a small tank of icy water that you can put your hand in to see what it is like. Tammy and I stick our hands in and she goes a full minute and quits. She says she could have gone longer but it’s cold! I go a minute and a half and quit because I’m holding things up, and my back is hurting from bending over. My hands are tough. 😉 But when I think of how cold it was, and that the passengers were completely immersed, and they couldn’t just stop and pull their hand out of the water when they felt like it. It took twenty to thirty minutes in the water before hypothermia set in. A minute is a long time.

The museum is sort of a memorial. And was interesting for the memorabilia and the quality of the workmanship. The original Titanic was a visual delight. Not a bad way to go.

Finally got to the end, and I and my two kids survive. Thank goodness. It was rough enough.