Preparedness for Silver Dollar City, In Branson, Missouri

   As I have talked about in Previous Posts, My wife and I are on a short Vacation. Our destination this weekend is Branson, Missouri. The Weather here, this weekend, is very wet and stormy. In preparation for the trip we packed our camping gear, BOB's, and extra food. Just in case. We also brought our weather Radio (Eton FR360). The rest of our party are NOT preppers. Friday night I checked the NOAA station and got the weather for Saturday. Rain, storms, wind, and high 70 degree weather.  We wore our long pants, good walking shoes, and brought coats. We also brought out umbrella and a day pack for each of us.
    I had called ahead to see if the park allowed food/water to be brought in. While many Parks and venues don't allow this, Silver Dollar City does. In fact, they allow coolers! In each pack is a small first aid kit, snacks, water, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight, extra batteries, and a camera. Our family had short sleeves, long pants, light coats, and no umbrellas. It rained and the temperature dropped dramatically. It got cold very fast. For the most part we were fine. I had scotch guarded everything so we were not than wet, just a little cold. What amazed me the most was the rest of the visiting guest. Many were dressed in shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flop/clogs. Not a coat or rain slicker in sight. The sight of small children: wet dressed in shorts and t's was very sad. It was 60 degrees with a fierce wind chill. The park sold very cheaply made rain gear for $5 and up, and were making some money. Food prices in the park were not over-the-top but drinks were. Bringing your own was a saver move.
      The big mistakes that we made were these. 1. we had a small weather radio and left it in the room. At one point the weather was Tornadic. The park gave no warning and had no siren. 2. Instead of Buying Lunch we should have brought more food with us. Lunch was not bad at $8 each but when drinks were added it was $21 for two. $2.50 med sodas or $12.00 Plastic cups. 3. We should have made the rest of the party pay more attention to the weather. They GOT WET and were cold and miserable.  Overall the first day was OK. We saw some things heard some good music and can make plans for Sunday. Sunday includes a dinner theatre at the Dixieland Stampede so I'll post about that. Then its on to Memphis, Tn and Huntsville, Al. I'll keep you informed.