Visit Branson Missouri

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

- by Tes-

Our friends, the McCaslands, invited us to spend one spring break at Branson Missouri. Excem is my co-teacher. She and I are both kindergarten teachers in the school where am working. Like us, the McCaslands are also from Houston, but they went ahead of us because they were visiting some relatives prior to meeting us. Doods and I, and four other co-teachers drove to Branson and just met with Excem and Scott McCasland who have already gone ahead. The McCaslands regaled of their pleasant stay at Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. They liked the ambiance, the cleanliness, the friendly people and the efficiency of the service. The place is reasonably priced and offers a huge choice of amenities to enjoy! It has cool packages that can work well for both big and small party.

We had five days to explore Branson, and we made sure that we use up our time wisely. We checked online to see what are the best tourist attraction in Branson, Missouri.

This Titanic museum in Branson is not like its traveling counterparts. It is a two-story building. This replica is a half-scale to its original size. It is huge, towering at 100 feet above Country Highway 76, and holds 400 rare artifacts in twenty galleries. The building is anchored on water to give it the Titanic-at-sea effect. Even if you missed Titanic's maiden voyage, you can still discover her through this amazing museum in Branson.

Ride the Duck is an awesome QUACK-tastic adventure on land and water aboard an amphibious vehicle, a WWII replica DUKW. The tour combines music with historical accounts. The passengers also get a chance to drive the duck. Tour the Ozarks then cruise the lake for an exciting splashdown adventure!

Table Rock Lake is a man made reservoir, impounded by Table Rock Dam. It is such a beautiful sight. There are several commercial marinas along the lake. Downstream from the Dam, The Missouri Department of Natural Resources operates a fish hatchery, which is used to stock trout in Lake Tnaycomo. It was my first time to see a fish hatcher. Interesting. There were so many people fishing that day, despite the shill in the air.

We had a pleasant time at Branson. Like most places, five days is not enough to see it all. We will definitely be back. Especially now that my sister and her family have moved here in America from the Philippines. We checked out Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing and it is just the right place for a big group like us. They have spacious rooms and the place is at the heart of Historic Downtown. Branson, we shall return!

Fun Friday: P is for Pelican

California Brown Pelican

It's Fun Friday again in our Blogging for Fun Group. This Friday we are working on letter P. Since my last post was about coastal birds, I decided to make a post on one of the most conspicuous birds that can be found in the San Diego coast: the California brown pelican. 

Pelican Up Close

The brown pelican is one of the eight species of pelicans. Unlike the white pelicans which I mostly see in the inland lakes of San Diego, the brown pelicans are very much coastal, they mostly stay along the shore. I love watching the brown pelicans do the synchronized dive for fish from the air. In fact, one of the distinction of brown pelicans from the white pelicans is that the brown pelicans group dive for fish from the air, whereas the white pelicans do cooperative fishing from the surface. 

Pelicans in Flight

The brown pelicans have five subspecies, which are:  P. o. californicus (California Brown Pelican) ; P. o. carolinensis (Eastern Brown Pelican) Gmelin, 1789; P. o. occidentalis (Caribbean Brown Pelican) Linnaeus, 1766; P. o. murphy (Pacific Brown Pelican) Wetmore, 1945; P. o. urinator (Galapagos Brown Pelican) Wetmore, 1945

It's a Party!

Where the pelicans are, usually the gulls are also there, a mixed party you would say.

Sea Gull and Pelican

Pelicans and Sea Gulls

Well, the pelicans are fishers, whereas the gulls often try to steal the fish right out of the pouch of pelicans as the pelicans drain the water from its bill after a dive. Sometimes, the gulls would even perch on the pelican's head or back and reach in for the fish. Before, I simply thought that sea gulls simply love and adore the pelicans for their size, but now, I understand better why it seem the gulls love to party with the pelicans. The pelicans, on the other hand, is not above stealing fish from other sea birds. 

Here are some more pictures of California brown pelicans I took over the years here in San Diego.

I wonder what these pelicans think as they watch the kayakers

Have a happy Friday everyone, and a good weekend ahead.

- Betchai-

Coastal Birds

Double Crested Cormorant

Got the chance to take a walk earlier by the bay. Oftentimes, because of the sweeping and scenic view of the bay and the ocean, these small critters around are missed. Unlike the seals and the sea lions who always have constant visitors in their natural habitats , these coastal birds are often simply missed, well, maybe because they choose to flock more on coastal mud flats that may not be as scenic for a lot of people. But luckily for these birds, the coastal mud flats afford them with constant and rich supply of foods that walking along this stretch, one will observe so many bird species aside of course from the more famous California Brown Pelican and very common sea gulls. 

Not All Birds That Flock Together Are of the Same Feathers

Heron

Egret

Anyway, these are some of the birds I was able to capture today in my walk at Mission Bay. I really did not wait for sunset anymore, since after a day of learning I was too tired and hungry, I wanted to just eat and sleep, and now, blog a little bit :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Orange and Oblation

Now, let me be a few hours early for this Friday's Blogging For Fun. Our group is doing an alphabet meme, and this week, we are doing letter O. I had been thinking since last week about letter O, and could not come up with an interesting "O", until the word Orange came to my mind,

Orange Hue @ Sunset, Ocean Beach, San Diego

and today, my eldest brother shared to us the great news about my nephew as one of the 50 Oblation

Scholars ( out of the 70,341 examinees) of the University of the Philippines. University of the Philippines is the premier institution of higher learning in the Philippines, and its symbol is the "Oblation", which is a figure of a naked man with arms outstretched and face pointed upwards. The "Oblation" is based on the second stanza of "Mi Ultimo Adios", written by the Philippines' national hero, Jose Rizal. My nephew is graduating in high school this March 2010 ( Philippines end of school year), and coincidentally, he is also one of the top 20 finalists of the Philippines Math Delegation out of the thousands representatives from different high schools in the different regions of the Philippines. When he was in elementary, he was one of the Philippine Delegates for the elementary level to the World's Math Olympiad held in Singapore. Though he did not win, but one of the Philippine delegates that time was one of the winners. For us then, him representing the Philippines is already enough achievement. So, to my nephew, our big congratulations and good luck also for the coming Math Olympiad. The top 20 finalists will continue to vie for the top 4 to represent the Philippines in the coming World's Math Olympiad.

Now, back to "Orange". Here are some more of my collection of orange photos.

Hummingbird and Blooming Aloes, Balboa Park,San Diego

California Poppies, Toothrock Trail, Poway, San Diego County

Sunset, San Onofre State Beach, San Diego County

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

And here is more about orange :)

Orange- like yellow, is a happy color :)

Physiological Effect: Orange has proven to be a stimulus of the sexual organs. Also, it can be benefitial to the digestive system and can strengthen the immune system.

Psychological Effect: Orange has shown to have only positive affects on your emotional state. This color relieves feelings of self-pity, lack of self-worth and unwillingness to forgive. Orange opens your emotions and is a terrific antidepressant.

Have an "Orange" (Happy) Friday and good weekend Everyone.