Last Wednesday morning Hubby and I headed out for Branson, Mo. It is one of our most favorite places to go and we decided it would be a great place to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary on June 6th.
Since touring The College of the Ozarks a year and a half ago we knew that we wanted to stay at The Keeter Center. If you have never heard of The College of the Ozarks, you need to go here and read all about it. I could write a short novel about it but I will not do that, but will let you check it out yourself if you are interested. ~aren't you glad~
We arrived about mid afternoon and were taken to our Loft Suite.
It is far above a hotel! We have stayed at 5 Star hotels and resorts in our 43 years of marriage and everything in between. But, none have been any nicer or more accommodating than here at The Keeter Center. The room has king bed provisions, a nice sitting area with big screen TV, a kitchenette, huge bath with shower and jacuzzi tub and a balcony. There are only a total of 15 rooms at the center, so there is never a crowd to contend with. And, it is a smoke free, alcohol free and pet free facility. We didn't know a place such as that existed today. We would give it a 6-Star rating!
The entire staff is made up of students attending the college. They are the nicest young folks and go out of their way to make sure your every need is met.
When we got to our room each evening, this is what was awaiting us. Homemade cookies and a fresh milk (straight from the cows raised there on land by the college). The cookies were HUGE and we brought all the extras home with us.
Homemade ice cream is available as well as lots of homemade pastries. Again, all of this is made by the students and it is so delicious. I tried the Raspberry Cream Cheese ice cream one afternoon. ~yummy~
All of the decor at The Keeter Center is rustic and the entire center was built by the students as well. Construction began in 2006 and it was finished in 2010. The logs used in the construction were brought in from Montana and they are huge! The grounds are perfectly manicured and yes, you guessed it, they are kept by the students. You could see students outside early each morning sweeping and making sure everything was in pristine shape before the guests began stirring.
The lobby was beautifully decorated and we enjoyed visiting with some of the students as we wandered around in the lobby. It was truly a time to slow down, step back and enjoy and we did just that.
The weather was a bit rainy for a large part of each day but we still got out and about. We enjoyed several shows, one of which was The Oak Ridge Boys. They are rarely in Branson but had a one night engagement there this summer and it happened to be last Thursday evening. They never disappoint!
One evening we saw the play, Smoke on the Mountain and I laughed so hard and loud that no one had any doubt that I was there. A musical comedy, doesn't get much better in my book!
Of course, all good things must come to an end. ~boo-hoo~ So, on Saturday morning we headed out towards home with enough memories to last a long, long time. Need I say, it was a truly wonderful 43rd anniversary celebration!!!
What an interesting place to stay. I love the cookies at night! You guys look wonderful and happy!
ReplyDeleteThis is priceless, you should see me sitting here grinning from ear to ear, Lea! Visiting Branson is on my bucket list, and this post has moved it up to the top! I am so particular where I stay when traveling this certainly looks 6 star for sure. The service seems to be 6+ stars too!~smile~
ReplyDeleteWishing you many more Happy Anniversary celebrations.
Blessings,
Sue
Happy anniversary! How wonderful to get away to celebrate. And it certainly looks like a wonderful place to go. Btw, I love your ivory lace top I noticed in one of your photos. So flattering and pretty!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and love,
Debbie
Oh this sounds just WONDERFUL!! And when I am traveling this is just the kind of place you like to be! Don't know if I will ever be near this area, but you sure have made this sound like the place to be! Glad you had such a nice celebration! May you have many more years together!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, DH wants to visit Branson ... I will tell him I'm in if we can stay at the Keeter Center! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of the College of the Ozarks, but I'm fascinated by the little I read on their homepage. Awesome!
OH MY GOODNESS! You'll never believe this--from Wed-Saturday, I was in Ozark, MO, which is about 25 miles north of Branson! We even came into Branson on Friday to shop. HOW crazy! What a small world. One day, we're actually going to be in the same place at the same time!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun place, so glad you both enjoyed it so much.
ReplyDeleteTwo things, one, I don't think I've ever had "left over" cookies...oh no, never. Two, happy those beautiful logs came from the place of my birth Montana...it truly just makes me smile to hear Montana.... Again, glad you both got out to celebrate you vows.....
Welcome home and enjoy your little visitors :-)
Hugs!!
This post makes me want to visit Branson. I think we will have to put this one on our list of places we want to go. It all looks wonderful, I'm glad you had such a nice time.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a nice trip!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary (belated). It looks like you enjoyed a fun little trip...brings a smile to my face for you :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't The Keeter center wonderful? My sis in law went to school at College of the Ozarks and we stayed there several times. It's outstanding. So glad y'all had a wonderful time!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed keeping up with your trip. If our friends didn't live in Branson, the College is where we would stay. So glad you had a great time. So excited about the new house. And those kiddos are so precious. So glad they are going to be close.
ReplyDelete