Christmas Surprises

This Christmas season marked the 20th anniversary that I have been taking groups to Branson, Missouri by motorcoach. Let me correct that, Willamae has been taking a busload of fun loving folks to Branson, Miz-er-i for 20 years. When I got into the Group Travel business, the first trip I planned was to go someplace I knew and loved and since Willamae got her start in Branson, it was easy to put together a two-day trip with three music shows and some good country cooking. I recall that that first trip we announced sold out immediately and we offered an identical trip the next week.

Patti Beth, whoops, Willamae, takes pride in putting together an annual holiday trip to the Ozarks and tries to have some kind of surprise every year. One year we Joann Castle of Lawrance Welk legacy, met our bus and sang Christmas carols to us. One year we showed up and surprised Barbara Fairchild and her staff by Christmas caroling in the yard at their Christmas party. That was a hoot. One year, everyone was given a Christmas mug and after the evening show, we made a surprise visit to a local candy shop for hot cocoa and treats and headed out to see the Christmas light display, sipping and laughing all the way. HO! Ho! HO! There was the year that the bus took off for the Hughes Brother’s morning show and came upon a car with the hood up and some guys looking like they needed help. Willamae offered to give them a ride as far as the theater with everyone’s permission. I think the travelers were surprised to discover those “hitchhikers” were the Hughes Brothers! We’ve had stars show up as Santa Claus and Willamae has wound up on stage more than once.

Sometimes the surprise is on us, like the time we entered the drive-through Christmas light display only to have a truck zip around us and the driver jumped out and pulled the plug on the lights. Show was over for that night! It played out like a scene from a campy Christmas movie. Hilarious.

Our 2014 trip will probably go down in the archives as having more surprises for me than for the travelers. Our plans to see Mel Tillis had to change when he was hospitalized. A last-minute substituition of shows sent us to see the Gatlin Brothers. The motorcoach company called and they needed to put the bus in for repairs, our group was so large we had to find another large coach to take us. This last minute bus company substitute during this busy season resulted in PB needing to do some on the job training with a rookie driver and more than one driving incident that caused me to want to Deck the Halls, or someone. Santa delivered old timey brown sacks of candy for Willamae’s “kids”. This brought back a lot of memories for some that got an apple and hard candy as a major part of the Christmas tradition.

One year I had Christmas stockings for everyone and all the travelers brought some little things which I filled the socks. One sweet lady had tears, that was her first Christmas sock ever. That’s the wonder and delight we hope to surprise each other. And the joy was mine as well.