Christmas is now in full swing everywhere.

Our travelers kicked off the holidays in November with a trip to Branson, Missouri, taking on a whole new schedule of shows, stops, tours and of course, the many choices for dinning.

Branson, can host over 100 show choices in any given week, with many new shows added. It’s a whole new era with many families who have taken to living in this beautiful Ozark country join in as some of the well-known favorites have moved into retirement.

The Sight and Sound Theatre production of “The Story of Moses” is the latest of productions, which derived from the Amish area in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The show uses digital tools which streamline the process of moving  over 50  settings across the stage.

The story is told beginning with the releasing of baby Moses to the parting of the Red Sea, the burning bush and  the Ten Commandments, all told in detail with live animals in dramatic scenes with a large class.

There was a variety of new shows for us with several tours that gave us another new look of what this laid back  area has to offer.

We visited The College of the Ozarks, which is a free school for all grades, with students working to pay for their school. This non-denomination school operates the school’s floor mill, huge greenhouses and college  creamery.  The grounds include a beautiful memorial chapel and a four-story museum dedicated to the history of the Ozarks.

St. Joseph, Missouri, was the destination on our last day as we explored what this town had for us. And should your western interest be boots, The St. Jo Boot company has over 17,000  pair in stock.

The Pony Express National Museum is where our visit began. There were four floors of things to see that certainly deserve a return visit.  Many of their events including a festival revolve around this historic town of 90,000, which includes several Gothic homes and other homes of that era.

This visit may have been planned as a Christmas trip, but stopping at all of these treasures along the way whet our appetite  for a return visit another time, with more time allowed at each site.

Upcoming trips

•Dec. 10: “White  Christmas” at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul. This Irving Berlin production is a real classic holiday tradition.  Brimming with beautiful music and the unforgettable title song. We depart at 9:30 a.m. from the Walmart    parking lot with a return time of around 7 p.m. There is a waiting list only.

•Dec. 31-Jan. 1: New Years Eve Gala trip to the Chanhassen Theater for the production  of “Camelot.” This show has won many Tony Awards and is filled with pageantry, humor and crowd-pleasing music. Following the show, we are free to visit other areas including the Comedy Club, Chanhassen Orchestra  and more.  This visit to the Chanhassen is like none of our other visits. Following midnight toasts, we will take to our lodging next door. Return time will be around 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 1.

We currently have four seats available.

We are currently working on travel ideas for 2017.  Share you ideas with us.   Our phone numbers are 507-438-3946 and 507-433-9391.