June 23-29, 2022 "Wish Trip to Missouri"

Rayden was awarded a wish trip from the Marty Lyon's Foundation back in 2019. Due to covid and medical issues, we have not been able to take this trip until now. We have been super excited and counting down the days. I cannot thank all the people involved in this trip enough. Every single thing was planned and executed with absolute perfection. It was the most relaxing, enjoyable, and memorable experience!!! There are way too many pictures and experiences to record here so I will just hit the highlights. 

Most children wish to visit Disney World or someplace exotic. Not Rayden. He wanted to go to "Cabelas." I mean, how much does a 5 year old know about the world anyway? Michael and I decided since he enjoys the outdoors, fishing, hunting, go-carts, boats, side-by-sides, and of course, Cabelas; we began searching for a place that would check all the boxes. Big Cedar Lodge in the Missouri Ozark Mountains was just the place. ⛰

Enjoy this video of a few highlights from our vacation. 

Wednesday, June 22

Lynne D'Eramo, from the Marty Lyon's Foundation, came over to hand deliver a bag of gifts, the itinerary, and discuss the details of the trip. It was very nice to finally meet her. 

Thursday, June 23

Rayden was eager to leave when Mr. Dennis, limo driver, arrived at 3:45am! I'm glad our ride was actually a Suburban so there was lots of room for our things. Rayden talked the entire ride to the airport. He was just a little excited, haha. 

Rayden was thrilled to go on his first airplane ride. He continued to say he wasn't scared but when the airplane took off and he was pushed back in his seat by the force, he looked at Daddy and said, "I'm frightened!" It didn't last but a minute, and he was no longer afraid. He even took a little nap on our second flight. He enjoyed both airplane rides to Missouri. Our last plane landed in Springfield, MO around 10:30am. We retrieved our luggage and rental van, and went on our way. After a quick bite to eat and grabbing a few groceries, we arrived at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, MO around 2:30pm. 

We were greeted by Makenzie who gave us directions to our lake cottage filled with surprises. Little did we know, she had the entire week planned out with times, locations, and vouchers all on the table alongside a basket full of snacks and a plate of designer cookies. There were even drinks, milk and a charcuterie board filled with meat, cheese, crackers, and fruits in the fridge. Rayden had a fishing pole with bate and tackle as well as hats for each of us. The cottage was so cozy and perfectly laid out for us. After settling in, we decided to take a drive around the property to look around. The drive from Springfield to Ridgedale was beautiful but nothing compared to the breathtaking views of the Big Cedar Lodge property. We ended up spending a little time in the arcade at Fun Mountain before we called it a day. 

Rayden soaked in a jacuzzi tub filled with bubbles before cuddling up with 'Hunter Man' and 'Baby Otter' for a good nights rest. 🛁

Friday, June 24

We ate a scrumptious buffet breakfast at the Devil's Pool Restaurant followed by a little stroll across the Devil's Pool bridge and walking trail. We even saw a deer standing within arms reach. Surprisingly, it wasn't afraid of us at all. Our itinerary took us to Fun Mountain today. Rayden received a $250 fun card. We began with a fun game of bowling in the incredible 'under the sea' bowling alley. After a couple of arcade games, we moved on to the go-carts and bumper cars. Lunch at Uncle Bucks Fishbowl was a nice treat to end our time at Fun Mountain. The evening was filled with swimming in an infinity pool by the lake, a short game of putt-putt, and bead necklace design at the 80's Dance Party on the lawn. Needless to say, it didn't take Rayden long to fall asleep! 

Saturday, June 25

Our day began with breakfast at the Log Cabin Cafe (off property) before driving about an hour to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, MO. This is what Rayden's wish was originally all about. (Cabela's merged with Bass Pro Shop) This place is over 750,000 square feet and spans 17 acres under one roof! Rayden could not get out of the van fast enough when we arrived around 10:30am. He went straight to 'investigate' every boat, and 'test drive' every four wheeler and side-by-side. We eventually met with the store manager who gave us complimentary tickets to Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. It spans 350,000 square feet with over 1.5 miles of walking trails. We walked so much my feet and legs were throbbing. Luckily we brought Rayden's wheelchair. We thoroughly enjoyed all the meticulously detailed state-of-the-art 4D dioramas. Rayden enjoyed when he could actually REACH them! The aquarium was like none I've ever witnessed. Four floors of exhibits about ocean life, swamps,

rivers, amazon rain forest, penguin cove, bat caves, etc. It also had Michael's favorites; The Fishing Hall of Fame, and the Fishing Hall of Presidents. Around 4pm we ate dinner at Hemingway's inside the Bass Pro Shop. It had a giant aquarium full of fish behind the bar. Michael had bison meatloaf. Can you believe Rayden ate 3 little elk sliders? He loved them!! Our waitress gave us a discount and surprised Rayden with a sparkling little cake with 'Make a Wish' written in raspberry syrup on the plate. We spent a little more time shopping and exploring the free museums (NRA National Sporting Arms Museum, the Bass Pro Shops Motorsports Museum, and Origins of the Bass Pro Shop Museum). We finally left about 7pm and man, WE WERE TIRED!!! 

Sunday, June 26

Our itinerary had us spending the day at Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. It covers 10,000 acres of pristine Ozark Mountain landscape. It has miles of crystal-clear trout streams, cascading waterfalls, unique hand-built bridges and bottomless, blue-green pools. We arrived around 10am thinking we were going to enjoy a guided Tram Tour through the park, but instead we were greeted by a fishing guide named Mr. Teddy. He stated how he wanted to go a step above, and do a private tour with trout fishing and off-roading on our own side-by-side instead. Rayden was all about riding the side-by-side anyway!! He was thrilled to sit in the front and ride around soaking in the breathtaking views. Mr. Teddy gave Rayden a crash course in the grass on casting a fly fishing rod and pointing the pole down toward the fish. He was very excited to try fly fishing for the first time.

Rayden was a natural, catching three rainbow trout back to back on a "woolly bugger" bait while the people on the Tram Tour gazed on and clapped for him. 🎣 Soon he wanted to go riding around the canyon. Mr. Teddy was a fabulous tour guide and stopped to take some gorgeous pictures. We even got to see three Longhorn Steer, a heard of Bison, and countless Elk so close we could have reached out and touched them. As if that wasn't enough, Mr. Teddy took us off-roading. Rayden smiled so big as Mr. Teddy drove fast over the bumpy terrain. His absolute favorite part was going full speed through the river crossings. The cool water splashed through the windshield opening and inside the doors covering Rayden and Mr. Teddy as if they had a shower! Rayden's laughter just echoed through the canyon, and that seemed to fill Mr. Teddy's heart with joy. PRICELESS!! After lunch at Dogwood Canyon Mill and Grill Mr. Teddy took us fishing again. This time the trout just weren't biting because the Tram Tour people had fed them as they went through. We rode around a little more and walked through the two museums, tree house, and gift shop before leaving around 3pm. Rayden yelled multiple times today (and I quote), "THIS WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!" 

Monday, June 27

This was a fun-filled, super packed day as well. We arrived at Top of the Rock around 10am for a 2.5 mile journey in an electric go-cart. We chose a four seater. Rayden and I sat in the front while Michael enjoyed being chauffeured around. I can't put into words how absolutely breathtaking this place is. The trail is filled with stunning rock formations, waterfalls, and views of Table Rock Lake. There are lots of places to park the go-cart, get out, explore, and take photos. There's even a drive through cave with a Bat Bar (refreshment stand) inside. The menu is painted on the cave wall. Rayden and I loved the Bat's Bite, a Strawberry and Peach Lemonade. We RAN through the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum because Rayden just didn't enjoy looking at things he couldn't touch! 

After a quick lunch we enjoyed some time at the lazy river. Rayden laughed and laughed watching Mom and Dad getting on/off the floats. He loved going under the waterfall with Daddy. 

We didn't really know what to expect when the itinerary stated 6pm reservations at Buffalo Bar at Top of the Rock. We were greeted by a staff very eager to meet us. Jay, the manager, immediately came over to welcome us and lead us to our table. We walked through the dining area and over to a room. We could hear the soothing music made by a live guitarist, not a radio. He opened the two, giant doors to a private dining room. It had a long, rectangular, glass table surrounded by 8 leather chairs. There were ancient artifacts underneath the glass in the center of the table. There was a beautiful, stone wall and massive chandelier. One entire wall was made of glass panels that overlooked the stone patio with a breathtaking mountain view. I asked Jay if he knew it was just the three of us. 

We didn't need this entire room. Jay informed us that Mr. Johnny Morris, founder and owner of Bass Pro and every single place we have visited, wanted us to enjoy his private dining room and anything we wanted on the menu! Wow! We were not expecting that! As we were finishing up our meal, Jay folded the glass wall panels like an accordion, opening the room up to the outside. The sun was beginning to set and the guitar playing stopped. We walked out onto the stone patio to soak up the breathtaking view and listen to the live bagpipe performance followed by the firing of a Civil War cannon. Rayden was so interested in knowing where that cannon ball went, haha. We returned to Mr. Morris' private dining room to enjoy a luscious apple crisp dessert. The perfect ending to this long, wonderful day. 

Tuesday, June 28

This day began bright and early. We had reservations for a 4-hour Pontoon Boat rental at the Bent Hook Marina . Rayden was thrilled to find the pontoon boat was, indeed, RED! After a crash course on how to use the GPS, we took off to explore the 43,000-acre Table Rock Lake. No, we didn't catch any fish ON the boat but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery, picnic, gorgeous weather, and family time together. Rayden had the best time when Daddy let him DRIVE the boat. He enjoyed a large ice cream sandwich at the Marina before taking another dip in the infinity pool. We had dinner and a massive dessert at the Devil's Pool Restaurant before going fishing on the bank. It's funny how the handful of people out there told us the fish weren't biting but we soon started proving them wrong. I caught a catfish and a sunfish. Rayden caught three brim and Michael caught a bass. 🐠 

Wednesday, June 29

Before leaving Big Cedar Lodge we went through the gift shops and over to Fun Mountain one more time. We sure hated to leave. We arrived at the airport early so we would have enough time to check our luggage, return the rental van, and eat some lunch. Our flight left for Dallas/Ft. Worth around 4pm. We didn't have time to look around in the Texas airport because it took us the entire hour to get from one terminal to the next! This place is huge. We even had to take a train to get to our next plane! We were met by Mr. Dennis, our limo driver, in Raleigh around10pm. He was very excited to hear about our adventures. Rayden filled him in all the way home!! 🏠