“A BIG LAKE, BUGGY WOODS, AND NOTHING LIKE THE AWESOME TV SHOW!”
Smack dab in the middle of the state is a large lake, aptly named The Lake of the Ozarks. In fact, the coastline of this lake is over 1,100 miles which is more than the coastlines of Florida and California! The lake is over 90 miles in length, from dam to dam (one was built in the 1930’s and the other in the 1970’s) and offers a wide array of water activities.
Gary and I thoroughly enjoyed kayaking one sunny, hot morning, getting our exercise and taking in the scenery. We took a sunset dinner cruise one evening which allowed us to navigate the lake from the comfort of air conditioning and a surprisingly tasty sit-down meal.
Swimming in the lake was fine, but I much preferred swimming at the free pool bar at Dog Days and Margaritaville Resort, both situated on the lake. The swim-up pool bars and bikini-clad patrons reminded me of my sister’s timeshare resort in Cabo. We mixed right in with the locals and tourists, many of whom should have asked someone “does this swimsuit actually fit me?” Don’t you all just love to ‘people watch’?
Spending the week at our campsite and the lake area was relaxing and peaceful. Our site had a view of the lake, and we were situated far away from other campers. The only drawback to our site was the construction happening on the other side of the fence from us – finishing touches on what will be a new campground site for larger RV’s with full hook-ups. It’s always something, isn’t it. The camp site is either shaded but not level, or the site is wide but no view. Although never perfect and often not too convenient, I’ll take this traveling, retirement life with Gary over long workdays, anytime!
Exploring the lake’s several dispersed downtown areas was interesting. One bar was named after one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite TV shows, Ozark, starring Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde. We thankfully have not seen any evidence of the shenanigans that the Byrde family experienced – no riverboat casinos, poppy fields, or dead bodies in the lake – but the summer is just beginning, so…
We concluded our week in the Ozarks celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary at a wonderful, upscale restaurant with magnificent, panoramic views of sunset over the lake. I could not be more thankful for the life that we have built together and the memories we continue to make together.