Okobojiville

The best Vikings game I ever watched was today. The Vikings played San Francisco and with 2 minutes left to play, Favre through an amazing touch down pass to the endzone. Speaking of The Endzone, that is where we watched the game (most the game).  My chicken sandwich was a bit dull and could have used a slice of swiss cheese and a ring of pineapple. But our waitress was a sweetheart, making sure The Kid had ample entertainment with colors and paper.

Anyway, we were feeling cranky about the game and left The Endzone. There was 2 minutes left to play and San Fransisco had just got a touchdown to give them a 4 point lead. Well that pissy attitude certainly wasn’t necessary because when we got back to the condo and turned on the tv (with 2 seconds to go) we see Brett Favre perform a miracle.

AMAZING!!

Tags: football, vikings

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The Man has a big boat. Well, of course in Okoboji it’s a little fish in a big pond, but to me it’s a BIG BOAT. It is a twin engine 28 foot SeaRay. We love it and usually spend as much time as possible on it. But I try to avoid going to the Condo on the last weekend of the season because The Man will put me to work helping take the boat out of the water. I am always happy when The Man’s Kid comes along and helps him.

We have had the boat stored at both Mau Marine and Parks Marina in previous years but figured it made more sense to take it home. It’s a lot of money to store the boat there and so The Man bought a trailor and for the past few years, stores it at home in Sioux Falls. Also, he can pull the boat out to fill it at the station where gas is $1 cheaper a gallon than on the water.

The part I personally hate is taking the canopy off the lift (although when I compare it to putting the damn thing on it’s a dream). I become intimately aquainted with many spider varieties and can’t wait to hit the shower afterwards. Then we have to load up the boat and clean it out and tarp it and…..yuck.

It was windy and cold today. I complained the whole time but The Man promised I could sleep on the way home. That gave me something to look  forward to since he usually makes me drive back to Sioux Falls. No way was I driving all the way home with the Titanic hooked to the back of the truck!

Tags: mau marine, parks marina

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There is always one weekend that I don’t look forward to at the lake. Aside from the work involved in taking the boat out of the water, cleaning out the condo fridge and packing up everything, it’s just depressing to know the summer is over. Now, most people think of the summer as over on Labor Day Weekend, but we still like to have a last hurrah then.

Saturday morning we decided to met up with some Sioux Falls friends:  Heather, who is my neighbor, her mom, Linda, and Heather’s son, Jacob. They don’t come to Okoboji often so we were eager to show them a good time. The weather was a little chili on the water, so we piled blankets and towels in the boat.

Our friends were staying at Village West so we boated over there for a great brunch the girls cooked for us. From there we showed them the Harbor and then off to The Barefoot Bar.   We spent a couple hours there before heading back to our condo. I wanted to show them The Barn Swallow and that took another hour so we were ready for dinner after that. The girls took The Man’s truck back to their time-share to get ready and by 8 we were ready to go.

Geppettos was our choice for the evening since we wanted to show our friends the finer side of Boji. The Kid and my friend’s kid were a little tired and consequently they were a it fidgety during dinner. The restaurant wasn’t very busy so I don’t  think any other diners noticed. Our meal was fine but it was obvious that the season is over since the list of “out of stock” menu items was longer than the available ones.

After dinner,  Heather’s mom offered to watch the kids so we could go out. The music from Captain’s was sounding pretty good from the street so we decided to stop there for a drink. The Fishheads were playing 70s and 80s and for some old white guys, they sounded awesome!

Stories will be told for years to come about that night…

Tags: bars, captains, dining, geppettos, party

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This place is really fun and I wish there was something like it in Sioux Falls! Karaoke is always a blast when there is enough booze to go around. I didn’t sing because I didn’t want anyone laughing at me but as  couple more beers and I’d have been on stage too.  Makes me want a house with an entire karaoke section. We really like karaoke but it seems we sound the best when there is no one around to hear us – what’s up with that?

Some barely 18 kid wearing Wranglers and dirty cowboy boots did an amazing job singing some Johnny Cash tunes while one of his friends got the bar moving with Baby Got Back.

I got a lecture from The Man on the way home for texting too much during the evening -  I thought I would be chastised for drinking too much (yeah, I did that too).

Tags: cocktails, karaoke

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So The Man slept till 10:30 (but he probably needed it.) So we were going to eat after he showered. He assured me that the shower would only take 2 minutes and it was as promised – but his hair took an hour. I am the hair stylist in the family, and I swear I can do my hair in 3 minutes as I walk to the car…
It was too late at most places for breakfast and since it was such a nice day, we decided to eat outside at Fisherman’s Wharf. This is one of those places where the food is pretty good but you have to fight for an outside table. TodayThe Kid was no different. As I eyed a newly cleared off table and ran to set my purse down, a 75 year old woman shoved me out of the way and waved over her 3 friends. We had a bit of a stare down over it but I decided to concede since I was not about to argue with 4 seniors who clearly planned on eating at THAT TABLE – Plus they all carried large bags.

The Kid and I each had our customary grilled cheese and it was yummy. Grandma complained about her pork loin like grandma’s do who are used to eating a farm cooked pork loin.  She said her potato salad was great. The waitress was really nice even though every other diner was ignoring the large sign that said: PLEASE DON’T CHANGE TABLES AFTER BEING SEATED.

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Love reading the boat names on the wall while waiting for my food:
Obsession
Life to the Max
Okorosie
UV WAVE
Nautitime
Cash Flow
The Okie from Boji
Keg’ers

Horseplay
Alota Colada
Lake Livin’
Tequila Jack

Tons of bikers here today. Perfect weather for motorcycles! Food was great and I’m amazed at how the waitresses can be so cheerful with all the people packed in here!

Tags: bikers, lighthouse

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We planned on meeting some friends at The Barefoot Bar (otherwise known as The Tiki Bar) at 12:30 for lunch. We made it by 1:30 but I guess that’s probably fashionably late in Okobojiville. My friends, The Hairstylist and Her husband had already eaten by the time we got there so I settled for a Pina Colada instead. The Man had taken The Kid and Her friend to The Coffee Cup for pancakes less than an hour before so they promptly headed for the kids area.

Now, I have said it before and I’ll say it again, Butch Parks (the owner of the Parks Marina empire) is a marketing genius. Where so many other bars try to attract the young, single crowd, Butch Parks just appeals to, well…everyone! While mom and dad have a cocktail or a coke, the kids are off having their own kind of fun. Both of his beach bars have a great children’s area with sand, swings and water. When a band is playing, he’ll even hand out hoola hoops to the kids so they can join in the fun. On more than one occasion, The Man and I have had to explain why The Kid tells everyone she loves “The Tiki Bar.”

And the clothes! I know I’ve mentioned before that my Okoboji attire consists of “Barefoot Bar” clothes and I am not kidding.  I left my credit card at the condo and had $60 cash in my beach bag – just enough for another “Barefoot Bar” t-shirt and hat. Every year the clothing area gets bigger and you rarely find the same things that were there the year before. The quality is very good and the price is very fair. Best of all, the huge selection of cool, casual “barefoot” clothes has something to appeal to every age. Add the toys, games and plethora of novelty items and well…did I say marketing genius?

Tags: barefoot bar, parks marina, tiki bar

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Usually if you are going to be on west lake to see the fireworks show, you want to find your spot by 9pm. If you haven’t ever experienced 4th of July on West Lake,  put it on your “todo” list.

We loaded The Man’s boat with  and found our spot easily. The Kid had another 6-year-old friend with her who had never been on a boat. I was excited to watch the fireworks with them, since I get to experience the magic through their eyes. We had 2 other couples with us and settled in with a beer and blankets.

At 10pm, all the boats set their radio dial to the station sponsering the fireworks. Music and fireworks seemed perfectly synchronized and we enjoyed Lee Greenwood (God Bless the USA), Neil Diamond (Coming to America), Louis Armstrong (Its a wonderful world), Ray Charles (America) and Elvis Presley (Glory, Glory Halleluliah), among others. I have seen the 4th of  July fireworks show for 10 years and I believe this was the best one yet!

Definately an experience I recommend to everyone!

Tags: 4th of july, fireworks, west lake

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So here I am on 4th of July sitting by the Edgewater Condo pool with my computer (is that weird)? The Kid and Her Friend are swimming while I sit in the shade (because after all, there is no sun today). I wish it could get warmer because then I’d be inclined to jump in with them. I wistfully remember 10 years ago when the condo’s kidney-shaped pool boasted an extra springy diving board and 12 foot deep water.  Ahh, how times have changed. Now, 6 feet is the deepest it gets and even jumping feet-first from the cemented sides elicits disapproving looks. I know it’s all about “the liability,” but my kid will never know the joy of diving like I did.

I grew up next to a 12 foot high board that made me feel like the most graceful swan ever to grace Slayton, Minnesota. The lifeguard was a handsome, tanned, future-doctor that in retrospect I should have spent more time talking to rather than being whistled at for all the wrong reasons (breaking the pool rules).  But damn… I could dive!

Tags: edgewater condo, swimming

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Everyone in the condo woke up at 11am (there were 2 little girls that decided they had been quiet long enough) and spent the next hour deciding where we should have breakfast. The decision was finally made that The Lighthouse was the closest and we were starving.

I should have known we would get going too late to order breakfast at The Lighthouse again. This time we missed it by 10 minutes.  DAMN. I was in the mood for pancakes and bacon but settled for a grilled cheese from the kid’s menu. The Kid and Her friend ordered mac & cheese.  When it came I thought they had brought the wrong thing.  Have you ever heard of deep fat fried mac & cheese? That is exactly what it was – shaped in little 3 inch triangles. I was going to send it back but we all tried it and decided it was quite good. The rest of the meal’s conversation consisted of  wondering who thought up such a thing and thinking up other foods that might taste good deep-fried.

The service at The Lighthouse today was quick and the food was good. I was surprised that we were the only people in the whole place,  considering the 4th being a very busy time at Okoboji.

Maybe everyone is sleeping in today.

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