Okobojiville

I slept in this morning. The Kid woke me up and said The Man was taking her to breakfast at the Lighthouse. Now, I do like the Lighthouse but not three mornings in a row! I told them to go without me which gave me an extra hour to snooze. When they came back, we hung around a few hours watching black & white war movies on the AMC channel.

Later, a phonecall from some friends prompted us to head over to The Barefoot Bar again. We tend to go there for most of our entertainment needs for various reasons, including the fact that there is a children’s play area for The Kid. Whoever planned for this bar to be “a family fun place”  is a marketing genius. No need for a sitter. The parents have fun, the kids have fun and everyone wins.

I don’t know who the entertainment was since I was engaged in conversation the whole time. I am rather proud of myself that I didn’t spend the usual hundred bucks on Barefoot Bar clothing and accessories…not today anyway (yesterday was a different story.) By the end of the summer we are usually well outfitted in Okoboji clothing and most of it advertises either The Barefoot Bar or Okoboji Boatworks. Did I mention genius marketing?

Tags: barefoot bar, lighthouse, okoboji boatworks, tiki bar

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The day actually turned out much nicer than I was expecting. We decided to (finally) put the boat in the water. The Man takes it home off season so we have to get it in the water and onto the boatlift at the condo. He used to store it here  in Boji off season but decided the cost was worth taking it home. After washing down the exterior of the boat (yet again) The Man backed the truck down and in a matter of minutes, the boat was in Eastlake. We all jumped in and off we went. The boat is a twin engine SeaRay and has an awesome ride. We went right over to Westlake (The Man, The Kid, The BFF, BFF’s Kid and me.) After cruising around briefly, we decided to go back to Eastlake to The Barefoot Bar. Bff hadn’t been there before and I’d been bragging it up for so long so we thought we’d go there.

After pizza and beers and listening to The Dueling Pianos (The Man’s favorite Tiki Bar entertainment) for a couple hours, BFF stated that she and her son had to get going.

Back to the condo and I took a nap.

Tags: beer, Boating, Dueling Pianos, Eastlake, pizza, SeaRay, tiki bar, Westlake

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The Kid wanted to go “where we went yesterday” for breakfast and this time we wanted to make it to the Lighthouse before they stopped serving breakfast. It was packed this morning and we had to wait in the holding pen (that’s the bar area where they don’t serve food.) I consumed myself with thoughts of guilt over not making it to church this morning, although Rev Schuller on TV is about as good as it gets IMHO. His sermon was a tearjerker – recounting the forgiveness of a mother toward the kamikaze soldiers that killed her son in WW2.  I would really like to see the Crystal Cathedral someday…

While waiting to be seated at the Lighthouse, I had to go outside for a bit due to a severe hotflash. Immediately I thought of the book I had at home (given to me 5 years ago by a  grinning friend) called Hot Flashes and Warm Bottles.  The book is a humorous look at being a “late in life mommy” which is just another way to say, “you won’t live long enough to see your grandchildren.”

OK…back at the restaurant…my cheese omelet was great (lotsa cheese, just the way I like it) but the hard and crusty toast sucked. We had the same waitress as  yesterday who was very cheerful and friendly considering it was standing room only. 

BFF and her 17 year old showed up on the way back from a graduation party in Spirit Lake and decided to stay the day. Back at the condo, The Man turned on the TV and got comfortable, which made me wonder if we really would get the boat in the water today?

Tags: church, hotflash, lighthouse, rev schuler

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Went to The Lighthouse for breakfast but I guess we were too late. I saw a sign upon entering that said “breakfast served” but apparently by the time the waitress made it to our table it had been erased. Had a patti melt and fries which were ok but I found it curious that we had to ask for napkins and silverware (considering they were not busy at that time.) The waitress was apologetic and said she was new but I felt a little irritated again when the water I asked for never came. It was probably just my mood since The Kid was being a little shit and I didn’t get much sleep last night.

Tags: breakfast, lighthouse, restaurants

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With this crappy weather wewoke up to this morning, at least The Kid and I got time today to see the kitties at The Barn Swallow (although the poor things were trying to hide from an assortment of rambunctious children.) The Man, being terribly allergic, waited outside while we enjoyed the crooks and crannies of the amazing place. If you’ve never been to The Barn Swallow, I assure you it will be time well spent. It is hard to describe and the best I can do is say it is an old building (Kind of like an old farmhouse) consisting of many levels of interesting novelties that you won’t find anywhere else. The most amazing thing about the place is I swear there is not one square inch of empty space.  I thought outloud of how it must be a nightmare to dust and an employee turned around and said “no shit!.” Anyway, there are lots of knooks and crannies for stray and adoptable kitties to hide from people.  I bet the owners send up a prayer whenever there is a child-cat chase through the place. – not necessarily for the cats but for the more fragile of the store’s valuables.

Tags: okoboji, Okoboji Shopping, the barn swallow

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DAMN..another Memorial weekend that is looking like it will be cold and rainy. I guess I should be used to this.  So, I figured we’d hang out in the condo and watch movies BUT to make matters worse,  The Man waited until yesterday (friday) to call for cable tv and internet. Of course, they can’t hook it up till next week. The one good thing is that I finally learned how to tether my Blackberry to my laptop (thank you, Verizon!) Before the day is over I’ll spend 2 hours cleaning the last 7 months wind-deposited dirt from the grooves in the linoleum on the deck. Then I think I’ll take a nap since The Kid woke me up at 8:00 this morning and that is too damn early for a vacation weekend!

Tags: blackberry, memorial day, verizon

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So The Man says he is picking us up at 3:00 in the afternoon and we’d better be ready to go. He just has to finish washing the boat and then he’ll be over because he doesn’t want it to be dark when he gets to the condo. I rolled my eyes and said I’d be packed and ready to go by 3. After 12 years with The Man I know how this will go.

3:00 comes and goes. By 6:00, I’ve met a new neighbor, pulled some weeds outside, finished all the laundry and mopped the kitchen floor. The bags are packed and sitting by the door. The Kid is running to the door whenever the dog barks just hoping that it’s her Daddy is pulling up.

9:45 PM and we are on our way but still we need to stop at the Get-n-Go to fill up the truck and the boat with gas.  Oh yes, and The Man says needs to go back to his house and grab some clothes. What? FINE.

12:45 AM and we pull up to our Edgewater Condo. The Kid bolts upright from her deep sleep in the backseat and jumps from the truck. We have arrived at our summer weekend haven.

Tags: edgewater condo, okoboji

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Welcome to Okobojiville!

Yes, I guess I’m taking this to a new direction … I thought it would be fun to blog about my Okoboji weekends and learn about blogging at the same time. If you take the time to read this, please don’t have any expectations!

Boji Girl

Tags: okoboji

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