Okobojiville» barefoot bar

The Barefoot Bar

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:18:44 +0000

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?

Okoboji Attire

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:18:01 +0000

I was cleaning out my dresser the other day and I realized I have as many “okoboji” clothing items as I do “Harley Davidson.” For years, I’ve had a special drawer and closet shelf for my Harley clothes, but I didn’t know I had this many Boji clothes. I think most of them say “Barefoot Bar” on them. I probably should just leave them at the condo so I don’t have to pack anything when I go there. I haven’t checked out the new Okoboji Harley Davidson yet. I’m sure I will drop a house payment at that place.

Memorial Day

admin — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:28:22 +0000

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?