At the Lake

We planned to spend five days in the Lake area. That’s Lake Ozark in Missouri, (home of Bagnell Dam, the dam that blocks the Osage River and creates Lake of the Ozarks) and Eldon where our kids live.

I call them kids, but they’re not really kids. Kevin and Kandyce are grown adults with a son of their own. Isn’t it funny how we always think of our children as kids?

In a conversation with my beautiful West Virginia gal, Trish told me. “I showed Sunni (her daughter) a picture of Kevin and asked if she knew who it was. She didn’t. When I told her it was Kevin, she said, ‘No way! He’s only three-feet tall!’” We laughed. “He probably was the last time she saw him,” she finished.

But I digress.

We planned to spend just five days there then head to Iola, Kansas, home of Mike’s cousin Suzy, and where we would meet Mike’s brother Cork, who was coming from Las Vegas.

The best laid plans.

Cork, a nickname for Charles, called. “I’ve got some bad news. The RV broke down.” He understood if we didn’t want to wait around until he got his RV fixed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mike told him. “Take a deep breath. It’ll all work out.”

Mike and I talked. “I don’t want to have driven all this way and not get to see him,” Mike said.

“It’s okay with me if we stay longer. The only issue is if the Kipps mind taking care of the cats for a few more days.”

I know we created a burden for those lovely, kind, generous neighbors of ours when we asked if they would take care of the cats while we were gone. Even if we’d’ve still had our RV, we couldn’t’ve taken all of them with us. The feral cats would still need to be fed. But because we had to leave them all, there were litter boxes to be scooped, and I’m not talking about one or two. I have six boxes in the house and two in the cat room that I scoop EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! There are three more in the garage and one on the patio that I scoop only occasionally.

“That’s a lot of boxes!” you say.

I know, right! Even though our clowder is down to six, I haven’t reduced the number of boxes. They don’t use them all every day.

“You have to ask them,” I told Mike and he did. He got right on the phone and called the Kipps.

“It’s fine. You stay just as long as you need to and we’ll take care of things here,” Miss Rosie assured us.

Taking Bondi with us created problems all in and of its own. We took her kennel with us so we could leave her when we needed to. But we tried not to leave her if we didn’t have to.

The mornings were cool enough that she could wait in her car seat while we had breakfast. Usually, she’d be sleeping when we got back to the car, but on this morning, she was watching for us. It tickled me.

The kids have jobs. I bet you guessed that. That meant that Mike and I had to entertain ourselves until their workday was done, which was more than fine. We had old friends to see. People who wanted to have breakfast, lunch or dinner with us.

This seems like a good place to say that if you eat ever single meal out for almost two weeks, you might bring four extra pounds home with you. Just sayin’!

We decided to go to our old strip mall and visit with some of our old tenants even though we knew the chances were good only one would be there that early in the day.

“You visit and I’ll walk Bondi down the Strip.” Listening to two old guys flapping their jaws was not my idea of a fun time.

The doors were open on our old garages and I took a peek.

This was where we kept our RV. We lived half in and half out of it. I can see my old kitchen stuck back in the left-hand corner.

Our old garage. We let the lift go with the place and I see Frankie, a Halloween game painted by Barb, has survived. She painted a bunch of games for the town Halloween party we hosted every year.

Well, the new owners do own bars. I guess my old garage is as good a place as any to store inventory, leave the door wide open — unattended.

A couple of cans in front of a business declare, NOT A TRASH CAN. 

I was curious as to what it was then and opened one. Hmmm. Looks like trash to me.

I’ve walked this strip many times during the time we lived there. Even among the trash, blacktop, abandoned lots, and concrete, wildflowers still grow.

Grow where you’re planted — and be beautiful.

Posted in a window, behind a bench, in front of a store.

I thought this old metal railing behind the old Continental Motel was interesting. My picture doesn’t do it justice.

In my pursuit of a good picture, I happened across a guy named Mike. I told him who I was and that I used to live in town. He told me he works for the owner of this building (and several others) and was currently rehabbing the old hotel into office units and apartments.

“And the old pool there has been filled in and we’re going to make it into a patio.”

“Cool! Do you mind if I look around a little?”

“Not at all,” Mike said.

I climbed the old steel steps to a second-floor patio.

What a fabulous patio the renters of this new apartment are going to have!

I tried the door to see if I could peek inside. It was locked. I’d have to be content looking in the windows.

I looked over the rail and realized it overhung the pool. I went down a flight to show you just how far.

I found Mike near the steps that led to the pool. He was measuring for something.

“How many people do you think jumped off the second-floor balcony into the pool?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but I’d never do it.”

My phone rang. It was my Mike.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“At the old Continental.”

“Come down to the dam, there’s someone here.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.” On my way out I took pictures of the backside of the old hotel and tried again for the metal railings. It didn’t come out any better than the first one so I’ll spare you.

The Strip is becoming almost all bars. It’s kinda sad but if that’s the only thing the locals support, no other business will make it when summer’s over and the tourists are gone.

Even though this building was here when we lived here, the business is new.

I found Mike talking with this handsome guy. Bob Grider. We’ve been friends with him and his wife Tammy for years. In fact, we had a date to have dinner with them one night.

We visited with Bob for a while before he had to head off to his job on the Paradise parasail boat.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Mike announced. “I’m going up to McDonalds."

“Okay. Well, I’m going to finish walking the Strip and I’ll see you back at Luby’s.”

It was still called Luby’s. They kept the name after they bought the place.

An old motel. It’s right on the waterfront. I wouldn’t be surprised if something new goes in there one day.

I spent some time talking with this gal. I love the wind spinners and she gave me a brochure for the guy who makes them.

“I wanna make my own,” I told her.

I had no idea what this sign meant. None. I had to ask.

“It’s to keep the biker gangs out,” I was told. Or maybe she said it was to keep them from fighting, I don’t know.

I was surprised to see one of the benches from our old picnic table at a business down the Strip. There used to be four of them. I only saw this one.

Lonnie, a fixture in the bars and on the Strip. An accident in his youth left him with a concave skull (you’d see it if he took his hat off) and diminished mental capacity. He doesn’t drive but lives just off the Strip. And he’s a heck of a nice guy.

Back at Luby’s, Mike was waiting for me. We saw that Beth, a business owner across the street from our old place, was open. When we lived there, Mike would visit her nearly every day she was open.

Beth’s business used to be called Peace Frog but has since been shortened to The Frog.

Mike visited with her for a little while.

Then it was off again to see someone else. Jennice, at the sign shop, has exotic birds. Bondi and this bird seemed to make a connection and intently stared at each other. The bird would make noise and Bondi perked her ears right up, but she didn’t bark.

Lunch was with old friends, Gary and Lonnie’s mom, Ellie. We left Bondi in the hotel room in a kennel because the car would be too hot.

After lunch, Mike watched TV and I read my book.

Dinner would be with the kids again this night. Pulling up to the house, look what I see peeking out the window! Someone was waiting for us!

Andrew played with his new Skee-Ball game while dinner was being made.

Afterward, we visited while Andrew painted.

“You wanna get ice cream?” someone asked.

Our second day there and I’ve had ice cream twice already.

“Where should we go?”

Eldon had two places. We settled on The Ice Cream Factory, which took credit cards and the other one didn’t. The kids offered to buy but Mike wanted to treat and we don’t carry much cash.

“I gotta walk Bondi first,” I said and got up. Andrew came out in the yard with me while the kids got around.

Andrew was so cute. He showed me how they’re doing exercises in school. Push-ups, jumping jacks, squat thrusts (otherwise called burpees).

The Ice Cream Factory has color-changing spoons, which was pretty cool.

They did not have any sugar-free ice cream for Mike. He’s avoiding sugar these days.

“It’s an ice cream factory!” Kevin exclaimed once we were outside. “They make ice cream! Go in the back and get some!”

Andrew got a milk shake and Mike didn’t get anything.

We sat on the patio in the early evening darkness and chatted as we ate our ice cream.

You think Andrew’s not listening, then he chimes in with something clever. None of us remember what he said, but in my head, I can still hear Kevin laughing and saying, “Good one, buddy!” and giving him a high-five. The moment re-created for a picture. I took one from where I sat and saw the light wasn’t good.

I got up and went around the table. “One more time!” I said, and the boys happily complied.

Sorting my pictures, I found that I liked both shots for different reasons. Which one would my peeps like best? I wondered and took the question to Facebook.

“I like the top one,” my beautiful Jody said. “It gives it a mirror illusion.”

I love that perspective!

But Trish nails it with her comment.

“I like the bottom one better. You can see the happiness on Andrew’s face.”

And there’s that, too.

The vote came in at an even 4-4 split.

“I've found another picture with several views of the same thing and can't decide which one to show in my letter blog!” I told my peeps. “If I ask y'all, I bet the vote will be split again... What a conundrum!”

Jody came up with an idea. “I think the photos need to be a mini-series in themselves. The road trip, inside the picture choosing, inside the story the pictures convey.”

I don’t know how to reply to this. I wish I had nothing else to do but write stories for you. I love, love, love, writing. The first story in this series took you about fifteen minutes to read (more or less) and took me about four days to write.

The next day was breakfast with Margaret. At the exit to her house, I see an old fire engine behind a building.

“We should stop so I can get pictures,” I told Mike. He did, on a different day. But I’m going to show them to you now. 

We left Bondi in a kennel at Margaret’s and had breakfast at The Rusty Rooster. As you may well guess, it was a rooster themed restaurant.

I kept looking at this couple at the next table. When they first sat down, I assumed they were waiting for someone since they didn’t sit across from each other. It soon became apparent that they weren’t waiting for anyone.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a couple sit like that before,” I told Mike and Margaret. “I’ve seen people sit across from each other or side-by-side, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone else sitting catty-corner from each other.”

Neither Mike nor Margaret was as intrigued as I was.

“What’d ya get for breakfast?” I know you wanna know.

Margaret had eggs Benedict, Mike got an omelet, and I had something I haven’t had in years. Biscuits and gravy. It was pretty good too!

After breakfast we drove around a little.

The iconic Indian. They’ve caged him in. No more pictures of grandsons sitting on his foot or standing between his legs.

A new business, building and all. A junk store called Cloud 9 used to be here and before that something called The Ice House.

The closed dam.

“You know what I’d like to see?” I asked Mike. “That tree out on Fish Haven Road that was swallowing up the sign.”

Mike took me out to see it.

It would be interesting to compare what it looks like now to the last time I photographed it.

“Peg, why don’t you do that?” you ask.

I tried. I looked in a few folders where I thought I might find it but it wasn’t there. It would take a more extensive search to find the picture than I have time for right now.

We didn’t have any special lunch plans, but Mike had a suggestion. “Since you didn’t get your shrimp Penang, and I didn’t get my tofu Pad Thai, you wanna eat at Wok N Roll?”

I didn’t even hesitate. I jumped right on it. “Yes!”

We invited Margaret to go with us and after we were seated, I see the mother and young son were also sitting catty-corner from each other. Twice in one day I see this seating arrangement.

I know I’m slow and sometimes the obvious escapes me, but could someone please tell me the reasoning behind this?

Our food was fabulous, as Nok’s food always is.

Dinner that night was with this handsome couple. Tammy and Bob Grider. We went to Outback.

After I took their picture, Mike realized how far away from him Tammy was.

“I wanted to sit next to you,” Mike teased.

Tammy is a good sport and so, so funny. She scooted her chair as close to Mike as she could get and did this. Mike looks a little scared now, don’t’cha think?

We didn’t visit much after dinner because the Griders both had an early morning the next morning.

“I wish we had a little more time,” Bob said. “We’d love to hang out with you more.”

“As it so happens, Cork’s RV broke down and we’ll be staying a few more days,” Mike told him.

“That’s great!” Bob said, then did a little back pedaling. “Not that your brother’s RV broke down, of course,” and we all laughed. “We both have Monday off. You wanna do something?”

“Sure!” We both agreed. The kids would be back at work so we’d have the day free. “You plan it and let us know.”

We had to head back to Margaret’s and pick up Bondi. She’d offered to puppy sit for us while we had dinner. Bondi isn’t housebroken so we left her in her kennel.

“How long do you think it’ll be before Margaret lets her out?” I asked Mike.

“Probably not long.”

Margaret fell in love with Bondi, and Bondi fell in love with Margaret, too.

The sun was setting and had an otherworldly glow. “Is it from the fires out west?” I asked, but Mike didn’t know. He pulled over at an overlook for me to take pictures and we weren’t the only ones with that idea.

When we arrived at Margaret’s, she had both pups on the couch with her. Bondi and her Shih Tzu, Lily.

We didn’t rush right out and Bondi tried to play with Lily. Lily wasn’t having any of that and got in her bed. I laughed when Bondi dived in after her.

The next day was Saturday and the kids took us to breakfast! It was a new place called The Barn-B-Que Smokehouse. They have an old truck outside so we took the opportunity to take a picture.

“Peg, you’re not in it,” you say.

I know, right! I planned it that way. You’ll have a chance to see me later and I’m not any too pleased about the way I look.

The Barn was a really cool place. I took pictures as we went in and took seats.

I’m surprised at how much I like this picture and made it my desktop photo.

The menu had a history on it. I took a picture but didn’t read it at the time.

“They brought it from Ohio,” Kevin tells us. “It was built in the 1850s.”

After breakfast we drove out to the end of Bittersweet Road where Mike and I used to live. We had a big piece of land right on the Lake with no too-close neighbors. Since then, lots have been sold off and another house built — too close!

We stayed up on the road and didn’t intrude, so, no pictures.

But these guys didn’t have any problem ‘intruding’! They took their sweet time crossing a road. We were stopped, but other impatient drivers honked their horns and swerved around them.

The afternoon was spent watching our handsome, talented, smart, grandson play tag football.

I took a ton of pictures but can’t show them to you. It wasn’t possible to get permission from everyone to publish their image in my letter blog.

The action on the sideline was almost as exciting as the game. I got a kick out of this little girl carrying her chair around. Another little girl, a little older than this one, was trailing her, saying, “Put it down here!” But this girl wasn’t listening and didn’t put it down until she was ready!

Bondi was with us and snuggled up to Kandyce’s neck.

“Did they win?” I hear you ask.

And the answer is, I don’t know. The scoreboard was a stand on the ground with flip cards and it’s back was to me. I have no idea what the score was.

Andrew and his cousin Carter. They’re very close in age and grew up together.

The kids had another obligation to go to so Mike and I went back to the hotel. He rested, I read. I love nothing better than to be lost in the depths of a good book.

“What were you reading?” you ask.

I was reading my second Liane Moriarty book called What Alice Forgot. I finished and returned it a day early. That’s good for me, a person who sometimes has to check out the same book two or three or even four times before she finishes it. Now I’m reading a third Moriarty book called The Hypnotist’s Love Story. It’s pretty good, too.

Oh gosh! Sidetracked again!

Saturday night’s dinner was with Margaret and the kids at a fancy schmancy place called Bentley’s. Andrew, who can sometimes be a very picky eater, loves prime rib and this place has a children’s prime rib on the menu! He ate every single bite.    

After dinner we headed to the Strip for ice cream at Luby’s. I called my best girl and asked if she’d like to join us. Linda loves ice cream and accepted my invitation.

Andrew’s brain freeze.

I love these faces.

The whole gang.

The night lights of a business called the Malted Monkey. It’s some kind of a sky-walk obstacle course.

Sunday was the next day and I went to church with Linda.

And this is the picture I’m not happy about. I know I’ve put on a few pounds (understatement of the year) since my exercise class got canceled, but I look huge!

 “You really didn’t,” Linda consoled when I cried to her.

I’m going to print this and put it on my fridge to remind me to not snack so much!

After church, Mike and I joined these beautiful ladies for a late breakfast, early lunch.

Beverly, on the left, Joan in the middle, and Linda on the right. This day was Joan’s 48^th birthday. She’s dyslexic.

I had a blast talking with Joan about the way she grew up and the things she’s seen.

Mike and I went back to our room for a while. Our colorful hotel carpet.

There was a family staying there because something happened to their house and they couldn’t stay in it. I don’t know what, I didn’t ask. They had this really cute puppy they called Daisy and Bondi had a blast playing with her.

I spent quite a long time trying to get a picture of the pretty yellow-winged grasshoppers that were prolific in the grass. A still shot wasn’t that hard.

But the only way to see the yellow was to capture them in flight. Persistence, my dear. Persistence.

This flowering weed was EVERYWHERE!

I don’t know what this one is either.

The kids came over for a swim in the pool. I asked Andrew for a splash picture and he gave me a dozen opportunities.

Bondi watched for a while and when a ball came flying out of the pool, she took off after it. She brought it back to Kandyce’s beach bag and laid down to chew on it. I took it from her and tossed it back in the pool. Then we had fun playing fetch with Bondi.

At some point she found a discarded candy wrapper. I took that away from her, too.

We had dinner with the kids that night, too.

The things we saw on their road.

It was dark when we left. Walmart becomes Wal art.

After we left the lights of town, we realized our headlights were wonky. One pointed up and to the right, the other pointed down and to the left. We’ve driven the car at night before, not very often, mind you, but they were fine before we hit that deer.

“Maybe we can stop someplace and get them adjusted,” Mike suggested.

But somehow, we never did.

Bob Grider called that evening.

“You guys wanna get breakfast and go out to Stark’s Cave tomorrow? The only time we were there was when the kids came to visit and we took them. The baby cried so much, Tammy and I walked her around outside while everyone else took the tour. So, we’ve never actually seen it,” he said.

Mike had his phone on speaker so I heard the invitation. I nodded vigorously. “Sounds good,” Mike answered and we made arrangements to meet them in the morning.

Let’s jump right to those pictures.

Mike and I had been to Stark’s Cave in the late 1990s when we first moved to Missouri. It was a little family run thing and didn’t look anything like I remember it. Now it’s a flourishing business with a fancy welcome and education center.

My first look at the cave entrance. It has bars now.

Inside looking out.

A side tunnel where they found lots of bones.

The cave has a long history and was home at one time or another to Native Americans, bears, moonshiners, a speakeasy, a roller-skating rink, and had a carrousel in it. It’s been dammed since Mike and I were there and now has a lake as well. Even inside a dark cave, there’s life.

Minerals.

Random picture.

I couldn’t get a decent picture of the stuff that glows under a black light.

A bear bed. There were lots of them.

A wishing pool.

“What do you do with the money?” Bob Grider asked. “Give it to charity?”

“No. Nothing. We leave it there,” our guide answered.

“An echo chamber. If there are any singers among us, you’re welcome to hear the acoustics,” she said.

When they looked at me, I said, “Not me! I can’t sing.”

But Bob and I did go in and listen to our hello hello echo back to us.

There are many more side tunnels that haven’t been fully explored and some that aren’t accessible to the general public. They do offer special tours where you get off the walkways and crawl through the mud.

Here she’s using her laser pointer to show us wooden beams sticking out of the cave walls. “They used to go back in there and drink and have dances,” she told us.

"Someone was having fun here," our guide told us. "They thought this looked like a face and put geodes in for the eyes."

A flight of stairs took us to another level, there were three levels in all, and a landing at the top. It was an unfinished part of the cave system.

I’d lost my balance and nearly fallen once, when I turned too quick. I knew I was beside a low wall, but didn’t know where my feet were. Luckily, I regained my balance and didn’t fall.

Bob Grider, bless his heart, didn’t want to see me have any mishaps as we came down the steps and stayed close in front of me. Tammy waited at the bottom.

The tour lasted nearly an hour and this is a shot as we got back to the entrance.

Heading back to the visitor center. We were the only ones on the tour this morning.

I’m sure we had dinner with the kids again that night.

Bondi has finally forgiven Andrew for scaring her when he chased her around the yard. Here he’s feeding her nuggets of Lulu’s food. Bondi, for some reason, won’t pick the food out of the bowl herself, but will eat it if you hand feed her.

“She will if she gets hungry enough,” Mike reminds me.

Later, we went to the Strip for ice cream.

I called my best girl Linda again and she joined us.

Barb and Ed made this for people to take their pictures in. This one is more special because instead of empty holes, they all have faces. Pick up the hinged face and replace it with your own. Ed made it; Barb painted it.

I had to beg everyone to grab a spot. Mike was the main holdout.

The next day would be our last day in Missouri. I made it a point to take pictures of the dam.

We said our goodbyes to Margaret.

And had supper with the kids. We went to a local place called Whittle’s and here, Andrew is waiting.

Afterward, he played the claw machine and won a ball.

Back at his house, Andrew played with Bondi and their Pekingese, Bandit. I didn’t tell you what a great time Bondi had playing with Bandit, but she did. Bandit only has one eye and Bondi would come up on his blind side, give him a nip, and run. Bandit would chase her around the center kitchen island until he lost sight of her, then he’d stop. By then she was the whole way back around, nipped him in the butt, and the chase was on again.

But anyway, Bondi popped Andrew’s ball with her sharp little baby teeth.

And that was it. We said our goodbyes, hugged and kissed, and we’d be gone in the morning.

Let’s call this one done!