A Weekend With Great Friends

Over the weekend we went up to Lake Okoboji, IA to visit some friends whom George has known since his days in Wyoming.  At first I was not too thrilled with the drive because the dread of Lexie having to sit in her car seat for 6 hours was either going to make our trip very long or now that she is getting older, she may just surprise us and be okay.  After all, she had me as her co-pilot the entire way.

Another obstacle that we were facing was getting to Okoboji itself.  Since portions of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa suffered from major flooding we had to find out how we were going to get there.  Once we started driving and getting towards the Missouri boarder, the reality of the devastation that farmers and residents had suffered.  It was almost unreal to see miles and miles of land that was once farmland now covered in water, and deep water for that fact.  Even parts of a major Interstate, I-29 to be exact, were under water and therefore cars, trucks, and even tractors were having to make some detours.

Flooding near Riverside, MO

I'll fastforward a bit.  George and I left on Thursday thinking that it may take us 2 days to get 6 hours since we were with Lexie.  She was such a trooper that we made it there in one day but unfortunately our hosts were not expecting us until Friday so George got on Yelp and began searching for a place to sleep for the night.  He came across The Inn, which was very pleasant.

The Inn

We ended up getting a kitchenette/bedroom type of suite.  It was really nice we thought especially since we were told that there were two different sleeping areas.  When we got to our room it was so hot because the air had been off and no windows were open.  That made things a little uncomfortable for awhile but it was a nice excuse to get Lexie out for an evening walk along the lake.

Lexie was more comfortable in just her diapers

A beautiful sunset on the lake

The lake was just outside our door.

Friday morning we went over to our friends, The Adams', and got our weekend started.  While we were in Okoboji, we got a very fun tour of the lake, well Lexie didn't think it was fun.  Maybe it was the lifejacket that she had to wear that was a downer for her.

She was actually calm in this picture...not very calm 2 minutes before the picture

She manages a smile

We also got to eat at some really great places and experience the nightlife, which was much like the nightlife in Lake Havasu, where I grew up.  We also took Lexie to the local Amusement Park in Arnolds Park but unfortunately she was just a tad too small to go on any of the kiddie rides.  There is always next year.

It was so great to see our dear friends and the time went by way too fast.  It's so easy to distance yourselves unintentionally once a child comes into our lives.  We must not forget our friends, our lives would not be the same without them.  Thank you John, Michelle, Shaelyn, and Tyler....we had a great time!