Lake of the Ozarks – Postcards From TLC

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018

Staycation at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri

For the Independence Day holiday, we managed a staycation to our condo at The Lake of the Ozarks. We headed down on Tuesday evening, with two of the kids, hubby’s mother, Grandma Marge, and our friend Captain Bill. Since we knew we would be staying through the weekend, we even brought the kittens. (Don’t let their angelic faces fool you!)

Tuesday night was pretty low key with H Que BBQ take-out for dinner and swimming at the pool. After dinner, we all gathered on the pool deck to watch the fireworks that were being shot from Beaver’s at the Dam. It was a nice show that they put on.

The next morning, we all headed back to the pool since it was really too hot to do much else. Midday, hubby, Capt. Bill, and the kids headed down to the wave runners to test out the new tube we had brought down. After some vigorous attempts, they decided to call the tubing excursion a “learning experience” and wrapped it up. We then headed up to the Bagnell Dam strip for a little shopping, ice cream, and sight-seeing.

The day on the strip would not have been complete without a little fun at the Dogpatch Arcade and the kids trying their hands at Skee-ball. Needless to say, they didn’t win a pile of tickets for their efforts. Maybe next time.

That evening’s fireworks display was put on by Point Randall Resort. Hubby grilled kabobs for dinner and we were able to watch the show right from our deck.

The next day, we took the wave runners out and headed out for some lake sight-seeing. It turned out to be so hot, that we found a spot in a quiet cove and jumped off the wave runners for some swimming time. The water was still cool enough to be refreshing, so it was a good swim.

That evening we headed over to Dog Days for dinner. They almost always have live music, there are two swimming pools (one has a swim up bar which is reminiscent of an All Inclusive resort), and the food is really good. I had a Korean Beef bowl that was really tasty and not something I find on a lot of menus.

The following day was the day that the kids and hubby’s mom were headed home. That evening we ran over to Shady Gator’s to see one of my favorite bands, Dr. Zhivegas, perform. He’s considered to be one of the top St. Louis cover bands, but I consider him to be a funky master of multiple decades of rock and pop. He did not disappoint. It did not take long before we were dancing until we were sweating!

This was our last full day at the Lake of the Ozarks. We hopped on the wave runners and headed up to one of our new favorites, The Boathouse. They are a lakeside and poolside restaurant that is known for their pizzas, but have a lot of other options on the menu as well. We gave the pizza a try and it was incredible! Now if we could just figure out how to carry-out on the wave runner.

Above all else, we had a fun vacay experience just an hour away from home. There is so much to do at the Lake and we have just gotten started experiencing it all. Looks like we even exhausted Kiki during our few days there!

May 19, 2018May 19, 2018

Coral Reef Seafood Does It Again

So, after my blog went down for 20 days during my move to a self-hosted platform, I think we’re finally (I hope!) up and running on a normal basis again. Many, many thanks to Bluehost for getting my platforms straightened out and mostly consolidated. If you are planning to set up a blog site, definitely consider using Bluehost for your hosting platform. Their customer service is hands-down so helpful and I was amazed that they had my two sites fixed within 24 hours.

AND once again, I have to tout the seafood from Coral Reef Seafood at the Lake of the Ozarks. They did it again and I guess as long as I keep enjoying their seafood, you run the risk of seeing a blog post about them.

We had gone down to the Lake of the Ozarks Saturday afternoon for just a quick getaway and to tweak a couple of things with the condo. Actually, we stopped at Coral Reef BEFORE we even went to the condo. I had seen their Facebook post with pics of some of the new items they had just rolled out, and I wanted to stock up. Since I failed to take many pictures, you can actually see their pics HERE.

We loaded up (not in any particular order) on:

RED PEPPERS–stuffed with Cajun rice, Andouille sausage and shrimp. THESE WERE INCREDIBLE! Hubby grilled them for about 40 minutes on a medium heat. The rice had a good Cajun flavor going, but the best surprises were when I found chunks of the sausage and shrimp in the rice. I’m not even a big fan of Andouille, but the sausage they use almost melts in your mouth.

FAROE ISLAND FRESH SALMON–stuffed with real blue crab lump meat. OK, so for the longest time my favorite thing to get from CR has been Justin’s Stuffed Roughy, but I think this Faroe Island Salmon has just taken the ~~cake~~ crab leg. The sweet flavor of the Blue Crab meat was a perfect ingredient for this stuffing, and I always love salmon. It’s not like I won’t ever have the roughy again, but I really enjoyed this salmon.

CRAB STUFFED JALAPENOS–stuffed with cream cheese and crab meat AND wrapped in bacon. These are going to become a new item in our regular CR rotation. They were so easy to grill, and the cream cheese/crab filling was like no other I’ve had before. Blew the doors off what I would’ve gotten in a restaurant!

ROMA TOMATOES–stuffed with blackened Ahi tuna salad. These were so light, crisp and refreshing, we had them with breakfast. This was also a great way to go low carb with tuna salad.

LARGE WILD TEXAS SWEET PINK SHRIMP–this is a regular CR staple in our house. I usually pick up a pound of the raw, take them home, and steam them up to snack on throughout the weekend. BUT, they will steam and season them for you if you’d like. This is some of the best tasting shrimp I’ve ever eaten.

And they have lots of other seafood (and some non-seafood) that we’re working our way through trying. We’ve had the scallops (another fave), the crab legs (colossal!), red snapper, orange roughy (great on the grill), triggerfish (tastes similar to crab), Justin’s Salmon Cranberry dip, Justin’s Stuffed Roughy, and twice baked potatoes. They also carry lots of condiments like Tequila Lime Cocktail Sauce and Sriracha Aioli, seasonings, even steaks!

If you like seafood you should definitely go check them out. If you can’t visit them in person, you can still check out their goodies here or follow their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/coralreefseafood/ or find them on twitter at https://www.twitter.com/coralreefseafo1/.

***General disclaimer: no human consumed all of the food listed above in one meal. While there may have been two or three items at one meal, the rest was split up between three days helping to preserve the healthfulness of seafood!

May 3, 2018

Summer Is Almost Here

Our condo at Lake of the Ozarks, MO is pretty much summer-ready at this point, and SO AM I! I’m looking forward to fun on the water with our new toys

and sleeping in our incredibly comfortable bed.

I can’t wait for all the fun to be had on the water with friends and family, exploring the restaurants we know and love and some new ones, and shopping at the outlet mall.

Even more so, I’m looking forward to exploring the parts and places unknown to us during some of our weekend trips. We know there’s a lot of other places to discover and explore than what we’ve already experienced. Here’s a list:

Lake Escape Bagnell Dam Area

Fun for the family! Choose from 4 different rooms to crack the code and make your escape from the room.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park Camdenton

15 miles of winding trails which take you past caves, a spring, a natural bridge, sink holes, and down to the lake. There is also, what remains, of a huge stone castle that was built in the early 1900s.

Lake of the Ozarks State Park Kaiser

Missouri’s largest state park which has 89 miles of lake shoreline. Swimming, camping, boating, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback trail rides.

Bridal Cave Camdenton

A 60-degree cavern which has onyx formations, giant mineral columns, delicate soda straws and huge draperies throughout. Weddings are also performed here year-round.

Stark Caverns Eldon

Another cavern that offers guided tours through the stalagmites, Onyx Falls, and Hanging Gardens. You can even plan a Valentine’s Dinner in the caverns.

Zippy’s Zip Lines Eldon

3 thrilling Ziplines with amazing lake views. They offer team building experiences and eco-education that can be followed with a picnic lunch.

Sugarloaf Vineyard Kayaking Camdenton

Leisurely kayaking and stand-up paddleboards on calm waters in a serene setting. BYO picnic lunch and enjoy the lakeshore picnic grounds.

We’ll see how many of these activities I get to check out this year. It looks like plenty to keep everyone entertained and I’m looking forward to it!

March 28, 2018

LOTO Weekend Getaway

Spring is upon us and we’re headed back to our condominum at the Lake of the Ozarks. We still have a few cosmetic things to accomplish in the coming days and still have our goal within reach of having everything complete and ready for funning and sunning visitors by April. We hope to have it ready to go on the VRBO rental market towards the end of summer as well.

Hubby’s going to finish painting the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. No, your eyes don’t deceive, some of them are currently white and some of them are off-white. Who does that? We also get to install a new faucet this weekend, which is really needed! After that, it’ll be time to find some curtains and a few more red accents. And SOMEDAY, not any day real soon, we’ll be able to upgrade the appliances, which I hope will really make the kitchen pop.

The bedrooms are mostly done. Aside from a few minor decorating touches in the master bedroom, like some more pillows on the bed and having the dresser painted, they are pretty much ready for sleeping in. We actually adore the master because the bed is much larger and way more comfy than the bed we have at home!

Master BR

Sunset BR

Beach BR

The ultimate task, which may or may not get completed this weekend will be the kitchen table. Even though it’s character was one of the selling points of the condo, the poor thing is so beat up I haven’t had the heart to take any pictures of it. Right now it’s a sage green color with green and tan checkered seats. We are planning to paint all but the wooden top and re-upholster the chairs in colors that will flow better with the rest of the condo.

Our goal is to make enough progress on the condo that we (or I) have time to go to my favorite place Saturday–Coral Reef Seafood! They have been having cooking demos on Saturdays–2 weeks ago was Mussel Mania–and Chef Ryan has been doing it justice.

Mussels with Andouille Sausage in a tomato sauce

Not only does he demonstrate how to make the recipe, we then get to sample it. He demoed three mussels recipes which were all incredible!

Really, I can’t say enough about Coral Reef. If you like seafood, you must stop by. Even if you aren’t interested in the cooking demonstrations, they have some of the freshest seafood available. Justin’s Stuffed Roughy and the Large Wild Gulf Shrimp are the usuals we buy to take back home for dinner later in the week.

Besides that, they have a Bake N Serve Seafood Lasagna that I have my eye on for a future dinner. I’ve also heard they will be having crab legs on sale this weekend which may have to be dinner Saturday night.

And dare I mention that their non-seafood items are great too? I believe they have the best andouille sausage I’ve ever had, and they also have a selection of steaks, side dishes, marinades and spices.

Apparently, I have a lot to look forward to this weekend. I can’t wait, c’mon Friday!

January 10, 2018

Rolling Into a New Year at the Lake

We wound down our year 2017 at the Lake of the Ozarks condo. Some of our friends joined us throughout the weekend. We arrived Friday night, and did some shopping on Saturday. We stocked up on coffee for the Keurig and wine for cocktails in the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker. We did a little furniture shopping, where I found these Ashley Furniture Charlowe Nightstands which will go perfectly in the master bedroom.

And we made a final stop at my favorite place to shop, Coral Reef Seafood , to stock up on crab legs for NYE dinner. If you are EVER anywhere in the Lake Ozark area, in Mid-Missouri, in the middle of the United States, you must stop here to shop for the best seafood we have access to! You can also read all about them in my earlier post Coral Reef Seafood. I absolutely LOVE this store!

Coral Reef, Lake Ozark, MO

Coral Reef Shrimp, Lake Ozark, MO

I also picked up some shrimp (a MUST) and my friends purchased the Seafood Stuffed Orangy Roughy that is like a party in your mouth! (I hope they never changes this recipe.)

Our BIG mistake was going out to dinner later at a restaurant called Redhead Lakeside Grill. I don’t mean “mistake” in that any of our dinner was less than good. I mean mistake in that it was so cold walking from the parking lot to the restaurant it somewhat diminished my experience there. Once inside, I don’t think I ever got warm, so instead of having a great, leisurely time, I was just ready to go home and get under a nice warm blanket. We’ll have to go back and try again when the weather starts to warm back up. There were lots of items on the menu that I can’t wait to try.

Since the temperature at the lake was a not-so-balmy 0-degrees, we wound up planning to stay in for the New Year’s Eve celebration for a quiet night in the warmth. Hubby wanted to play Cards Against Humanitybut we never got around to it. After eating crab legs (and pizza for those who don’t like crab), we checked out Ryan Seacrest in Times Square on TV and watched the ball drop to start off another year. We did have champagne, which I single-handedly attempted not to let go to waste.

It was a low-key New Year’s Eve, but that’s ok. We wrapped it up the way we wanted to with friends we wanted to be with. Maybe next year will be warmer. Or, maybe next year we’ll be on a beach somewhere much warmer! Either way, there’s a whole new year ahead of us and it will be what we make of it.

December 9, 2017July 12, 2018

Jamaica Comes To Thanksgiving Dinner

Our Jamaican friend has come to visit us for Thanksgiving. He flew into St. Louis via Baltimore/Washington. After delays leaving MoBay and delays in Baltimore, we finally got to pick Paul up at the airport at 2:40 am the weekend before Thanksgiving. No problem man! Just another 2 hour drive home after that, just in time to get to bed at 5 am.

After a quick sleep, we got back on the road to head to the Lake of the Ozarks to show Paul that part of our state. It was actually a pretty mild weekend for November, so we were able to spend time outdoors on the deck. We also took Paul to his first of many visits to Menards (a chain store of home improvement products) and bought new flooring for the condo. After finishing a little bit of work, our friends Francis and Marissa came to visit for a bit and have some wine. We chatted, sipped, and had fun hearing about their new boat they would have down at the lake this summer. When they hit the road to head back home, we went into town and had a tasty dinner at Tucker’s Shuckers. If you’re ever in the historic Bagnell Dam area, check them out. They have all kinds of food, but are known for their incredible oysters.

We returned to Columbia, put in a few days at work, and prepped for Thanksgiving dinner. For those who know me, this is one my favorite holidays of the year and I LOVE turkey dinner. We were having Francis, Marissa, and another friend Marsha over for dinner. We started prepping the menu for traditional roast turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, salad, rolls, cranberry sauce and pies (pumpkin and chocolate) for six. Paul was so generous to make Jamaican Rice and Peas to add a Jamaican spin to our dinner. It was so delish, and dinner wasn’t complete until Paul shared the recipe. (He also left us some extra coconut milk powder, so I can make it myself later.) And if Marissa reads this and let’s me know she did, I’ll even share the powder with her!

Shortly after dinner, it was time for some Black Friday shopping with Paul. I’ll have to post later about that as Paul’s still here and in the event any of his friends or family back home that he bought for are reading this, I don’t want to spoil any surprises. This was a Thanksgiving to be grateful for good friends who are like family.

November 11, 2017

Lake Ozark, MO–Our Little Slice UPDATE

Well, we’ve gone and done it now. We are headed down to Lake of the Ozarks, MO this afternoon to close the sale on a lake condo. Never mind that it’s a 56 degree day in November. We are buying a condo on the lake that will now be our vacation weekend-get-away. Sound like lots of fun once summer comes back around! So this place is turning out to be lots of fun already! We’re headed back down again this weekend and are taking the kids to see it. (They don’t yet know that we’ve bought the condo, but I think they’ll figure it out when they see a family pic hanging on the wall.) We’ve got a few friends coming over to visit and see the place and lots of munchies and adult beverages stashed in the fridge.
In the meantime, while the condo comes in decent shape and semi furnished, we know we have some work to do. We know we will be painting all the walls and possibly replacing the flooring. We haven’t seen the place in 6 months and don’t really remember if the carpet is worth salvaging. It turns out the entire condo is getting a coat of paint and we’ve decided the carpet in the living room, dining room and hallway is getting ripped up and replaced with laminate flooring.
I presume I’ll have to be doing some shopping as well. Even though the seller sent us an inventory list, it’s pretty non-descriptive. So, while it lists a coffee maker, I can’t assume it is a Kuerig single serve like hubby is a fan of. Here’s the actual Kuerig we went with:

It’s adorbs, and my favorite color, and now it looks like I have a reason to accent the kitchen in red. Not to mention, it brews a perfect cup of decaf every time so I can make a tasty Fragile Baby.
The inventory list makes no mention of dishes in the kitchen, bed linens, or bath towels, so I’ve already started shopping around. Turns out the dishes don’t need to be replaced. There are two small sets–one of floral ceramic and one of sailboats on Melamine. These will do just fine for a while and they’ve all been cleaned and are ready for use.

I found some non-patterned dishes that will go with all the decor and any colors we choose. They aren’t pricey, so if we were to rent out the place for a weekend and someone broke a plate, I wouldn’t be heartbroken and the plate could easily be replaced.

Sheets? I went with good quality, but again, in nice, neutral colors. I ended up going with a set of ivory color and a set of sand color. The 3rd set of sheets came in the bed in a bag set and looks like this:

I thought I knew what kind of artwork I wanted on the walls–something beachy. But, I think I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ve decided on lighthouses for the living room. We are on Lighthouse Point on the Lake after all. Maybe we’ll go beachy in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

I’m still looking for the right pics to put on the walls and now I’m not going to focus so much on a theme, but I’m going to look for the right vibe in the right colors.
Regardless, the decorating possibilities are endless! I can’t wait to see how this place turns out! Luckily, it’s coming along and will be further along after this weekend. Please comment any suggestions you have to make this condo feel like a vacay.

November 9, 2017

Lake Ozark, MO

July 26, 2017

Coral Reef Seafood

This is just a brief public service announcement, my own opinion really. The past weekend was one of the hottest on recent record. We didn’t really have any plans, except to stay cool, so we headed to the Lake of the Ozarks for the weekend. What could be cooler than staying in the water most of the weekend? Since “The Lake” is only an hour drive from home, we don’t really consider it a trip. But, it is just far enough that with different activities, shopping, and scenery they have down there, it is like a mini-vacay.
The weekend’s best discovery goes to Coral Reef Seafood. If you like seafood, fresh seafood, that can remind you of being on vacation and you know how to cook it, this is a place you have to find. I’ve known they were at the Lake for years, but when they moved to their current location, I lost track of them. Sunday, before we headed back home, I found them. They are located at 5370 Osage Beach Parkway at the Case Rd exit.
I went through that entire store, TWICE! Their prices were pretty reasonable for seafood, and I ended up picking up some Crab and Shrimp stuffed Orange Roughy to take home for dinner that night. It was easy enough to bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees and needed nothing added to it to make it scrumptious!
I also picked up a pound of large, raw shrimp which looks like it will be for dinner tonight. Steamed until they turn pink, they should go well with a nice, big salad, which is all I have appetite for in this heat!

My last favorite find was that they carry some of Jamaica’s Island Spice –specifically the Fish Spice. Now, the next time our friend Paul comes to visit from Jamaica, I will have the Island Spice Fish Seasoninghe uses in many of his recipes.At any rate, I urge you, if you like to cook fresh seafood and you are anywhere in the Lake area, you MUST stop at Coral Reef Seafood. I’m already making my list for the next time we go back.

July 5, 2017

Independence Day Lake Ozark 2017 Wrap Up

All’s well that ends well. After working out the condo situation, Independence Day Lake Ozark Trip 2017 was on! The Land’s End condo we rented through Home Away was gorgeous beyond our wildest dreams. It had two master suites, another bedroom with twin beds, a pull-out sectional couch that also had a chaise lounge built in for sleeping. I’m not sure the homeowner will ever know how grateful we are for that rental, although I left a thank you in the guest book. It was huge and beautiful and more than adequate for our group! Contact me if you ever want to rent the place and I’ll give you more specifics.
We started off our weekend with a stop by the Osage Beach Outlet Marketplace for a pair of shoes (not for me) and then proceeded to Backwater Jack’s to wait for our friends to arrive. We walked around the newly remodeled and expanded complex which now features a ginormous pool with a swim up bar, and had a great dinner with our friends. I had a seafood pasta that was absolutely divine!

The next morning brought Captain Bill to the lake who was ready to take us out on the boat. We took a quick boat ride to a quiet cove to avoid all the holiday water traffic and hung out in the cove most of the day. We made a pit stop at Docknocker’s for some of the best peel and eat shrimp in Missouri and on our way back to the condo we stopped at Dierberg’s grocery and picked up dinners for the rest of the weekend. Hubby grilled some delish steaks and pork chops that night while we watched fireworks from our screened in balcony.
The next day, we all headed over to the boat docks again. Since Captain Bill has a pool adjacent to his dock, some of us stayed there and swam while the others went out on the boat for some serious tube time. Even though Captain Bill had forgotten his swim trunks, he tubed just as well in his cargo shorts.

We finished up that day with some grilled steaks and baked potatoes for the birthday girl’s dinner but we were so exhausted after that, we forgot to cut the birthday cake!
The next morning, Captain Bill and our other friends were due to depart, and other family friends were due to arrive. In the interim, since we had never been there, we headed over to Dog Days to check it out. It’s a very small waterfront bar/restaurant complex, but we ate some killer nachos on the pool deck and enjoyed their pool for a while before heading back to our condo pools–one adult and one kiddie.
We hung out at the adult condo pool until our friends arrived. The pool was beautiful, it overlooked the lake and had a waterfall feature that the kids had a blast playing in. Afterwards, we headed back up to the condo. Hubby grilled again, but it was chicken spedini and bratwurst this time. I’ve never had chicken spedini done on the grill before, but it was incredible. I only wish we had a Dierberg’s at home, so we could try some of the other ready-to-cook specialty meats they carry in their meat department. After dinner, we headed up to the kiddie pool, so the kids could play in the lazy river. Thankfully, no one else was at that pool at that hour so the kids played a fun game of shark.
The next morning was departure day. We loaded up all our clothes and leftover food, cleaned up the condo, and headed out. All the boys rode home, while the girls stopped at Bagnell Dam Strip. We ate ice cream, did some shopping, and even had time to kill at the arcade.

It’s been years since I’ve played skeeball and apparently I’m horribly out of practice.
We arrived home after a short, one hour drive. Exhausted, sunburnt, and happy, we enjoyed Chinese delivery for dinner and listened to the fireworks from our bed. What a great Independence Day!