Our Least Favorite, Favorite Trip

Table Rock Lake is our favorite vacation destination as a family.  We go every year and it's the trip we look forward to the most.  It was our least favorite this year.  It rained.  A lot.  Every day and every night.  Inches and inches and inches.

The trip is the always the same, every year.  Friday we go to the farm.  The sweet corn was ready.  We picked, shucked and froze 50 quart bags of sweet corn for the winter.  It didn't take as long as the pickles!  WE didn't get pickled either.

Sunday, we head towards the Lake and we always stop at Lambert's Cafe for lunch.  We try to get there about 10 a.m. there is always a line.  We've waited as long as long an hour to eat here before, it's worth the wait!

Look at the rain!

 

It was raining, of course.  When we finished we left the truck and trailer and took the car back to Springfield, MO to Bass Pro Shops.  It's the original Bass Pro store and they have several different museums in the now.  It's really worth a trip but with the rain, there wasn't anything else to do anyway.

We always boat Monday through Thursday, with a rental from the State Park Marina.  We finally were able to get on the water Monday about noon.  It rained on us a couple times then the sun finally came out.  Tuesday we hit the water about the same time and it was a great day.  The sun was out all afternoon and no rain!  It did rain all morning but once it cleared up, it was beautiful. 

Wednesday it rained, and it rained and it rained more.  We didn't go out on the water.  We ended up driving all the way back up by Springfield, MO to see Fantastic Caverns.  It's the only ride through cave in North America. 

It rained all night Wednesday night.  The highway around St. Louis, MO had been closed on and off all week for flooding, but it was open Thursday morning.  The mountain bike trails were closed, the fishing wasn't good and we were tired of being rained on.  Everything was wet and dirty from the rain.  We were all crowded under the awning every night and usually every morning.  We left Thursday morning.  Three days early!  By the time we got my parents packed up and on the road, then got ourselves packed up, it was 2:00 before we actually got on the road.  We got home at 11:30.  What a miserable, long, tired drive!  When we finally got home, the weather was great here.  It seems like such a waste. 

Usually Table Rock is our last summer trip.  I hate coming home because it represents the end of summer and back to the monotony of the school year.  This year, I came home early and hated it because the weather ruined our trip.  I told the kids it happens to every one sometime, I guess it was our turn.  Next year will be better...we really, really hope!  Our favorite trip was our least favorite this summer.