Unfortunately, two of the best pictures of us in a group are the ones of the guys and gals toasting at the beginning of the weekend. I know that gives the impression that it is all we did all weekend, and we certainly did enjoy some spirits over the weekend, but also indulged in a ton of great food, a lot of walking (logged my 10,000+ steps on my pedometer as we walked through Eureka Springs on Saturday) and just all around great fun with friends.
We headed out of our marina about 12 noon on Friday. It was a beautiful day, with temps in the mid to upper 70s, and Chris drove the boat from up top while we all stretched out and enjoyed the 5 hour ride in the sun. It was too early in October to see a lot of fall foliage, but it was beautiful all the same. When we arrived at Holiday Island in Eureka Springs, we tied up with friends Jerry and Crystal, who also made the trip with friends on their houseboat. We all dined on smoked brisket, buffalo wings, salad and more, and listened to music, hung out in the hot tub and enjoyed the beautiful evening.
Saturday morning Dave fixed omelets and hashbrown casserole for both boats, and we headed into Eureka Springs about 1pm that afternoon. We started out at the oldest bar in Eureka Springs, and then walked about 20 steps to the Tiki Torch, a fun (and not so smoky) bar. While quite a bit of the group hung there for awhile (many of the guys wanted to watch various sports), Jana, Heather, Garry and I headed out to peruse the shops for a couple of hours.
Then we all met back up and headed for our 6:30pm reservation at Rogue's Manor. Dave and the guys enjoyed crab legs (which were much more expensive than last year's trip, but we weren't surprised by that) and oyster shooters; I enjoyed a somewhat healthy pork tenderloin and some yummy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.
To end the evening we headed back to the Tiki Torch, where the guys again enjoyed sports on the big screens and the girls (and a few of our guys, but not Dave!) enjoyed the dance floor. We headed back to the boat about midnight, and most of us were in bed soon after. Dave made his famous pancakes (our choice of blueberry or chocolate chips) on Sunday morning (have I mentioned that I love that this man can cook!? I'm so lucky!) and then we headed back to Kimberling City so our KC friends could get home at a decent hour.
It was a great weekend, and I can't wait to do it again next year. Dave and I would like to also just take a weekend trip there ourselves, stay at one of the historic hotels, and do a little shopping and eating on our own. Hopefully we'll find time to do that this winter or in the spring.
Now I'm back to reality, and to the upcoming breast cancer events this weekend and next weekend. It was nice to have a little time away, and I'm feeling refreshed and ready for all the work.
