MO Family Vacation - Day 3

Oh, my goodness, it seems like such a long time since we were in Missouri on our family vacation and here I am only sharing our third full day there. I need to get on with this.

Monday morning, Hubby and I woke up early, well, at least earlier than the three kids. We decided it was time to split up, so around nine, we left them at the resort so they could get moving whenever they felt like it. I wanted to see the Shrine of Mother Mary and knew they didn’t have much interest in it.  

 I bet it would be a beautiful place in the summer when the flowers are out and the pools are running and you can walk around without three layers of winter gear on and your nose running.

 Next we stopped at Bridal Cave on Thunder Mountain. Since we had just been to a cave the day before, we didn’t think it was necessary to take another tour, but I enjoyed noising around the gift shop, looking at rocks.

Shortly after that, we heard from the kids. They were having breakfast at the Wacky Knacky diner, not for lack of food back in our unit at the resort. They said they were heading to the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. We followed in hot pursuit, but never caught up to them. My son Nick had put some tracking thing on my phone, so that I could see where ever each of them were. And likewise, they could see where I was. The things they come up with these days.

Anyway, before we had left home, when I was looking up things to do in the area I read about the Swinging Bridges. They looked terrifying to me and I had hoped the kids wouldn’t discover them. But of course, they did.

 Actually, they both seemed pretty sturdy, but just too narrow and too noisy when you drive over them.

I walked about halfway over the longer one. I had a bit of a panic attack and couldn’t move for a minute or two, was terrified that I would fall through one of the cracks, which seriously were not that big and my five-pound cat wouldn’t even fit through them. But sometimes it’s too hard to be rational.

 

 We left there and started driving over to Ozark Cavern in the State Park. Along the way we passed this cool old house. I post this picture here just for my friend Denise, wondering if she happened to ever take a picture of it, as she had of another cool old house I’ve passed in Missouri. No?

 Got to Ozark Cavern, aware that it was closed until April, but the ranger at the visitor center said we could walk out to it and go in as far as the gate. She warned us about a beaver that was living there. We thought, cool, but we will never see it.

 Ha! Didn’t see the beaver (I actually don't think there ever was a beaver, I think the locals were confused) but scared up another critter. When I downloaded my pictures and started editing them, this muskrat showed up. We actually think there were two muskrats – the one that splashed away on us and the one cowering in the corner of their nest. Muskrat love!

 We drove back to the resort and walked around until the kids got back. Then we went down and played a few family games of shuffleboard. How sweet, huh? What a happy family.