Day 11: Eldon, MO

We stayed up until 2:30 in the morning talking the night before.  The sleep was something like what I think normal people sleep like.  We awoke to the clitter clatter of a tiny sister making biscuits and gravy, bacon, and eggs.  The woman is 100 pounds with wet weights in her pockets.  She puts a stick of butter in just about everything she makes and stays 100 pounds. It's a miracle of Missouri.  They eat like the people they are... a three way mix between Ozark hillbillies, mid-westerners, and southerners. With a heavier percentage focused on the south.  The food is good.  Even simple food like our breakfast this morning was better than normal because she uses oil and she isn't afraid of salt or pepper. 

So Eldon is the northern gateway to the Lake of the Ozarks.  The Ozarks are beautiful. The Lake winds around like an Asian dragon and acts like the life-preserving blood pumping through a body made up of steep rolling hills and thick green forests.

The house that we occupy within this scenery seems perfect.

My mom loves her cat.  The indoor cats hiss and swipe at you as you walk by.  Funny kind of, but their hilarity make them no less bitches. The outdoor cat, Gracie, is sweet and just had babies.

After breakfast we all load into the car and head to mom's lake house. On the way, we stopped at one of my favorites.. a low water bridge

We arrive at the lake house with our mouths agape.  It sits right on the Lake of the Ozarks.  In the heart of the Ozarks.  It is beautiful!  The deck has stairs that lead right into the water

That's my mom sitting on Willow's right (your left... no YOUR LEFT!!). Next to her is my sister.

We spent the rest of the day sitting around the house talking about  our childhoods.  We laughed about the funny things.  We laughed about the painful times.  We laughed at the people that caused us the most pain.  My sister made another amazing dinner... ham, corn, sweet potatoes, cole slaw, and sweet tea.  Just another meal in the country. 

We headed to bed a little earlier tonight... exhausted from all the laughing.

\Tomorrow we leave here and head to Cape Girardeau through the heart of the Ozarks to see my nieces, Sarah Dawn and Emily Ann Willocks!!  So excited!!