There was this trip that we went in Spring last year to the Ozarks….It was my first spring trip ever in the midwest and I was in no way prepared to see such colours and spring flowers….There were hues of purples, reds, pinks, yellows, whites and what nots in the lovely highway 54W  from St.Louis to Osage Beach. It was a lovely warm weekend of May 2008 and the drive was all that I had not expected it to be….It was scenic, peaceful and had bursts of colours everywhere.

The Lakes offer a variety of water recreation like boating, diving, fishing and watersports like jet skiing etc. The number of tourists who come here every year has been steadily increasing and so are the vacation rental homes and quaint little cabins that have sprung up everywhere in this area.  On this trip,I had packed a filling lunch of Puliyodharai, fried Vadams and delicious curd rice seasoned with chillies, mustard and ginger. We directly drove to the lake and found a lovely gazebo overlooking the scenic lake of ozarks….My husband and daughter spent some time gazing at the lovely lake and the specks of boats where people had driven here to enjoy some time on the calms lakes. We had our lunch gazing at the pristine calming waters of the Lake….Watching any water body has this calming effect on me – makes me realise that nature is so much more packed with power and nothing  man made can match to its greatness any day.

After a filling lunch, we gazed at many more wildflowers and saw this tree filled with leaves of red and dark amber. It was not fall, all the way to spring, but this particular tree struck out as it`s every leaf was a deep shade of crimson red. From the lakeside we accidentally drove to an overlook that provided a spectacular view of The Bagnell Dam and the lazy horseshoe bend of the Osage River. It was a spectacular sight to see the Dam which had impounded the Osage River, as there was an enormous amount of water, with a view to harnessing it for hydro electric power  to create the Lake of Ozarks. In fact, the write up on the Dam even mentioned that the Dam changed the course of the mighty Osage River itself over the years,…

After witnessing this mighty Dam, I definitely wanted to drive through the Dam, to get the feeling of the wind on my face…it was a lovely moment as we zipped past the dam, feeling the wind on my face, and hearing the constant gushing of the Osage waters. The Bagnell Dam Park also had many bits of information for us to read up on….about what happened more than 70 years ago!!!

I don’t think we had a plan to visit the Chelsea Premium Outlets originally, but some of my friends had made me feel  that a trip to the Osage Beach was not complete without going to the Outlets, that I quickly succumbed to temptation and found myself parking in the lot there….”just a few stores, ” I told myself and to my husband…and he was already smiling…I guess he knew me…The Children`s Place here is pretty massive and seemed to be awash with deals – I remember grabbing strawberry shaped belts,sparkly slippers, and clothes and skirts for my daughter for 99c !!! I even found a summery black chiffon dress with lovely yellow sunflowers on them for a dollar! It was stupendous!!!

The Mall had a lot of interesting stores -Bass, Liz Claiborne, Hush Puppies, Rue 21, Crocs, Coach, lancome, Oneida, Bose, BCNG, and one that I particularly loved was the The Osage River Pop Corn Company who supply the highest quality of gourmet popcorn available. I loved the Jalapeno, Caramel Pecan and Butterscotch and I remember packing a little tin for back home.My daughter found it particularly amazing to see a vendor holding little cones of crushed ice, on which he would squirt a patch of syrup – her first Sno-Cone, of the many that she would have all summer….She had a taste of Blueberry Sno-Cone and laughed with glee at her blue coloured teeth and lips…

Dinner was a particularly unhurried affair as my husband had already planned for someplace special – not because of it being a high footed, expensive restaurant but more for the gourmet food and the spectacular view…There was unhurried driving through curving, picturesque roads, flanked by green golf courses on either side and that evening particularly, the sun shone, mellowed in a lovely shade of  pinkish amber.

This place called Ruthie  D`s had a beautiful view of the Ozark Mountains as the backdrop overlooking it, on their lounge. There are some moments in our life, which are best left to capture with our eyes and drink in….silently. It would not do any good to try and capture those moments on a camera – it would never even begin to explain the granduer of the picture in the mind`s eye….the view of the mountain from the restaurant , was one such . I can simply close my eyes, and feel the beauty of those minutes, as we sat there, enjoying our food and the view. The food was exceptionally delicious, the service impeccable, the view extra ordinary, and the meal itself, very gratifying and fulfilling.

The drive back home to St.Louis, was very quick and sweet with the memories of the day in our hearts and the joy in our souls knew no bounds…