We celebrated eight years of marriage where it all began, Okoboji, Iowa.

• 

• 

Okoboji was the first place we went on vacation together, and it is where we got married. I always assumed Jamey would propose there, but he popped the question before our trip, and after many beers, we decided to get married there!

This was our second year camping at Emerson Bay rather than staying at Fillenwarth but we made sure to visit and wish them a happy 100th anniversary on our anniversary.  We still miss Fillenwarth, but we sure enjoy the price at Emerson Bay, the comfort of staying in our tiny home, and bringing our dogs with!

Okoboji is Jamey’s favorite place in the whole world and my second favorite place (after Duluth). We’ve been looking forward to this trip for months!

Okoboji! We made it, finally!

We got into town, waved hello to the lakes as we drove by and high-fived for being in one of the best places ever. Set up commenced and we couldn’t wait to get done and on our way to vacation enjoyment! I had the best of intentions to grill a nice meal before we went out for the night, but hunger and the lure of the Taco House won. So once we were set up, we ran to the Taco House to grab dinner to-go and take it to West-O Brewery for a pint or three. Following West-O on Twitter had given both of us serious FOMO (fear of missing out) so we knew one of the first things we wanted to do was get their beer! We were happy to sit on the patio and enjoy the beautiful weather and eat our delicious tacos, but Toby was offended he wasn’t allowed inside the building.

• 

• 

Anniversary Highlights

Thursday was our anniversary. Jamey spent the morning sleeping in, while I spent it at the dock with Buddy and coffee. It was a beautiful morning at the lake! Once Jamey was up and moving we took a family trip to town to run a few errands and take a card to Fillenwarth.

We walked along the lake, enjoyed the view of the lake, walked by the “snow cone lady” and the dogs got tons of treats. The woman who runs the Tropical Sno stand in Arnolds Park is a big dog lover, and every time we walked past her building she stopped us to give the dogs tons of treats. And we walked past a lot! Just walking to and from and getting exercise. By the third day, they started dragging us over that way for more treats! Thanks for all the treats, the dogs appreciated it for sure!

Later that afternoon, our Rover sitter came by to dog-sit while we went out to celebrate eight years of not murdering each other! 

We had a couple of cocktails on the rooftop at Captains Getaway. The roof top has a really great view of the lake and the town. It was fun to hangout there and just enjoy the view. Eventually it was time to catch our cruise and get on a boat! The Siesta Cruise is always a fun, low-key cruise around the lake. It’s a fun way to experience the lake and chat with some new people. We really enjoyed the captain’s narration of the history and money around the lake. 

Dog Days

Emerson Bay doesn’t allow you to leave dogs unattended in the camper. I know a few of our neighbors broke that rule; one neighbor’s dog barked and howled for a couple of hours non-stop. While walking the dogs one morning, I noticed a note on another camper door that told them to take their dogs to Boji Bark and reminded them of the rules.

So I’m glad Okoboji has become a lot more dog friendly than we started vacationing there 10 years ago. We got to do a ton of fun things with our dogs. They got lots of walks, visited lots of patios, met lots of new people who gave them lots of pets and had a ton of fun themselves. It was great having so many options of places to go for food and drinks and to be able to bring the boys with.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We walked through Arnolds Park every day, we had drinks at Braccos, we ate delicious pizza at the Ritz, we avoided the resident cat at Woudes Bay, we took in a live band at Preservation Park, we explored the Abbie Gardner Cabin site, had beers at Okoboji Brewing Company, we went to see the Johnny Holm Band at the Barefoot Bar, we had afternoon beer at Pirate Jacks, and one farewell lunch at the Gardens. The boys were the center of attention everywhere we went and they soaked up all the fun!

We spent one day playing at the beach with the paddle boards, and Buddy even went paddle boarding with me. Toby was a hard NOPE.

One evening, Jamey made a delicious steak dinner at the end of another day full of patios, treats and so many walks. By the time we were eating, Toby was making up for lost time with his couch and Buddy was sleeping so hard he didn’t even notice the steak right in front of his face.

• 

• 

Shake the Lake

On Saturday, we had our Rover sitter return for another afternoon hanging with the dogs so we could have a few hours of dog-free fun. So we got on our bikes, rode the Great Lakes Spine Trail to Parks Marina and boarded the Shake the Lake Cruise. 

This cruise was less my speed but right up Jamey’s alley. It was filled with multiple bachelor and bachlorette parties, so it was basically a large drunk-fest. It was fun to be on the lake in the sun for four hours! Lots of people, loud music, blow up dolls … all the making of a college frat party on a lake. 

Another year, another great time in Okoboji. We can’t wait to come back and do it all again next year!