Finally, there was enough of a reprieve in Covid-19 that we put our sights on heading to Missouri. We had been wanting to go their since Quincey was born so she could meet her grandma Mary and we could spend time at the family cabin. Finally, the time had come to bundle into the car and make our way there. We made it 9 hours the first day. We stopped along the highway to enjoy a picnic and let Quincey stretch her legs then, finally got to our destination that night - an Airbnb in a small town in Kansas. It was such a pleasant surprise and great little place to stay. Quincey was crazy that night after being cooped up in the car and luckily, she fell asleep and stayed asleep in her pack and play. We were all exhausted.
Finally getting to our first Airbnb...
The next morning, we loaded again and hit the road for Missouri. This leg of the trip was much shorter so, once we saw some water (about 40 minutes away from the cabin) we took a side road and pulled off the explore some. Little did we know that this would be where we would spend the majority of our time while in Missouri. It was a great little picnic area but the road leading down to the beach was closed. So, we tracked down the hill on the other side and Quincey got her first taste of a lake. She loved it but, because it wasn't a distinguished area for swimming, she didn't get to fully enjoy the water; however, she had a great time splashing around while daddy fished.
After a little while, we climbed back into the car and finally arrived at the cabin an hour later. It was SO nice to finally see Joe's mom and introduce her to our precious little girl. She had presents waiting for Quincey and a wonderful dinner ready to go. Quincey got to get up close and personal to a horse for the first time and a goat for the first time. Unfortunately, we all ended up getting close and personal with ticks too. I HATE TICKS and was mortified when Quincey had one on her back, I had one on my back and, I had to pick one off of Joe's back. SO NASTY! Anyhow, Quincey loved chasing around the billy goat. We had a nice visit but were all exhausted and ready to head for the Airbnb we had booked about a month prior. But, little did we know what we were walking into....
So, about a month prior to the trip, we got serious about finding a place to stay and the one thing Joe wanted was to stay on the water-somewhere that had a dock attached to the Lake of the Ozarks. There were actually not a ton of options that were in our budget but finally, we settled on a little place that looked perfect. The views from the deck on the property looked amazing and the place looked very quant. When we showed up, it was just nearing dusk. We were skeptical upon seeing the outside of the place but tried to keep our spirits up as we entered. Inside the place had the most intense smell. We found bags of some sort of liquid deodorizer hanging from various windows inside, obviously trying to mask some smell. Joe quickly removed the bags because they were just way too strong. The place ended up being a one bedroom trailer and, not a nice one. The whole place had bad vibes, was dim and dark, with little appeal to it. It was easy to tell that the upkeep of the place had not been a priority to the owners. Quincey was exhausted though so, I tried to give her a bath and put her to bed. She wasn't feeling it either because she struggled to fall asleep and stay asleep there. Finally, after she had dozed off, Joe looked and me and stated that we would not be spending our vacation here. He decided we would stay the night, pay for the night but write the owner and address our concerns while asking for a refund for the remaining days. It was about this time that I noticed I had a missed call on my phone and numerous emails from the owner of the property. After listening to the emails and reading the messages, it turns out that we had arrived a day early. Oops! In all the juggling of dates, I had originally thought that we would leave for vacation on that Saturday but a couple weeks later, when trying to find a place for us to stay halfway through the drive, the place we wanted to stay was available on that Friday night so, Joe promptly said that he would take Friday off as well and we booked the place for our half way point. I never even thought about the fact that this would mean we would arrive in Missouri a day early putting us there a day early for our Missouri Airbnb. After receiving Steve's messages, we realized that we had lost most leverage we had in regards to getting our money back but, after discovering blood splatters on the hide-a-bed sheets, there was no way we were staying there. Joe took over "negotiations" with Steve and told him we would be gone within the hour while trying to address with Steve why we were not satisfied with the conditions of the home.
So.... at 11pm, we hauled everything back into the car in the pouring rain, and lastly, grabbed Quincey and quite literally booked it out of there. Believe it or not, this drive back to Joe's mom's place where we decided to stay for the night was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. We acted as though we were on an escape mission and giggled most of the drive while Quincey never did wake up (even after transporting her into the car in the pouring rain). We were liberated and, Joe was determined to get our money back. This ended up being quite a process with Airbnb who seemed to not be willing to look past the error we had made by being on the property a day early, although we had a voicemail from Steve telling us that it was okay and they had already cleaned the place and prepared it for our arrival. Finally, after threatening media attention and showing them pictures of the blood stains while asking to speak to management, we were awarded a full refund. PHEW.
And, luckily, the place Joe found for us after all this was PERFECT. I mean, it wasn't right on the Lake of the Ozarks but it happened to be like 1 mile from the original turn we had taken and the lake Joe had fished at the day earlier. It was beautiful, clean, light, with a great outdoor area Quincey could run and play in and within short walking distance to the lake. We loved it and quickly settled in.
Our first day at the beach, no one was there and so Joe took out his fishing pole. Immediately he got a quick bite from a fish he said was huge but never did snag it. A while later, he gave me the fishing pole and I proceeded to wade out into the water and cast the line. After a few casts, something bit my hook. I started to reel it in but quickly realized that it was pulling my drag out and was too heavy for me to reel it. My first thought was to just walk out of the water with it but, Joe had noticed that I had something huge on the line and started yelling at me, "get your point up! get your point up!" as he was running towards me. I was confused but finally realized he meant for me to point the tip of the pole up. So, I tried but it was bending the pole too much. I gave it one last big pull up and.... just like that, it snapped the whole line in half as was gone. I was shaking with adrenaline and so darn upset that I had lost the monster. I have only ever caught a handful of fish and not a one of them big. I couldn't believe it and, to top it off, the look on Joe's face of devastation made me realize that this was the one I would always remember as, "the one that got away." I fished for that sucker every day afterwards that we went there but never even got another single bite. For the next couple days, I couldn't stop fuming about my close encounter with the Truman Lake Beast (aka my big fish).
Here is where I would love to post a big picture of my big fish..... :(
Another favorite part of our vacation in Missouri was our time in the creek next to Joe's mom's cabin. It's a place where Joe has been going his entire life. In fact, the year the cabin was purchased by his grandfather was the year that he was born so, quite literally, he has been going there his whole life. This was Quincey's favorite spot. The water is clear and shallow. She was able to walk up and down the creek splashing to her heart's delight and Joe and I both caught fish there. Of course his were bigger then mine. Mary came with us one time to the creek as well and watched Quincey while we fished. It was so sweet to watch her and Quincey wading up and down the water together.
We enjoyed our time so much that we actually extended our stay by two days. Unfortunately, Quincey became quite cranky the last day and didn't seem to be feeling well. Little did we know that she was in the midst of battling a rare tooth issue (to be discussed in a future blog).
All in all, this trip felt like a legit family vacation with tons of quality family time. Yes, it started our rocky with the narrow escape from the ramshackle airbnb but ended with lots of smiles, great memories and precious family time with grandma Mary.
