OMG!!!!! MORE FOOD!!!!!!!

Another wonderful day here at Lake of the Ozarks, with TheHowserHouse sitting on the bank of the Osage River....about a mile down from Bagnell Dam which has dammed up the Osage River and at one time......it was the largest man-made lake anywhere!!! But......progress goes on and even though the Lake is huge, it is not the biggest any more. It DOES have over 1300 miles of shoreline......more shoreline than the length of the entire west coast of the USA!!!

Interesting to me.......until the Bagnell Dam was constructed, my grandfather operated the ferry that took travelers across the Osage River....the ONLY way to cross it here in central Missouri. He showed me the exact spot where the ferry left the bank of the river and crossed it to the other side to join the "highway"/road.

Today.........after another leisurely morning with our morning drinks ......Fr. Roast coffee and her tea.......we left and went to Eldon. Taking flowers with us, we went to the cemetery and put the flowers on Michele's grave and on my parent's graves. Doing a bit of cleaning to the stones, we then headed to lunch at the Philadelphia Steak House.......ummmmm...good!!!! Since we have eaten there several times, we couldn't leave without eating there again......the absolutely best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches this side of PA!!!!!! IF.....IF you are ever in Eldon during lunch time you MUST seek out this place on business 54 and have one of the giant sandwiches!!!!!! And......CHEAP!!! Sooooooo good!!!!!

Then we stopped at the local Amish market and purchased some apples.......did some looking at the many other Amish breads, herb packages, flours, cheeses, etc., ,etc., etc. We did buy some butter and I am really anxious to try it out!

Back to the Lake.....12 miles away......and then we went out to look at the Lake of the Ozarks State Park........the campgrounds there. Well...........it is a very old park and the sites are just not made for LARGE rigs such as TheHowserHouse, sooooo......I don't believe we can ever camp there without damaging the RV with the many trees there.

Then......it was back to the Outlet Mall for a couple of hours with more purchases than I anticipated!!! Yep........our restraint and self-discipline went out the window.....and the packages went into the truck.....$$$$$$$$$$$$.......UGH!!!!!

Back to the Riverview RV Park......and then after an hour of relaxing......we met my sister and significant other( of many, many years) at the Potted Steer. This restaurant I believe I wrote about in April when we went down there for appetizers and drinks. Well..........needless to say.....I am like an over-stuffed rag hulk........and bursting at the seams!!!

Going to the lounge/bar for a little while to wait on our table, the bartender gave me my regular....Dark Red Medicine......and I struck up a conversation with him. OMG......OMG......he is the son of a former student of mine in Eldon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And......he is not just 21 years of age.....but a few years older than that!!!! SHIT.......I am getting TOOOOOO DAMNED OLD!!!!!!
My sister and David arrived and we had a drink and the evening of gorging and conversation and laughs began!!! Another former student of mine and a terrific musician and sax player and his wife work there, Helen being the manager of the restaurant. This place is the one of the finest....if not THE finest......restaurants at the Lake area........and tonight was no exception.

We began with their infamous Onion Rings and Shrimp de Jonghe. This was followed by their wonderful crisp and cold mixed salad.........the best salad anywhere....with NO doubt in my mind. This was accompanied by crusty and very flavorful garlic bread......yummy!!!!

Our dinners then arrived: My sister, David, and myself had the tender and very juicy Peppercorn Encrusted Filets with very large baked potatoes. UMMMMM.....such a wonderful cut of beef and prepared just.......just right! The 1st Lady had Sea Scallops with Sole resting peacefully in a wonderful Lobster Bisque.........incredible!

Well........after we thought and felt like we could eat not another bite, Helen brought the dessert cart to the table and my sister and David each had some little chocolate truffles......and the 1st Lady and I had Snickers Cheese Cake with freshly made whipping cream. This was accompanied by the French Press coffee........a wonderful dark and very aromatic drink that went so well with the desserts. As I said above: OMG.....MORE FOOD!!!!!!!!! We can barely move around now and it has been over an hour since we left the little restaurant. We were thee for almost four hours.......a wonderful evening: great company with great conversation with GREAT food!!! Not to be confused with a fast food joint.......this place is quality and has been quality for years and years........NOT to be missed when at the Lake of the Ozarks!!!!! (Please plan to dig a bit deeper into your pockets than normally......but well worth digging soooo deep!)

It is soooo great to visit with my former student and his beautiful wife there at The Potted Steer.....and they are always sooooo wonderful to see that our appetizers and desserts are compliments of the house(them)!!! THANKS SOOOO MUCH Helen and Dave!!!!!!!

Even though I am almost soooo full that I am miserable.......

LIFE IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!