The longest segment of driving for this trip managed to coincide with the threatened rain. Initially, it was merely annoying with the wipers on and off every little bit, although there were stretches with no precipitation. And when the intensity significantly increased, at least traffic wasn’t too bad, unlike one lengthy slowdown prior to that. In all fairness, as I hit the last hour of the drive and looked to the west at the even worse thunderheads with very visible lightning, I realized I would probably be okay if I could make the turn more south within about fifteen minutes. I was glad to see that mess in my rear view window as I drove away and finally did get sunshine after about 30 miles.

The friends I’m staying with have season tickets to our shared university and it was a home game. We’d already agreed I’d just come on to the house and my girlfriend checked in with me at half-time. I was safely ensconced at that point, glass of wine poured and full from having stopped for dinner at one of the local Mexican restaurants. It did make for a later night than usual for me, but the home team did also win which couldn’t be said for the prior week. We all caught up with the basics and we’ll be going to brunch at one of the lakeside restaurants when they return from Mass. It is overcast and possibly more rain today although the front is supposed to be clearing. The next leg of driving to see relatives on my mother’s side of the family is very short, so even if it is bothersome, it won’t take long.

The drive from Shreveport to Kimberling City on Table Rock Lake is about seven hours. Most of it is fairly easy driving until the last 80 or so miles when the road reduces to two lanes with lots of curves as you wind up into the Ozarks on the way toward Branson. Our friends have a lovely view of the lake from both floors and if it was daylight, I would probably be posting this from the balcony. Their guest bedroom arrangement is perfect for me because it is on the lower level while their master is above. There also happens to be a wet bar with a coffee maker down here which means I can rise at my usual 5-5:30, have coffee, and work my email/do posts without risking disturbing anyone else. And speaking of connectivity, the husband half of the couple gave me a hug and handed me the info for the wireless network. It is the world we live in these days.

So, my girlfriend and I went for a late lunch to a place that was a bit of a drive, but quite scenic. Table Rock Lake is huge and there are communities and marinas dotted all over it. There are over 43,000 acres to the lake and 500 miles of shoreline when you add them all up. Anyway, the restaurant specializes in catfish and broasted chicken. The obvious solution was to eat catfish there and bring home chicken. While not the best catfish I’ve ever had, it was definitely delicious and certainly worth the drive. As it turns out, they have opened another restaurant slightly closer at a marina and park (either State or part of the NPS) and we drove in to check it out. It will be open only part of the year, but won’t close for another couple of weeks. They have a machine with fish food you can buy, so the ducks, fish and even turtles are accustomed to having food thrown to them. The ducks and fish we expected – the turtles were a surprise.

We returned to do some more catching up, then enjoyed the sunset  view from their balcony. With quite a few clouds, it wasn’t as spectacular as they often get, but still some lovely colors as the clouds were tinged with pink and gold and the colors also reflect somewhat into the lake. We’ll see what the weather does today before we make a decision as to the excursion we plan.

Okay, it’s been a long day. Traffic was terrible getting to MIA, but the Super Shuttle driver did manage to make it with enough time for me to get one coffee before boarding. Flight was pretty smooth. Second leg of trip encountered some delays, although that did give me time to have a real lunch at a Fridays. That also meant a later start out of Shreveport with the rental car though, so I didn’t make it as far as I wanted today. In fact, I’ve stopped in the town of Malvern where there are no full service restaurants. There is a pizza place very close to the motel and they did something interesting. They have a surprising array of pizzas, plus subs and salads. They do a buffet and the girl at the register kept assuring me it was a better deal than just ordering. She was correct of course, but I also didn’t need the all you can eat option. Anyway, it was one big room with maybe thirty tables and about half full. The pizzas were on the buffet line (to include dessert ones), but what the waitresses did was when a new pizza came out of the kitchen, they walked around with it, calling out the type. They served anyone who wanted a slice right off the pizza pan, then placed the leftover slices onto the buffet line. Everyone was quite friendly and I was probably the only stranger in the place based on the conversations I was hearing.

I’ve been told the weather may turn a bit tomorrow so we’ll see how the rest of the drive goes. I think about 3-4 more hours and I’ll lose the Interstate at some point.