Trip to Okoboji

Before I tell you about our trip to Okoboji this past weekend, you should understand a little something about what the weather has been like around here. For the past three or four weeks, we've had days with temperatures consistently in the nineties, lots (and lots) of sun, and no rain. So, when a trip to Lake Okoboji was looming on our horizon, we were looking forward to spending some time out on the water to make the sun and heat a little bit more bearable. However, we weren't on the bus but ten minutes before it started to drizzle--and it never really let up the whole trip.

Now, truthfully, no one was terribly upset that we were finally getting some badly needed rain, and the overcast skies were a nice change from having the sun beating down on you, but it was just one of those "of all the days to have this weather" kind of moments.

We went on the trip with one of Darrell's unit in the the Shrine, the Fife and Drum. Usually, this unit dresses up in Revolutionary War Era uniforms and plays patriotic songs on (not surprisingly) fifes and drums in local parades. A few of the members have property at the lake, so for many years the unit has been making the trip down to Okoboji. It used to be that they would go down for a parade in the morning, then hang out on the boat through the afternoon. Lately, though, they've just been going down more or less for fun, but still taking their instruments and "parading" through some of the lake-front bars (and off the boat). This was our first year on the trip, and the whole ordeal was quite entertaining, although they modified their uniform slightly to account for the heat. Darrell doesn't actually play an instrument; he is sort of the unofficial photographer of the unit, and he captured quite a few good shots of the day.

"Parading" around one of the dock areas

The Fife wives on the trip

Hanging out at the well-known Barefoot Bar

Ballyhooing off the boat

The whole crew getting ready to head home

I'm not sure how much the lake-goers enjoy the antics of our group (especially the song that has a gun-shot halfway through), but we certainly had a good time!