Family Fun!

We recently decided to be brave souls and pack up the kids for an extended weekend of camping. After looking online at several places we decided to go to the upper end of Beaver Lake at the Dam Site River park. After waiting out two days of inclement weather we set off last Thursday afternoon. We got to the site we had chosen but they were all booked up. The Dam Site Lake park was all full except for three undesirable sites. We were then directed to Indian Creek park, so off we went.

Indian Creek, a Corps of Engineers park, turned out to be the best of the three. We found a nice, shady spot to pitch our tent. We were close to hot showers, and just up the hill from the playground, bathrooms, and volleyball net. That was nice because we could send the kids and they were within view from our site. The official swimming area was closed because of flooding (as were several sites), but we were able to walk to the water's edge and swim at a spot not far from our camp. The park filled up by Saturday, but it was a surprisingly quiet crowd.



On Friday we drove into Berryville to WM for some needed supplies. We stopped along the way at Onyx Cave, a great stop for the little ones. I also took hubby to the Christ of the Ozarks, a requisite stop for anyone traveling through the area.



On Saturday we drove in the other direction to Garfield. We ate at the Hungry Flea Cafe, a family run cafe inside a flea market. The cafe has a limited selection of burgers, sandwiches and "dinners served family style". We all opted for burgers. The kids were impressed when the server brought out 2 liter bottles of soda and set them on our table. This is really a mom and pop operation. The husband cooked while the wife doted on our kids. It took a while for the food, but we didn't mind. We had unlimited soda to drink, and I passed the time looking through the flea market booths and chatting with the owner. The burgers finally came. They were great, big, greasy, grilled burgers - the kind one can only get in a roadside cafe. They were delicious and well worth the wait!

On a side note, they have beautiful hand-cast decorative sinks for sale there. The owner said they are locally made. They actually had one installed in the restaurant restrooms. They were gorgeous!

We left the Hungry Flea and headed east to Martin Greer's Candy Shop. I've been by this place a hundred times and never stopped. It is a quaint little building out in the middle of nowhere where candy is made while you watch. Martin Greer is a second generation candy maker. He is also an artist, not with just chocolate, but in the real sense. I know this because a friend of mine recently took a college class taught by Mr. Greer. Anyway, back to the chocolate...everyone in the family picked out two pieces of their choice. I think choosing the chocolates was a much fun as eating them. My favorite was the coconut truffle. Yummy!!!

Back in camp we decided this was the first of a family tradition...lunch at the Hungry Flea, dessert at Martin Greer's Candy.

All in all, a fabulous time was had by all. I highly recommend all of the places mentioned for fantastic family fun.