July 1-6: Grand Lake 'O The Cherokees, Oklahoma

Grand Lake Day 1: 
We hit the road headed north.  Made a short stop in Eufaula, OK at Braums to get a chocolate shake and some fries for the drive.  We made the decision to take a slightly longer route in order to go past one of out favorite spots near the lake. We made our way to Disney Oklahoma and Pistol Pat's BBQ.  They are known for their burgers and shakes.  Jess and his family have stopped here for years.  We scooped up some burgers, fries, fried pickles, and another chocolate shake.  Another 30 minutes or so and we were in Zena, OK, the small town where the Royall lake house is located.  This small town is one of Oklahoma's ghost towns.  No businesses are still operating except the Baptist church.  The population is around 45.  We pulled up to the house around 8pm and got settled in.  We grabbed a few beers and went on a sunset/moonlit boat ride with Jim, Janet, Leon, and Bella.  After the ride we all laughed at the local news and went to bed.

Grand Lake Day 2

Janet is the best.  Every morning while at the lake we awoke to a feast cooked by Janet.  This morning it was bacon, eggs, biscuits, jelly, your choice of O.J., A.J., C.J., milk or coffee.  It is heavenly.  

We spent the morning trying to blog using a wifi source that you plug in the usb.  This was our first attempt blogging and blogging from the middle of nowhere is not always quick.  We were patient enough to upload Tucumcari, but then we had to get in the water!  We are at Grand Lake ‘O the Cherokees after all!  

We floated in their cove (named “Wood Duck Cove” by Janet) for a bit.  Jim and Janet just spent last summer dredging the cove to make it deeper and building an awesome deck on the back of the lake house.  It is 3 levels and so cool.  We loaded on the boat with Jim and Janet.  The Landing bar and grill floats right on the water next to an actual airstrip (for small planes).  We ate lunch admiring the lake but never saw a plane take off.  This place had oysters, and being the oyster conesiuers that we have become, we asked how they were and where they came from.  Our waitress looked shock that we had even mentioned oysters.  I guess they’re rarely ordered on Grand Lake.  She had to go ask someone, who also did not know.  Then she said she would get us a couple that we could try and see if we liked.  We thought, what the heck?...free oysters.  A few minutes later we see a large man going out behind the marina to a big truck.  He has to go fetch the oysters that are sitting there frozen on ice.  They were not done thawing by the time lunch was over, so we never tried one.  That was a pretty anti-climatic story. Sorry. 

We spent the rest of the day swimming around Wood Duck Cove, snacking on sausage and leftover pete’s place (it lasts forever!) and visiting with Jim and Janet. 

Grand Lake Day 3

Today is a great day!  Lauren and Eric (Jess’s sister and husband) and The Schatzels (Lane’s sister’s family of 5) are coming!  Because of the whole Des fiasco incident at Eufaula and Lauren having to go to OKC while we were in Seminole, we felt like were robbed a little of our sister time.  When we left Eufaula we decided that the Schatzels must come to Grand Lake to celebrate the actual 4th of July with the Royall family.  Bonus...they finally got to see the lake house we talk about so much.  We drove to Jay to meet them at a gas station because it is pretty impossible to give directions to someone after that point.  the Royall lake house is in the boonies.  They arrived around noon after a 3 hour drive with three kids under the age of 5 who were excited to see their aunt and uncle again!  

We spent most of the day swimming in the cove after another amazing breakfast (sausage, eggs, toast and jam).  Janet came with the Schatzels and us on a boat ride to a swimming spot they have been coming to for years.  We even heard some bathroom tales of ‘ol and some that were not too long ago...;)

When we made it back to the house, lauren and eric arrived! Leon and Otto/maggie (their two dogs) got reacquainted.  We chatted and feasted on steaks, potatoes, and salad.  We had to quickly get everyone in the boat so we could make the flyover and firework show at Duck Creek by 8:30.  It was about a 30 minute boat ride and we caught the tail end of the flyover.  The fireworks were supposed to start by 9:15, but we waited until 10:00 for the first one to go off.  It is a tough task to keep an impatient, tired 4 year old entertained on a boat in the middle of the lake in the dark for that long!  Ben was a champ though.  While Des (2 years) and Genevieve (6 months) slept on their parents, the adults entertained the boat with “_________walks into a bar...” and “what’s the guys name who has no arms and no legs...” jokes.  Eric’s joke wins though:  

“Termite walks into a bar and asks “Is the bartender here?” 

(read - “is the bar tender here?” HA!)

The moon offered its own entertainment.  It seemed to light up the entire sky.  The show was worth the wait.  It lasted for about 30 minutes.  We headed back through the dark, choppy water dodging the giant yachts that seem to flock to Grand.  We all hit the hay back at the house.  

Grand Lake Day 4:

Pancakes this morning!  These sweet treats did their best to mask a foul taste in the air.  Someone had taken money out of Jess and Janet’s wallets.  Not once in 30 years has this happened at the lake. They live in the boonies and have never thought to lock up the house when out on the boat.  We think we got to the bottom of it (some hoodlums hanging around...man, I sound old when I type that).  After stewing for a couple of hours, we got over it.  After a few games of Candyland with Ben and Des we enjoyed a boat ride to Ski Cove with Lauren M. and the Schatzels.  We took Otto and Leon and floated for a couple of hours.  

We came back to the house in time to feast on hamburgers, turkey burgers, potato salad, and fried okra!  I love lake. After a dessert of pound cake (decorated as an American flag with strawberries and blueberries) and banana pudding, the Schatzels had to head home.  

We ended the night with a few episodes of Family Feud and went to bed.  

Grand Lake Day 5:  

Thursday was our last full day in Oklahoma.  We woke up to one last breakfast feast.  The boys took the pontoon out to see if they could catch any fish. While they were away the girls floated on mats in the cove and talked about girl stuff.  When the men returned with no fish, we got on the boat for a ride over to the Landing for some lunch and margaritas. We had to stop at Serenity Point Marina for Gas.  They have a large trampoline on their dock.  Jess took this opportunity to show off for Lane and did an extra high swan dive off the tramp.  After lunch Lauren, Jess and Lane jumped into the water for a cool down before the boat ride home.  The Mathe’s left shortly after we got back to the house  to go back to home and work.  We had a quiet evening in picking on leftovers from the week and watching “Okie Noodling” documentary (soundtrack by the Flaming Lips).  Off to bed for an early departure.