I’m in Sioux City, Iowa this week visiting my sister, Tara. We, along with her husband, Mark, went to Lake Okoboji for a day. We shopped at The Central Emporium and the Barn Swallow, then headed to Park’s Marina. Their boat was docked and ready for us to hop into for a little jaunt around Lake Okoboji. Mark captained the boat through the clear blue water.

The weather was beautiful – warm and sunny, though a bit windy which whipped up the waves on the lake. We passed the Queen which is an excursion boat for vacationers.

Then, we watched as she pulled up to the pier at Arnold’s Park Amusement Park.

Further down the shoreline, a sail boat was setting sail in front of the Central Emporium where earlier we had shopped for T-shirts.

I really enjoyed our day at Lake Okoboji. Mom and Dad lived in the area for over 20 years, so I spent many of my summer vacations and holidays there. Mom owned a shop in the Central Emporium called Mother Goose where she sold T-shirts and sweatshirts. It’s always fun to go back to Okoboji and relive some of my memories. And so our last stop of the day before we headed back to Sioux City was to the little cemetery by the lake to say hi to Mom and Dad.