Last month was our 9-year wedding anniversary. We don’t always make a big to-do about it but since we hadn’t done such in several years, I felt called to make a big to-do about it this year. Next year will be the big 1-0 for us and I’m hoping for not just a big to-do but a colossal to-do. I wanted to keep things somewhat low key this year but with just enough somethin’ somethin’ to make sure we felt adequately celebrated.

I chose our celebration spot for a couple reasons. One: The Lake of the Ozarks is only a short one-hour drive from our home so we cut down on travel time and extended the F.U.N. time! Two: I hadn’t been to the new resort since the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville brand purchased the Tan-Tar-A Resort earlier this year and was curious what they had done to the place. Three: We bought a boat this year and with all the Missouri flooding, we haven’t even been able to take the dang thing out on the rivers so we’re confined to the lakes and thank goodness there’s a pretty good one this close to home.

We skipped out of town early on Friday afternoon, checked into the resort pretty quickly, dropped our bags in the room and headed for the boat ramp. With all this unfortunate Missouri weather this year, we were DYING to get our boat out on the water !

If you know anything about the Lake of the Ozarks, you know it’s home to big, fast boats. If you know anything about the Baxes’, you know we don’t have either of those. Our boat is smaller, just 21 feet, but that’s just the way we like it. And with our upgraded boat this year, we do have a faster motor but it still pales in comparison to these race boats that fly through the main channel every weekend. We wanted to get as much lake time on Friday afternoon that we could, before the madness of the boat monstrosities came out in full force.

The boat ramp at Margaritaville was just down the hill, making it easy to get on and off the water. We ventured down stream to catch some of the quieter coves and we succeeded. The cove we spent most of the afternoon in granted us hours of complete solitude. It was lovely. I loved seeing the lake through the lens of peace and quiet and it makes me a little forlorn that most lakegoers don’t get to experience it that way.

After we spent several hours willing the day away, soaking up the sun’s rays, and dreaming about better days (sorry, I couldn’t help myself but that’s such a catchy little rhyme time I did there!), we tootled back to Margaritaville. We were grateful that we got to enjoy the afternoon with very little worry about the wake from the speed boats.

We got cleaned up in our guest room, which had been completely renovated. Haint blue walls, crisp, white linens, beach scene photos and a new tv/coffee stand/dresser with shiplap lined backing create the perfect backdrop to a relaxing lake getaway. The rest of the resort is going through renovations as well, which appear to have been badly needing it. I’m not sure the last time Tan-Tar-A did any renovations but it was apparent that it had been years, maybe never, since they had put any money into sprucing up the joint. I think the new owners will do this place very well.

A good portion of the hotel property that we saw had been remodeled already but I think they still have plenty to do. The resort lobby was so welcoming with it’s pergola area with porch swings and colorful throw pillows. The ginormous broken flip flop outside the lobby doors welcome guests right away and let you know it’s time to throw on the lake gear and chill. The resort store sits at the end of the mall area that looks as if you’ve just strolled through a quaint beach town main street to get there. You can get ice cream here also, which we didn’t make time to do but had we had the kids with us, you can bet that would have happened!

We wanted our nice dinner celebration to be Friday because we were meeting up with friends for a concert on Saturday. The “fancy” restaurant at the resort is Windrose Restaurant and sits just beside the lake. I’m a sucker for dining al fresco but was disheartened when they refused to sit us outside because of the temps. Now, it was super, super hot during the day but we were having a late dinner and the sun had nearly gone over the horizon but they rattled off something about hotel policy and the heat index and seated us by the windows so we could at least see the lake. After I got done pouting about my whole dining experience being ruined by the dang policy, I ordered a cocktail that helped my mood just a little (okay, okay it helped my mood a lot). The pineapple upside down cake cocktail comes in a martini glass but tastes so much better. Sweet but not too sweet, you can taste the alcohol without it being overpowering. I savored every last drop of that thing.

We were served something that we can’t pronounce, have never heard of, or will likely ever see again as a “palette cleanser”. The only palette cleanser I’ve had are those tiny, hexagon shaped oyster crackers they serve at the wineries in between tastings. Us being from Mid-Missouri and all, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but whatever this concoction was, it was delicious and even though Robby requested twenty-three more bowls of it, they denied the request (haha!).

After a lovely steak dinner, we headed over to the Landshark Bar and Grill to check it out. We wandered around the outdoor pools, where some folks were still lounging, and thought how great it would be to come the next day for drinks at the swim up bar. We made plans to do just that and then headed inside for a couple post-dinner drinks.

With all the hype we’ve seen surrounding The Landshark Bar and Grill, I had pretty high hopes. Resorters had already started back to their rooms for the night and it was a far lesser crowd than I was expecting. The place is done up pretty nice. It hosts the feel of being at a Gulf Shores bar, and that I like. With three garage doors that roll up on the lake side of the bar and a sizable myriad of beers on tap, it did not disappoint. I was surprised to see how early they were closing the place down though. Around 11:00/11:30, they started closing the garage doors and letting people know it was last call. Resort bars were accommodating to guests not wanting to venture off the resort for their nightcaps, I thought, but Landshark was definitely closing their doors before midnight.

After turning in for the night, we got ourselves a pretty good night’s sleep. We also managed to sleep in a bit! (Which was until 7:30 but when you’ve got little kiddos at home, that’s a dream!) After catching up on some work (not that I wanted to but I was working on a project with a deadline) and relishing just hanging out in the room, drinking coffee and not having anyone to be accountable to, Robby went and picked up some breakfast in the resort lobby, while I showered up. We wanted to get back on the water before the big wigs overtook the lake and what would most certainly also include us and our tiny boat.

We got back out on the water a little before noon, and I was immediately ready to high tail it back to safety. Even at this early hour, the wake from the big ‘uns was enough to have me fretting a little more than a little. Robby was able to keep us sequestered mostly to the quiet coves and safe through the main channel. After several hours of hanging to the edge of our seat (literally and figuratively), we headed in and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.

Our intention was to lounge in the swim up bar on the side of Landshark Bar and Grill. We immediately saw that wasn’t going to happen. The amount of bodies in that small pool of water was unbelievable. I don’t think we could have fit even if it was our heart’s last burning desire. So, we got a table and had lunch instead. I had the fish tacos and they were very tasty. We had good service and a table with a fantastic view; I’d recommend Landshark to anyone and everyone! There’s a small beach that sits lakeside just below Landshark Bar. There were several people out enjoying the beach but please note you are not able to get into the lake here. The beach does not actually connect with the water, as there is a seawall of protection because it is at the main channel of the lake. It’s truly a dangerous place to swim so you can merely enjoy the beach for the view. If you need a dip, you’ll have to walk up the few stairs to the pool.

After our lunch settled, we headed to the pool on the other side of Landshark. Unfortunately, this one was nearly as crowded as the first but seeing as it was around 3:00 in the afternoon, we didn’t have many other options. This pool has a Tiki Hut to the side and waitresses that serve from the pool. For the kids, a water slide that dumps into a separate, smaller pool just above the main one. This would have been a great place to spend the afternoon. And don’t get me wrong, it was but there were again, so many people. Proof in the pic below. I don’t know if this is what the pool looks like typically because it was a busy Saturday afternoon, but I’m sure other days of the week it’s much less peed in populated than it was on this day. There is one other pool on the resort but it’s not adjoined to a bar and we hadn’t prepared a cooler so a poolside bar was a necessity for us. It was about 127 degrees outside, after all.

Once we had justifiably crispy fried our skin, we went back to the room to clean up for a concert we were headed to that evening with our friends. The Gary Allan concert at Ozark Ampitheater was great and ended our weekend on a high note, for sure!

Sunday morning brought us a chance to sleep in (yes- again- twice in a row!) and enjoy a little more peace before we had to pick up our munchkins from Grandma’s house. We had breakfast at the Boathouse Restaurant. They serve a buffet style breakfast with all the typical menu offerings and it was better than most buffets, plus you can eat with a lake view, so it was a double win. We got there and were seated right away but within about 10 minutes, the second crowd showed up and there was a pretty long wait line.

I would have loved to indulge in a quick game of mini golf before setting out for home but the hubs didn’t think we had time for it. The greens were just outside our room and are available to any resort guest. Your kids will love it! Speaking of kids, have you heard of Timber Falls Indoor Waterpark? They will be renaming it under the new owners but I’ve heard great things about this indoor waterpark! It would be perfect to check out when it’s miserable hot outside or when it’s cold outside and there’s simply no way to enjoy winter anymore.

All in all, we had a great time. Of course, most of that was great company but the resort was certainly a nice backdrop. I would go back to Margaritaville, actually I’ll rephrase that…. I will be back to Margaritaville. This time, I hope to catch it a little less busy and maybe we’ll bring the kids back with us too!

Tell me, have you been to the new Margaritaville Resort at Lake of the Ozarks? Have you been to any of the Margaritaville Resorts? Let me know what you think by commenting below!

Happy Mid-Missouri Travels!