Has anybody here been to the Ozarks on vacation? Since Florida is complicated, I’m thinking we should try something more local.
Of course, it won’t be easy to persuade N to go because he’s a big fan of the TV series The Ozarks and now thinks the place is teeming with drug cartels.
We want a very quiet family vacation in a place where we can swim a lot. We are very anti-excitement. For us, fun consists of staring at each other beatifically.
If not the Ozarks, does anybody know of any other place where people can swim that’s driving distance from St Louis? All recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Clarissa's Blog 
The future?
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This is an outrage and these people are bastards.
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On the other hand…
We are very far from DC. What we found, when my husband was job-hunting last time around, was that he got more call-backs and interviews when he did NOT mention his BA (with honors), when applying for jobs that did not ask for a degree in the job listing. The job he has now does not require a degree. The degree was a liability, in our job market.
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My in-laws live in the Ozarks and I have been there many times. The region has a ridiculous number of churches, but I have never run into any drug dealers. It’s not a dangerous area to visit.
My in-laws live on Table Rock Lake and have a dock that is designed for swimming, that seems to be a common set up in that area and I would imagine that you could rent a house or cabin with a similar set up. The water off of a dock is deep, so kids need to have a proper life jacket to wear into the water and everyone needs some form of floatation device to spend any time in the water and enjoy it. I believe there are a few spots with artificial beaches, but I don’t have any personal experience with those. The big lakes in the region are Table Rock Lake, Lake Taneycomo, and Lake of the Ozarks, which is further north. I don’t think there are any huge differences between the lakes, any would be fine if you find a nice place to stay there. The one place you might want to be aware of is Branson, it’s a big tourist town, very tacky, and usually very crowded. There is lots of shopping and even a few decent restaurants there, esp. in the Branson Landing area. You don’t want to stay in Branson proper, but you might consider somewhere close enough to go into Branson once or twice. If you are looking at Lake of the Ozarks, the main town is Osage Beach.
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Thank you this really helps! Especially the explanation of how swimming works over there.
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Eureka Springs, Ark. is a very picturesque old resort town, with lots of interesting stuff nearby. The Buffalo National River has a great trail alongside for hiking/fishing/swimming, but watch out for ticks!
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My great great Aunt and we used to visit herancestors lived in the Ozarks since the 1800’s.
Still have some unmet family there. I don’t know about now a days but used to be breathe taking
Most of my extended family live in the bigger cities in MO
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“Ozarks and now thinks the place is teeming with drug cartels”
Okay, I understand that tv show is a crime series, but…. I’d love to do a psychological experiment on N, showing him bits of the happiest most optimistic tv shows and movies possible to see how long it takes him to find a tragic reading…
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Forget TV shows. That’s how he sees everything in life. This is trauma.
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Great fishing there too. My great aunt and uncle always vacationed in Arkansas to fish.
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I definitely want to go to the Ozarks, for the reasons given by the others. I keep saying I will, and I should get on it, it’s not that far.
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I live in the Ozarks. Pretty quiet in Branson and probably the rest of rural Missouri and Arkansas.
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