Where to Go: Outpost Cabins, Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri

Photo from Lake of the Ozarks State Park website.

Imagine someone who loves the concept of camping— the campfire, the s’mores, the stars overhead, the beauty of the woods, the hiking opportunities, and so on— but hates the actual camping part— the lack of bed, climate control, comfort, and so on. If this person is you, then I have the perfect faux-camping experience for you: the Outpost Cabins at Lake of the Ozarks State Park.

Zach and I love real camping, but for our anniversary trip, we opted for a more luxurious experience. The Outpost Cabins are located in the heart of the state park among a dense oak forest, offer a lovely view of the lake and access to a nearby trail, and are equipped with an outdoor picnic/campfire area, heat, electricity, a fan, a kitchen counter, a table and chairs, a couch/futon, two mattresses, and a buckstove with firewood. They are two stories high, made of solid wood, with high ceilings and a nice loft area, which houses the two beds. There is no built-in running water, but you have access to the shower house year-round. And best of all, this costs no more than $55 a night!

Why you should go: These cabins cost as much as a really cheap hotel, but they are infinitely better. Lake of the Ozarks is a huge state park with a lot to see, and these outpost cabins are a great cozy home base. This is a great option for a family or a group of friends, too!

How to get there: You have to wind through a lot of back-roads in the park, so be sure to show up during daylight hours. You’ll receive driving directions when you make a reservation, and you can check out the park map here (PDF reader needed). The Outpost Cabins are listed as "Camper Cabins."

What to bring: Food in a cooler and rigid containers (we were ransacked by a mouse last year), matches and firestarter (unless you’re staying more than three days, you’ll have plenty of firewood), bedding (including sheets), flashlight, lantern (not necessary but nice to have), and anything else you need for camping.

What else you need to know: In some of the cabins, you’re allowed to bring along your dog— details on the website here. The check-in process is a bit confusing: they claim you need to call a number to get the combination for your lockbox that holds the cabin key, but after some frustrating calls, Zach and I finally discovered that the combination for the lock was sitting in a plastic sleeve on the lintel of our cabin door. Now that’s security!

Overall, these cabins are a great place to escape into the woods for a while, as Zach and I have done for the past two years. Check them out— you’ll be glad you did.

Reflection, Bellingham Bay Harbor, Washington

Where to Go: Las Posadas, St. Charles, Missouri

At 6pm on December 7th, on Main Street St. Charles, one of the most beautiful events of the Christmas season takes place. Main Street Church hosts an event that is inspired by an old Spanish tradition: Las Posadas. This is a stylized reenactment of the Nativity story, showing how Mary and Joseph were rejected at every inn until they found a stable to give birth to baby Jesus. Hundreds of visitors, carrying candles (and occasionally candle apps on their iPhones) witness the event in a beautiful, fire-lit procession.

The procession begins on the 1000 block of South Main, so if you wish to see the whole story, begin down there and follow Mary and Joseph north up the street. Mary will be riding a real donkey, and they are followed by all the rest of the Christmas Traditions characters, a choir, and a fife and drum corp. The latter two perform songs as the company walks along slowly, lit by the candlelight. At three or four different places on Main Street, Mary and Joseph stop at a storefront. Joseph asks if there’s any room in the inn, and is told there is not. When they reach the corner of First Capitol and Main, an innkeeper finally tells them there is an available stable, and the procession turns down First Capitol and processes into Frontier Park, where they gather at a life-sized creche on the Jaycee Stage. From there, the rest of the Nativity story plays out, complete with shepherds, sheep, angels, a real baby Jesus, and wise men, interspersed with readings and songs.

Somewhere during the ceremony, the mayor announces the grand lighting of the Christmas tree in Frontier Park. I’m not gonna lie— this upbeat interruption breaks the mood a little, but it doesn’t last long, and the scene becomes peaceful and reverent once more.

After the ceremony, guests are invited to the “Yule Log,” a giant bonfire in Frontier Park, to sing Christmas carols together. It’s a great way to finish the night.

If you are a Christian or just someone who appreciates the Nativity story, this event is a must-see for this Christmas season. I love that this Las Posadas has a real baby Jesus, who fusses and cries and needs to be bundled against the cold— it gives the event a startling and moving reality. My favorite part of the night is when the carolers sing, “O, Holy Night.” What happens when they get to the line “Fall on your knees…” is something that moves me to tears every year.

Here’s the official page for this event— and I hope you’ll take some time out of your schedule to come visit and remember, with hundreds of others, the child born in Bethlehem.

When: December 7th, 6:00pm

Where: South Main Street, St. Charles, Missouri

Tips: Arrive early and leave plenty of time to find parking (I recommend the parking lot near the Lewis and Clark Boathouse, or the City Hall parking garage). Bring a candle and a lighter (the wind often blows out candles). Please don’t worry about bringing a camera— the pictures won’t look good without a flash, and a flash ruins the mood. If you’re an emotional person (like me), don’t forget to pack a tissue!

~~~

An Insider's Guide to St. Charles Christmas Traditions

As a follow-up to yesterday’s blog, here are my best tips for getting the most out of St. Charles Christmas Traditions!

When to come: 

The festival hours are as follows:

Opening day, November 29th (Black Friday): 11-9

Every Saturday between then and Christmas: 11-9

Every Sunday between then and Christmas: 12-5

Every Wednesday and Friday between then and Christmas: 6:30pm-9

Christmas Eve: 11-2

The streets are usually packed! If you like the exciting hustle and bustle of crowds, come any time, but if you’d rather have a more laid-back experience, try coming on a Wednesday night or Saturday morning. One of the least-traveled times of day is about noon to one on Sundays. And anytime it rains or is very cold, you’ll find thinner crowds.

Where to park: 

Parking is free everywhere in St. Charles during festival hours, but it can be difficult to find a space. Don’t even bother trying to find parking on Main Street itself— head straight to the big parking lot near the Lewis and Clark Boathouse. Then walk the block or so to Main Street. Another sneaky option is to park at the City Hall Parking Garage behind the 200 block of North Main Street— it’s free at night and on weekends.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, the
crowd may look like this. In the
morning,  there's hardly anyone!

What to do:

Where to begin? There’s so much to do! For instance…

Look for someone in a costume. There should be about two to a block between 900 South Main and 200 North Main. Approach them with a loud, “Merry Christmas!” and ask them what they’re all about. They may be surrounded by a swarm of children (or fangirls, or creepy old men/women, depending on the character), but everyone is free to interact with them. Ask the characters about their stories. You can learn a lot about history, legends, and Christmas celebrations around the world this way. Don’t be surprised if the characters ask you about how you celebrate Christmas, too!

Collect cards. This is by far the most popular event of the festival! Each character has a stack of his own collector cards— I believe it’s a set of 38 this year (with three bonus cards). There isn’t a prize for collecting all of them, except for a warm glow of satisfaction, but trying to get every one is an exciting game! Most of the characters won’t let you have the card without embarrassing yourself in some way, so be prepared to sing, dance, share your favorite thing about Christmas, or shout “Merry Christmas” in a different language. Sometimes it’s possible to collect all the cards in one day, but most of the time it will take a couple weekends. Once you collect all the cards, find the Town Crier and he will shout the glad tidings to everyone in earshot.

A character card

Request a song from the carolers. When you run across a caroling group, stop and ask them to sing your favorite Christmas song. Just remember, due to the historical nature of the festival, the carolers don’t know any songs after 1900— so no “Silver Bells” or “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” I love to ask them to sing their more obscure songs, which may include carols you’ve never heard before.

Buy a flower and some roasted chestnuts. Two flower girls wander the streets, selling carnations (and sometimes roses) for a dollar. Buy one for your significant other, your friend, yourself, or a random stranger! Don’t miss the chestnut roasters, who stand beside an open fire. At two for a dollar, this is the cheapest snack you’ll find on Main Street. I love roasted chestnuts— they taste like a cross between a peanut and a baked potato. Plus, they make great hand-warmers on cold days!

Visit the Gingerbread Village. Main Street Church, at 116 North Main, hosts a yearly gingerbread house contest. This year’s theme is “Christmas Around the World,” and I can’t wait to see all the beautiful and creative entries!

See Santa! Yes, there are nine other Santas out on the street, but you just have to stop and visit the big guy: Victorian Santa. This year he’s hanging out at the Katy Trail Depot in Frontier Park. Most people will take their picture with him, but you can also just say hi and get his card. At the depot you’ll also find an impressive train display.

Don't forget the wonderful photo op!

Buy food. Main Street has some really yummy treats to offer, in addition to the roasted chestnuts. Check out the homemade fudge and candy at Riverside Sweets (400 block), buy the best chocolate chip cookies ever at Grandma’s Cookies (400 block), and try a gooey-buttercake milkshake or a real phosphate soda at Little O’s (200 block of North Main). For a charming lunch, try Garden Cafe ala Fleur (500 block), and for a nice American-style supper, check out Lewis and Clark’s Restaurant (300 block), or Trailhead Brewery (900 block). If you’re just looking for a cup of coffee, meander into the artsy and laid-back Picasso’s coffeeshop (corner of Jefferson and Main).

In addition, here are five events not to miss:

Candlelight processions: There is a great parade every Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 (followed by a hilarious skit), but quite frankly, I love the candlelight procession even more. On Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:45, all the characters walk down Main Street carrying lanterns. They end at Berthold Square (at the intersection of Main and First Capitol) and listen to the carolers sing songs. Sometimes they dance along, too!

Sunday closing ceremonies: Every Sunday at 4:30ish, all the characters gather at the gazebo on the 400 block of South Main. The carolers sing, the characters hand out last-minute cards, and you might be treated to a group merry-go-round dance with an elf, or a stirring performance of the Master of Revels’ “Jingle Bells” dance.

Marshmallow roast: On Friday nights at 7-8:30, your dream comes true… you get free marshmallows to roast over a blazing fire! This occurs in the backyard of the First State Capitol at 200 South Main. Sometimes characters will join you and tell you spooky (or not so spooky) stories.

Ambassadors of Harmony special appearance: On December 21st, the Ambassadors of Harmony (a huge and amazing all-men’s choir) will be joining the parade at 1:30 and sticking around until 3:00. Their singing is nothing short of breathtaking.

Las Posadas: Of all the special events during this season, this is my favorite. Main Street Church hosts a Spanish tradition, retelling the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, I began writing so much about it that I decided to write a whole blog post dedicated to it! Look for that tomorrow. In the meantime, here are the basics: show up anywhere on South Main Street at 6pm on December 7th, and bring a tissue.

Are you planning on coming to Christmas Traditions? What is your favorite part of the festival?

~~~

Where to Go: St. Charles Christmas Traditions Festival, Missouri

Cast photo from 2010— I need to find a newer one!

In my good ol’ hometown of historic St. Charles, Missouri, the longest-running Christmas festival in the United States has its home— "Christmas Traditions." On weekends and Wednesday nights from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, the brick-paved streets of St. Charles come to life with a cast of Christmas-related characters from all over the world— and visitors come from all over the world to experience this piece of Christmas magic. This is my eighth year being directly involved in the festival, although I’ve been visiting since I was a little kid. This is the biggest and best cast I can remember: 38 characters, four caroling groups, and a whole lot of awesome Christmas cheer.

Two mischievous Scandinavian elves
pose for a photo with a cute doggie.

The festival is a bit hard to explain to someone who’s never been there. You arrive on the street (after driving all over trying to find parking— tips about that in my follow-up blog) to see a fairly normal historic tourist district, decorated with real greenery and twinkling lights and bright red bows. On an ordinary day you could go here to buy candles, clothes, trinkets, homemade fudge, restaurant meals, knickknacks, shoes, or gooey buttercake milkshakes. But on these special days in Christmas, instead of just hurrying from shop to shop, you find yourself wanting to stay on the street, because of all the crazy costumed people running around.

You might find yourself getting into an argument with Jack Frost, learning a dance from the Sugarplum Fairy, listening for the magic bell that the Train Conductor holds, purchasing fresh-roasted chestnuts from the chestnut roasters, hearing the news from the town crier, witnessing a friendly shouting match between two elves, discussing the logistics of flight with the Reindeer Flight Instructor, buying a carnation from a flower girl, or getting a “Bah, humbug!” from grumpy old Mr. Scrooge. Eleven different gift-givers from around the world are there to tell you about Christmas in different countries: Victorian Santa, Civil War Santa, Frontier Santa, and World War II Santa for America; Saint Nicholas for northern and eastern Europe; Kris Kringle for Germany; Pere Noel for France; Julinese for Scandinavia; La Befana for Italy; Snegurochka for Russia; and Father Christmas for England. 

This festival is for people of all ages: children love to meet the characters, but so do adults. The excitement of the festival is almost tangible.

If you want to learn more, check out the online festival guide. Then make plans to head down— you’ll be glad you did!

(Tomorrow I’ll post another blog about this, noting some of my favorite events, shops, and Christmas Traditions experiences, as well as tips for visitors. I love this festival so much, and I want everyone to experience it!)

Happy Birthday, Mary!

Today marks the 22nd year on the globe for my baby sister Mary. Even though it’s been hard for us these past couple years as she’s been in California while I’ve been in Missouri, we will always be best friends. I’m so proud of her for following her dream and touching the lives of everyone she meets in San Diego. I love you, Mary!

And, in honor of this day, I give you seven photos that pretty much sum up our relationship (and these, too).

Our first trip to San Diego.

Hamming it up for a photo in the ghetto of Oakland.

Pretending to be Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill. Because of course.

Pretending to be drunk at Mary's going-away party (the hardest thing we'd drunk that evening was soda).

Devouring burgers at Hodad's in San Diego.

Being pensive at Larabee State Park, Bellingham, Washington, on our first trip together.

Naptime!

Shoreline, Emerald Isle, North Carolina

Simplify, Simplify

Whether or not you like Walden, almost everyone can agree with Thoreau’s famous imperative statement: “Simplify, simplify.” The idea of simplicity has been on my mind lately. It is, in the churches that remember church history, a spiritual discipline; it is a way of life that leads to freedom.

I’m still figuring out what simplicity means on a practical level, and some preliminary thought has come up with this:

Weeding down the amount of stuff I own. “Have nothing your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” (Not sure who said this, but it’s great advice.)

Managing my time better so I can focus on my priorities.

Learning to cook, clean, and do other housework efficiently (before I have kids and have to be efficient!).

Focusing on one thing at a time.

Not obsessing over money.

Organizing my house so I can actually find everything.

Throwing away broken things instead of having a running list of “things I need to sew/patch/fix” but never do. (I’m all for reusing stuff, but I tend to keep those torn-crotch jeans I plan to recycle in my drawer for years without ever doing anything about them.)

Keeping my memories in a single journal, instead of scattering programs and ticket stubs all over the house.

Focusing on giving.

Reading more, surfing the Internet less.

Has this been on anyone else’s mind? What do you think simplicity means for you?

~~~

100-Word Memoir: Childhood Expectations, Courtesy of TV, Books, and My Own Sense of Normality

As a kid, I had certain expectations of the world. For instance:

All children, except my siblings and friends, were brats. Still, it was important to be nice to overweight children and kids with glasses, because they were teased constantly and ruthlessly. The same applied to kids from divorced homes, because their lives were terrible.

All normal children attended public school and were Catholic. (Homeschooled Protestants like myself were weird.)

The entire purpose of college was to meet your future spouse. 

Every ordinary child had an invisible friend. (I felt guilty that I didn’t.)

Someday, I was going to die.

~~~

Miscellaneous Thoughts about Marriage from the One-Year Mark

Zachary and I are back from the Lake of the Ozarks, and now that I’m caught up on my editing (though not my freelancing or housework), I have time for a quick blog. I feel like I can’t let our paper anniversary go by without musing a bit. 

(Disclaimer: all these musings refer to Christian marriage, which means a man and a woman who enter in a covenant to love each other with God’s love and stay faithful with God’s faithfulness until death, no matter what.)

Here’s what I wrote in my diary a few days ago:

We're not mad at each other. We're mad at the ticks.

1. One year is hardly any time at all.

2. The first year of marriage doesn’t have to be the hardest, despite what people say. (“Oh, you’re in your first year?” they say to me, nodding knowingly. “The first year is the worst.” I just nod politely.)

3. My mom often told me, “If you can get along with your siblings, you can get along with anyone,” and it’s true. So much of the first-year drama was avoided because Zachary and I are used to sharing space, time and compromises with family members.

4. Marry your best friend. Romance is wonderful, but most of your time spent together will just be hanging out.

5. The Bible (particularly the epistles, but also Revelation and all the books of prophecy) has a slew of new insights and instructions when you’re married.

6. Lyon’s Frozen Custard, and then a Pixar movie at the dollar theatre, is the best cheap date.

7. Covenant commitment is so, so wonderful. We know that we are together till death, no matter what.

Chillin' in Portland

8. “You’re right” are words that go a long way in most situations.

9. It’s really nice, despite the inconvenience, for a woman to take her husband’s name. Names are powerful, and sharing his strengthens the sense of oneness.

10. Marriage does not exist to make you happy. It is there to be a picture of Christ and the church, his bride— which is, by the way, much better than trying to be happy.

~~~

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, Missouri

This is a cool place.

One Year

As of tomorrow, Zachary and I will have been married one full year. This statement still surprises me. Where did the time go? With a rush, it’s autumn again, and the leaves are falling, and I’m thinking of what to get my family for Christmas. But also, has it only been a year? Haven’t we been married much longer than that? Life with him seems so natural, like it’s always been this way. 

Soon another year will fly by and I’ll find myself here again, wondering how it could possibly be November again. I’m excited about this year. I’m determined to savor it. One way or the other, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, I’m looking forward to another year of life with my best friend. I love you, Zachary.

Six Pics from Halloween

Yesterday marked the first Halloween in my own house! Zachary and I prepared by buying a massive bag of name-brand candy. Unfortunately, it seems that the kids in our neighborhood don’t believe in trick-or-treating… a grand total of nine kids showed up on our doorstep. They all got a lot of candy.

Still, we got to hang out with family, dress up, and eat yummy food! So, although it wasn’t the Halloween I was expecting, it was still good.

These are sugar cookies— way better than actual candy corns!

Zachary carved this adorable kitty.

INDEED.  (Any fellow Stargate fans out there?)

I also threw in some toys, which were, surprisingly, more popular than the candy.

Zach as Beren (note the missing right hand) and me as Luthien (from The Lay of Leithian).