Archive for the ‘Life at the Lake’ Category
Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Added: February 5th, 2010 | Be the first to add a comment »
Running a water park in Missouri is a curious way to earn a living, for lots of reasons.
One of the more spicy elements to the job is the fact that our success depends, more than anything else, on something wholly beyond our control. I refer, of course, to the weather.
There’s an old saying in Missouri that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes, but in the past few years that hasn’t done us much good. We’ve had two of the wettest, coldest summers since records began. We’re due a scorcher, that’s for sure.
And here’s the funny thing. Deep in our hearts, we know that at some point over the season it’s going to rain and get yucky. We know we’ll have to issue rainchecks to our guests and console upset kids who were looking forward to a few more hours of fun. But still, right now, in February, I operate on the assumption or belief that we will have beautiful, sunny days for three months straight. It takes some mental gymnastics to believe in something that you know isn’t really true, but I’ve had a lot of practice. This leap of faith is akin to believing in the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy all rolled into one. In Alice in Wonderland the Queen of Hearts boasted about believing six impossible things before breakfast. She should come and work for us.
Anyway, with a bit of luck we will have those three months of hot sunshine, and I’ll look back on this post, and… oh. There I go again.
Phew.
Added: September 8th, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
Wow. Hard to believe yesterday was Labor Day - another season is already over. Boy, did that go fast!
We’ve had an amazing time. It’s been a wonderful year. Not as much sunshine as we all would have wished for, certainly, but we still have some wonderful memories to keep us warm over the winter until we open again next May, and hope that you do, too.
We’ll be posting some photos of some of our favorite events on the blog in the forthcoming weeks.
Believe it or not, we have ALREADY begun to make plans for 2010, and to work out how to make Big Surf even more fun for you all! We have lots of cool things in the pipeline, including some exciting ideas to reward our most loyal guests. Keep checking back at this blog over the winter as we’ll be giving regular news updates as we develop these ideas. And, of course, we’ll be keeping our e-newsletter subscribers up to date with everything that’s going on, and offering them some exclusive offers. If you haven’t signed up yet, better do so now!
Thanks to everyone for a great 2009, and we’ll see you all again next year!
Big Surf on the Today Show!
Added: July 24th, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
Yes, that Today Show.
We were delighted (although, you know, not surprised or anything) that our wonderful water park appeared on NATIONAL TELEVISION this morning. There was footage of Big Surf on the Today Show as they ran down Health Magazine’s list of the top ten best places to go for a healthy beach or lake vacation this year.
We’ll find the footage and post it here as soon as we can.
Very proud!!!
Does Anyone Have a Weather Machine…?!?
Added: July 22nd, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Surely this is not too much to ask.
If someone - anyone - has any ideas how to build a WEATHER MACHINE, we would very much like to know. We love our park, but it’s best enjoyed when it’s hot and sunny out. Which, as you may have noticed, it’s not been lately.
All ideas and suggestions gratefully received.
Meteorological logic
Added: June 23rd, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
During the season we all think about the weather a lot. It doesn’t matter how great our park is – if it’s raining, nobody’s going to come. We send our lifeguards home and hope that tomorrow will be better. It’s very tough on everyone – this is what we live for, and to be foiled by uncooperative weather is difficult to take.
So of course we’re all hoping for an endless string of hot, sunny days - and, thank goodness, just recently we’ve been having some terrific weather, which looks as if it will be continuing for a little while yet. But it doesn’t always happen like that in Missouri. As a result I’m always checking to see what’s coming our way. I have downloaded two weather-related apps to my phone, which can tell me what’s going to happen by the minute, hour, or day, up to two weeks into the future. With the sweep of a grubby finger I can summon up radar, maps, pretty little pictures, or streaming video of the latest local weather forecast. My laptop is forever whirring and beeping anxiously whenever clouds gather overhead. It should feel good to have so much technology at my disposal, except that none of it really works. You’d think, given where we are, with hundreds of miles of flat land in every direction, it would be pretty easy to see what was coming our way. Apparently not. My arsenal of whizzy gadgetry often gets it wrong. So from hereon in I’m going to be using a new brand of hyper-connected, real-time multi-dimensional information transferral technology interface to get my weather news. It’s called a window.
Alex G
Other things to do at the lake, after Big Surf
Added: June 22nd, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
While the weather has not been great so far this season, better days are coming. I just wanted to let everyone in on what to do after you have spent a day at the park.
If golf is a hobby (or a chore, as it is for me), you should try two of my favorites, Sycamore Creek and Old Kinderhook. Both are beautiful facilities set on the lake and will challenge all levels of golfer. Most of the balls lost in the woods are mine, so please return them to the park. My wife will thank you.
When it is time to eat, you can find everything from burgers to the excellent steaks, and great Mexican food. Some of my favorites are Bandanas (get the sausage plate). If you are looking for a steak, try J. Bruners. If you fancy Mexican then I suggest Vista Grande, opposite the Outlet Mall. I hear they have great margaritas.
In the evening, there are go-carts to ride, movies to see, and if you are on the west side stop by Scotty”s drive in for a cherry limeade.
There are lots of online resources you can use to find what you’re looking for. For starters you could try the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau website. There’s lots of good stuff on there. Happy surfing.
This is just a small list of many, many thing to do at the Lake after you’ve been to visit Big Surf. We’d love to hear any other suggestions or ideas you have. Please feel free to leave your own tips and recommendations by leaving a comment below!
Thanks and see you soon.
Darin
Whether the Weather Be Hot…
Added: June 8th, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
It’s been a funny few days down at the Lake, weather-wise.
Twice in the last week we have closed the park because of bad weather in the morning, only to see warm and sunny afternoons. Inevitably when this happens we have guests who arrive when the sun is shining and are disappointed to discover that we have shut for the day. I wanted to explain why this happens.
We have to make a decision whether or not to open the park at least half an hour before opening, so that we have time to warn our staff not to turn up for work. Once that decision has been made, it is not possible to reverse it, because all of our lifeguards and grounds staff make other arrangements for the day and go off and enjoy themselves doing other stuff. At 10.30 yesterday morning it was pouring with rain, and the satellite did not show any sign of letting up for several hours. Therefore we had no choice but to close the park, even though by the afternoon it was very pleasant outside.
Needless to say, we never take the decision to close the park lightly. Our season is already too short. We have been working away all winter and spring to watch people enjoying our park, and it is very painful for all of us to be thwarted by uncooperative weather. But there are, unfortunately, times when we have to admit defeat. When that happens, we are looking at ways of telling as many people as possible, so that nobody makes a wasted trip.
There are lots of ways you can check if we’re open. Of course, you can always telephone the park on (573) 346 6111, and we always post updates on our Twitter page and our facebook page. However, we realize that not everybody has subscribed to these (although we can’t think why not), and so soon we will also be instigating a “status” report on the front page of the website which will be kept totally up to date - so the moment the decision is made to close the park, you will be able to see it on the website. In conjunction with this we are going to introduce a new Twitter account which will ONLY talk about closures. When that is set up and ready for “followers”, we’ll let you know all about it.
Of course, we all hope that we have seen the last of rainy weather for the season, but it seems likely that there will be more to come, at least in the next couple of weeks, until real summer starts. If you’re thinking of coming to visit, and there are reports of storms or rain anywhere in the mid-Missouri area, we encourage you to use one of the methods above to check if we’re open before you set off.
Big Surf Waterpark - Who we are.
Added: May 4th, 2009 | Be the first to add a comment »
Good morning everyone. Here are a few lines to let everyone know who we are and how we got started. Big Surf opened in 1988 at The Lake of the Ozarks. We are built on 19 acres between Osage Beach and Camdenton, just next to Highway 54. It was and still is the only attraction of its kind in central Missouri. Its was built by a diverse group of investors from every background imaginable. This list includes a turkey trader, an engineer, construction companies and a salesman or two. Since then we’ve been joined by a dentist and a lawyer. Takes all types, I guess.
We are also the longest running family attraction at the lake and have been awarded the Peoples’ Choice award for the best family attraction every year that I can remember.
We are very active in our community where we annually hold the area Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society. (We’ll be blogging more about our philanthropic activities in the future.) In the past we have held Big Brothers, Big Sisters benefits. New for this year is our partnership with the Association of the United States Army in that we will be hosting the Wounded Warrior outing benefiting soldiers returning from duty.
This is just a small part history. I hope you will come out to see what many have been enjoying for years. Looking forward to seeing everyone as we open in three short weeks.
Darin Keim
