So here we are at Okoboji. For those of you outside of Iowa, it’s our primary lake destinatation in our state. Okoboji is kind of like an “antique” summer vacation destination.
- All of the resorts are straight out of the 50s with even the same décor.
- The amusement park has a wooden roller coaster that is celebrating its 50th birthday this year.
- Many of the homes were built by big money families. The Swanson (note, Swanson TV dinners) family built one of the larger, older homes on the lake.
And that’s how people like it. Classic Okoboji.
Original Manhatten Beach Resort
This trip, however, did not feel like Okoboji. Instead of staying in a old rustic cottage, we stayed at Bridges Bay Resort. It’s a brand new condo complex where the rooms are owned by private individuals. The owners can put their units into a rental program for poor folks like The Green 3s can stay. The resort has sand volleyball courts, a workout room, and best of all, an indoor water park just the right size for families with young kids.
Our room was not exactly a condo – it was a hotel-type room. But someone actually paid 239,000 to own this room which I think is totally crazy. Anyhoo, it worked out well for us because we got to stay for a WAY cheaper rate than the classic resorts charge and we received a bunch of free passes to local attractions. It was brand new, very fancy and VERY nice. We had a lot of excellent family bonding time. We got to bring Buster with us. We had fun.
But it wasn’t the old Okoboji that we know and love.
This is the new generation’s Okoboji.
