Second chances...

There are a lot of people in town for the holiday weekend.  We didn't feel like adding to the crowds in the shows, so today, we took a drive by the water - specifically: Table Rock Lake. 

We stopped at a scenic overlook on the way - you get a real feel for how hilly and wooded this area is...

In that photo above, you can see the Table Rock Dam in the upper left.

On to Table Rock State Park, where they have a very pretty Visitors Center with info about the dam and the lake.  The view from there...

Table Rock Lake is large - as in: 857 miles of shoreline.  You could spend a long time here, exploring all the outlying areas of the lake.

We sat in the comfortable chairs on their deck, just enjoying the views...

Up a level is an observation deck...

We watched a film about the building and purpose of the Table Rock Dam.  It was a dam fine film.

We checked out the bike trails in this area - we may take them in before we leave.  Also checked out the State Park Marina...

Nice facility.  From there, across the dam and into Branson...

And, on to the "second chance" part of this post.  Years ago, I was craving a steak sandwich while traveling.  We came across a Steak 'n Shake...

I felt I had been mislead when we found out they don't have steak sandwiches, but rather they use "ground steak" in their burgers.  We left.

Well, there are some days when what you really want is a good burger.  Today was one of those days.  I decided to give one of the local Steak 'n Shake restaurants a try.  After all, they were advertising their "New Prime Steakburger" on their marquee.  That's what I had; Joan had a regular "steakburger" and a particularly tasty chocolate malt.  The place was packed, but they had seating at the counter... which faced their grill... so we go to watch them prepare the burgers while we waited.

The verdict: a fine burger.  They say their Prime Steakburger is made with brisket and ground chuck.  I say: tasty!  Rivals 5 Guys and Burger Fi.  Blows away Fudruckers.

For those looking for one of these restaurants, they are mainly in the mid-west and south, and working their way up the East Coast states.