My husband and I have visited Darlene at the Larch Pine Inn two years in a row now, to meet friends from Missouri. Last year was gloriously sunny, and we were able to enjoy a concert in the park that's only a couple of blocks away. The sleeping accommodations aren't large, but they are very comfortable. We spend all our time on the huge screened porch, anyway. This year we arrived just in time for a drive around the lake before the tornado warning sirens sounded! We grabbed a weather radio and headed for the basement. Darlene was right behind us, coming out of her home despite the sirens to check that we were safe. The tornadoes missed us by about 20 miles, but we watched the torrential rain during a great steak dinner downtown at Butcher's Steak House. Had it not been raining, we'd have walked -- downtown is that close. By the time we returned to our favorite porch, the rain was over, and we could enjoy our complimentary bottle of wine (and later the popcorn snack) Darlene had left... more