YMCA of the Ozarks Trout Lodge Ladies Tweet-Up: Pics & Tea!

As I previously blogged before (and endlessly Tweeted this weekend), I was at an all Ladies Tweet-up at the YMCA of the Ozarks Trout Lodge location. Trout Lodge is located about an hour and a half away from St. Louis in Potosi, Missouri. I didn’t really know what to expect because I’ve never experienced camping or lodging in the “wilderness” when I was growing up. My goal this year has been to try new things, so when I heard about the event, I wanted to participate.

Twitter mom @AmyDTrapp and her friend picked me up on Saturday and we met up with @serabishop who also rose with us, and we made our way to Potosi (and kinda got lost). Google maps is a useful tool but in this case, it led us astray a few times. Luckily, we were able to get some decent directions from a Postmistress in some town I cannot remember.

When we arrived at Trout Lodge, we met up with our organizer and tour guide (thanks Melissa!) for some awesome fun. We had lunch (I had no idea that the meals would be so good!) and went to indulge in Rifling. This would be the first time in my life that I had ever held or shot a gun—another fear I was able to overcome this year.

Afterwards, some went wall climbing while others, such as myself, went to check out the accommodations. Our cabin was a two bedroom two bathroom home away from home with eight beds total, a screened in porch, a nice living room with a fireplace, and air conditioning. Yes, we were living the life!

It was then time to do ziplining, which is when you climb high above the land to zip across a “wire” to the other side. A part of me didn’t think I would be able to do it while another part said “go for it”. Despite my fear, I climbed the tall aparatus and plunged across the sky on the zipline. Yes, I conquered ANOTHER fear.

Dinner was waiting, so we went to dine on pork loin, pasta, and other fixings, and prepared to get ready for the evening’s events: wine tasting/pairting and mini facials.

Angela Ortmann aka @STLWineGirl gave us a wonderful wine pairing “class” in the cabin with an array of wines and cheeses. I wasn’t able to write down all of the wines and the cheeses, but if you go through my Twitter timeline, I did post a few names. I know that the first wine we tried was my favorite of all of the wines we had that evening. I am thinking about trying another one of Angela’s classes in the future to get more information about wine and food. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Then, it was onto mini-facials and make-up talk with @ekcutshall, who gave us a “mud facial” with toner and moisturizer. She also talked shop regarding make-up and clothing trends.

At about 2am, we wrapped everything up!

While others awoke around 8am to indulge in breakfast, I decided to stay in and sleep. And when I woke up, it was time for us to make our trek back to St. Louis.

I had THE best time! I met a lot of new friends, and hung around with a few friends I already knew. I think its wonderful that YMCA of the Ozarks and Trout Lodge are embracing new media and social media as way to market and expand their brand. This experience was fun and I hope to participate in another event soon.

Below are a few pictures I took with my Blackberry. Enjoy!