Lake-life – My favorite spot in the world to relax!

My husband will tell you that the ONLY place in the world where I can actually relax is at our little vacation condo at “the Lake”. And although I’d like to think that I can chill just about anywhere, he is probably right.

It all started on my fortieth birthday. I had convinced my husband, John, that I wanted to celebrate by taking a motorcycle trip to Saratoga Springs, NY. We had passed through the area a few times while heading up to Vermont to ski through the years and I knew the area had a lot of different activities to offer. As it was June we took the opportunity to take a riverboat ride around Lake George. One spin around the lake, seeing all the beautiful homes, and families enjoying water sports, was all it took. Perhaps it was that innate sense of returning to the womb, or just the fact that I was hot and the water looked so refreshing – but I became obsessed with the idea of having our own little place on a lake.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the ocean too, but I am a little more practical about cleaning sandy bathing suits AND I know that this dream of mine would come at a price. Lake homes, in general, are much more affordable that oceanfront property. But having been through this area of New York in the winter months I also knew that it can get pretty cold and snowy. So the idea of looking south for a lake where we could afford a little place was a practical consideration, too.

It just so happened that my aunt and uncle who lived in Raleigh, NC had been thinking the same thing – and had been to a lake just outside of Roanoke, VA a few times. At the time we had never heard of Smith Mountain Lake, but we decided to take a few days and check it out. We knew that it would be a few years before we could save up enough money to afford a place, but I am a planner by nature – so I needed to see what the general prospects of owning ANY lakefront property would entail. AND I wanted to make sure this was something that we should actually make a conscious effort to accomplish.

You can never really experience a lake – or the size of a lake – unless you are actually on the water. Our first glance of Smith Mountain Lake was a simple marina and welcome center situated by a bridge that connected the two opposing sides of the lake. But once we got out onto the water we began to appreciate it’s massive size – over 500 miles of shoreline.

Smith Mountain Lake is actually a very large reservoir, accomplished by damming two major rivers, the Roanoke and Black Water and several tributaries. Begun in the early 60’s it took about 6 years for the lake to actually fill to the level you see today. But one of the things that intrigued us the most was the fact that the lake water is constantly moving – changing by one to two feet during the day as the water flows back and forth through the dam. This means there is no stagnant water, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of mosquitos! Since I am usually considered dinner for most mosquitos wherever we travel, I was thrilled by the idea that I could enjoy my outdoor time without the constant worry of getting bit!

There is a very wide range of homes that are right on the lake – some are condos with docks, others are modest lakefront properties and still others are giant estates. It took us just under 10 years to realize our dream of a place at “the Lake”. At first we considered building a small house on a piece of lakefront property, but it would have taken us far longer to reach that goal AND we did not want to have to worry about any maintenance issues since our main home is several hours away.

So we found a 2BR condo in the area we liked, relatively close to the center of town (if you can call it that) and part of a golf community. Like most homes on the lake it’s a steep incline to get to the boat docks, but it also affords us great views of the lake from our deck. Smith Mountain Lake also has a large state park and a county park nearby with beaches – but most residents simply swim off the docks by their boat slips. This took a good deal of getting used to – especially for our golden-doodle, Bailey – but it sure is nice not to have to worry about tracking sand into the house!

Although my husband prefers the fast pace of the boat or jet ski – I LOVE a good paddle board or kayak excursion into our little cove. And nothing beats sitting out on our deck and watching the sunset across the water with a cocktail and a good book. My very favorite activity is when John takes me for a pre-sunset jet ski cruise – each time the view of the lake takes my breath away. Lake life is a treasure I will never take for granted, especially since we don’t get down there as often as we would like. But we know this is a place we will continue to build memories with family and friends, and I look forward to our daughters sharing the lake with their children (no rush girls!) And hopefully some day we can go tou our place at the Lake whenever the spirit moves us – that’s another goal to work towards!