We survived another weekend at the lake!

With the Kia loaded and fully fueled, we made the trek to Smith Mountain Lake. I am going to try to keep the travelogue tight this go-round.

We arrived Friday afternoon and headed to Grandma and Grandpop's dock. The dock is deep inside a cove - you can watch the activity come and go into the main channel but feel very safe swimming in it. The good news was the fish and turtles managed not to nibble too much off us. Leigh Ann, Tam, and I did some swimming, floating, and beverage consumption while Grandma watched all the mayhem. Andrew and Grandpop were working on a very big project.

They were working on catching dinner. Okay, they didn't have that kind of luck, but the little fish around the dock were happy to be part of the "Andrew Lake Entertainment" experience.

Saturday was spent at the state park. Andrew built a "swimming pool" (a hole) with Grandpop. He also spent plenty of time swimming with Daddy, Mommy, and Aunt Leigh Ann. He is working on holding his breath and I think he'll have the hang of it soon. The state park beach was a little more crowded than our last few visits, but this being a Saturday in August, it wasn't all that bad. In addition to our own fun, we were able to watch the local police boat pull over a SeaDoo driver for getting too close to the swimming area. We also had a boat that was WAY too big for these waters try to dock at the state park docks. There had been a drowning a few days ago, so the staff was a little hesitant to open portions of the swimming area. Before Tam had an opportunity to light into the staff for having three guards at the main chair but no one on the wing chairs, a life guard appeared as if on cue. Saturday was a good day!

Our traditional Sunday boat ride had two new components this week. First, Andrew rode up in the bow seating. He sat with me for a while and then moved on to Leigh Ann. He really enjoyed the waves and the wind in his face. He might just turn into a real sailor. The other change-up was Grandpop offering the helm to Tam. She did a fine job of handling the "Red Cedar" (Dad's boat). Andrew also took a turn at the wheel.

One bonus on this trip was our new preferred route through the mountains. I will tell that tale and share the pics during a mid-week post. ---J