The Lake!

I'm back! Did you miss me? No? I didn't think so! LOL!

I ran off to the lake with a friend. It was one of those vacations, where, as soon as you arrive, you can feel yourself relaxing.

The house was decorated in colors reflecting nature. Colors, that you experienced when you sat out on the deck. There was brown, that reminded you of the sand down by the dock. Blue, which was reminiscent of the lake. And green, that brought the lush, colorful, landscape indoors.

Of course, the view was amazing!



You could just sit there, and stare at it for hours.

But, we didn't sit there for too long! There was fun to be had! Even our four legged companions wanted in on it!



The day we arrived was the hottest day of the season. So, we let the dogs hop into the lake and cool off. (They LOVE the water!) After that, it was time to take the boat out for a spin.



While waiting to get on board, I started taking pictures of the setting sun. It was beautiful.



Once the boat was ready, we headed out toward open water. The cove where we were staying was a "no wave" area, so we had to go slow until we passed the "now you can rock & roll" markers. LOL!

It was so much fun! Speeding across the water, with the wind blowing in my face. It was exhilarating! I wanted to stay out there forever, zipping in and out of all of the different coves. But, the sun was sinking lower in the sky, and we didn't have a light on the boat, so we headed back to the dock.



The rest of the evening was spent chatting, watching a little TV, and planning what we wanted to do in the upcoming days.

The next morning we got up, and ate pancakes with lots of butter, syrup, and whipped cream on them! YUM!

Then, we piled into the truck, and headed to town. We needed groceries, and we wanted to visit a few antique stores. We quickly discovered that almost every store we wanted to go to, was closed on Mondays. (That is how they do things in small towns!) We did manage to find one antique store open. So, we got to wander up and down rows filled with dusty, old goodies.

Later, we went to a locally owned peach orchard, where you can pick your own peaches. It is run by a husband and wife. The orchards are behind their home.



My friend had been there before, and wanted me to see the gardens that the wife had planted. They were AMAZING! I was in total AWE! I told her that she needs to make up a garden plan, that includes a list of all of her plants, and sell it to all of her envious customers! LOL! She was so sweet! She even let us take a few pictures.

I caught this butterfly soaking up the sun.



And this bee buzzing from flower to flower.



She even had flowers climbing up her lamp post. And a cool red chair.



Everywhere you turned, you were treated to a spectacular view. But, I have to say that the best part was the shed! LOOK at this shed!



Isn't it the cutest thing you have ever seen? I LOVE the blue door! I WANT THIS SHED!



Seeing this garden, made me want to come home, and plant all kinds of pretties! I wonder if I can talk Mr. Mister into a blue door? Hmmmmmmmm!

While out in the peach orchards, we noticed that there were some buffalo right next to them. We walked over to take some pictures.



I felt so bad for them. They looked SO hot. And there were bugs flying all around, and landing on their faces.



Poor things!

Back to the truck we went. Where we proceeded to travel down quiet country roads, until we found this old barn.



I always wonder about the history of old barns like these. If they could tell you their story, what would it be?

After taking a few pictures of the barn, we went back to the house.

My friend kept teasing me, telling me how wonderful the water would be, if I ever decided to get into it! At first, I kept saying NO! I'm not going into the water. But, it got so hot, that my adamant NO soon turned into a YES.

After borrowing shorts and a swimming suit top, (NOT a pretty picture! LOL) I worked my way into the water. I was surprised at how warm it was. The depth finder on the boat was reading it at 90+ degrees. It felt like bath water! We floated around on our "noodles" for a while, and then decided to take the boat to another location on the lake, hoping it might be cooler.

While we were cruising around, we found my ultimate dream home. I have always wanted a log home. And this one was on the lake too! What more could you ask for? It was absolutely PERFECT!



We anchored the boat near the log home, so that I could stare at it while drifting (dog paddling) around in the water. LOL!

Since it was starting to get dark, and I wanted to take some more sunset pictures, we pulled ourselves from the lake and headed to the perfect spot to take photos. (The spot where I slipped off the back of the boat, while trying to get back into the water, and almost drowned! LOL! But, we aren't going to talk about that! Or the fact that I had "sipped" a few Jack Daniel's Lynchburg Lemonades! LOL!) The sky was awesome! The sun had clouds moving across it, that made it look like Saturn.



Another beautiful day at the lake was coming to an end. We finished it off with hot dogs, a cold drink, and fun conversation.

Rise and shine, it's a new day!

The smell of Belgium waffles, and sausage drifted through the air, as we welcomed the lazy, rainy morning. We sat with the door open, so that we could listen to the storm, while we decided what to do that day.

It was a great day to go antiquing. So, off we went!

We were hunting down crackle glass, milk glass, Princess House Crystal, and colorful dishes to make "junk art" flowers with. I am happy to report that we found some of everything.

As we were bringing our new found "treasures" back to the house, we came upon this lovely pair. Awwwwwwww! Look at them!





Check out that nasty scar he has on his side! I wonder what go a hold of him? That had to hurt!

It was our last night at the lake house. We decided to have flame grilled (not broiled) hamburgers for dinner!



Did I mention that they were flame grilled? LOL! They actually turned out great, and were delicious! We topped the meal off with peach crisp, that we made using some of the fresh peaches from the orchards we visited a few days earlier.

As with all of the vacations and trips I get to go on, I wish our time away didn't have to come to an end. But, real life calls. And that's what makes me enjoy times like this even more!