A Visit to Smith Mountain Lake

My sister Jane and her husband David have a place (pictured) at Smith Mountain Lake in southwest Virgina. Jane and David had come to visit us in February and we promised then that we would find time to go visit them in the summer, after I finished my treatments. We kept our word and finally made it to Virginia to see them. The bonus was meeting David's son, Andy and his wife and new born baby girl.

First, though, I have to tell you how long it took to get there. Yoko and I left our home in Florida on Thursday, July 24th at 10 AM. We drove to Stanford, Florida (near Orlando) to take the autotrain to Virginia (rather than driving). The train leaves Florida at 4 PM and is scheduled to arrive just outside of Washington DC at 9 AM the next morning. You have to check in fat least 2 hours before departure (i.e. 2 PM) and it is a three hour trip from our house, Ergo, we left the house at 10 AM to make the train on time.

We arrived in Lorton VA on time, but by the time we got our car, it was already 10:30AM. From there, the drive to Smith Mountain Lake is due west 220 miles. It took Yoko and I about 5.5 hours to make the drive, including a stop to eat and refuel. We got to Jane and David's around 4 PM. So that means it took about 30 hours to get to Janie's place. I told Jane when we arrived, that she could not have picked a place to retire more difficult to get to! We could travel to Beijing in less time! Having said that, this is a beautiful area and just a lovely spot to live, if you can afford it!

Anyway, after arriving, Janie and David wasted no time in showing us the attractions. Friday evening we went for a boat ride to get a feel for the 50 mile long lake followed by dinner. Saturday we were up exploring the lake again. Janie showed us her water skiing skills. (Try as I might, I was never able to get up on the skis. I did manage the jet ski without difficulty!) Andy and family arrived in the afternoon. Jane's next door neighbor hosted a cocktail reception that evening and we had the chance to meet other people from the neighborhood. After another great dinner, we ended the day playing a word game that was a lot of fun. The game is a combination of "Password" and"Time Bomb." You pass a device around that gives you a random word or phrase that you must describe without using the the word or phase itself. Whoever is left holding the device when it goes off is the looser. The best clue of the night was given by Yoko, who said, "looks like Uncle Tim" to which I instantly replied "Paul Newman!"

Sunday morning David, Andy, Pete and I played at David's golf club. It was a hot day and the course was pretty hilly and challenging. I did not play my greatest round, but I enjoyed the course and company.

Given how much time it took us to get there, Yoko and I decided to leave for Washington on Sunday evening, instead of Monday morning as we had originally planned. That turned out to be a good move. We left after dinner and drove for about three hours before arriving at a hotel at 11 PM, in Orange VA, about one and a half hours from DC.

Jane and David were great hosts and we were glad to finally have a chance to see their beautiful Virginia retirement home. I just hope we will be able to visit again...but next time, we'll fly!