Several of my friends have houses on Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia.  It’s always a pleasure to go up there and enjoy the beautiful scenery, the deep cool water, and good companionship.  Of course, each of them has a boat (or three) to enjoy the lake experience, and we always manage to spend the better part of one day on the water.  We take picnics, as there is a state park nearby, and, for that matter, quite a few restaurants right on the water that you can dock near, to get a bite, or peruse the local gift shops.

In the heat of the day, nothing is better than swimming right off the boat.  I remember when I was younger, it was always a struggle getting back on the boat, because of More >