A Summer Day at Smith Mountain Lake

Twenty years of being a dad is something worth celebrating. This year, my family spent a lazy Sunday afternoon at Smith Mountain Lake in celebration of Father’s Day. We rented a boat and packed a picnic lunch, and after applying ample amounts of sunscreen and plugging in our iPods, we tootled around the lake, which was busy due to the beautiful weekend weather.

Spending a day on Smith Mountain Lake is a summer tradition for my family. While my dad drives the boat, my mom, my sister and I relax in the sun, listening to music and enjoying the chance to take a break from work, laundry and everything else. On Father’s Day, the lake was pretty busy – pontoon boats, jet skis, fishing boats, sailboats and even house boats had to share the water. Despite a few (painful) wakes and a nasty sunburn at the end of the day, it was the perfect way to spend time with my family.

Stopping for lunch at Smith Mountain Lake State Park, we paid a small fee to use the picnic areas and lugged our picnic basket and cooler up to the covered tables. To cool off, we found an empty dock to tie up the boat so my sister, my dad and I could jump in the water. I’m not much of a swimmer, but the water never felt so good.

You could spend hours at Smith Mountain Lake and still not cover every cove, channel and waterway. We were out for four hours and didn’t even make it to the dam. One day, my parents would like to have a house on the lake, but for now, the view from the boat is good enough.