LakeFest Recap!

This past weekend was spent with many hours on the lake.  My boyfriend, Stephen, and his family have a house on the lake in Clarksville, Virgina.  Their house is located on Buggs Island.  Clarksville is a tiny town in south Virgina with a population of about 1,500.  Every year the town has a festival called LakeFest.  LakeFest draws around 100,000 people each year, and was voted "One of the top 20 Festivals in the Southeast" by Southeast Tourist Society.  It is definitely a HUGE deal for this tiny, southern town.

There are entertainment options on Friday, but the biggest turn out for people is on Saturday.  The festival offers a Saturday filled with hundreds of vendors that line that main street, free hot air balloon rides, music, etc.  One of our favorite things to do during LakeFest is to drive the boat down to the main bridge in town to watch the fireworks at night.  There are hundreds of boats that all gather to watch the 20 minute firework show.  Also, people gather in town where there is food, music, and entertainment.  After the boat ride to see the fireworks, we had a fire and made smores and ate watermelon.  My boyfriend, God bless him, is so accident prone; something happens to him ALL the time.  It never fails that when we were all gathered by the fire roasting marshmellows Stephen gets hurt. It just so happened that his marshmellow caught on fire, and he decided that it would be a great idea to sling the stick back and forth to put the fire out.  While this could potentially work, the marshmellow flew off the stick and landed on his foot.  At this point, I really wanted to make sure that his foot wasn't badly burned, but I could not stop laughing.  After we all stopped laughing we realized that his foot was okay.  Thank goodness.

My days were spent lounging on the boat, working on my tan, and learning to wake board.  Stephen has been wake boarding for many years, but his brother, Alex, and I have never done it.  Alex tried for 2 days to get up, but was not really getting the hang of it.  I did not feel like there was much hope for me, because the board was sized for Stephen and Alex who are both about 6'2'', and then there is me at 5'1''.  So, I decided on Saturday that I would try it.  I really did not have any expectations, and didn't believe that I would actually get up.  Well, the first attempt was not pretty.  My second attempt I actually got up but quickly crashed.  But on my third attempt I got up and went! I can't believe that I actually did it! Now my body is suffering, because I have been extremely sore since the weekend.

Me right before my first attempt!

I have a video of my first time getting up, but it won't play, so a picture will have to do.  Stephen was so proud, it was a cute moment. I put a little pressure on Alex to get up the next day.  After a couple more attempts, Alex got up and was really good.  I think wake boarding has become one of my favorite things to do at the lake.  Stephen and I are fortunate to be able to go up often, and I can't wait to get better!

What are your favorite summer activities? If you go to a lake during the summer, what is your favorite thing to do while you're there?