Smith Mountain Lake: S'more fun

Smith Mountain Lake: the water is warm and green, and the weather is hot with occasional showers. On Wednesday we rented a motor pontoon boat to explore the lake (so much bigger than Lake Anna in northern Virginia). We did a little fishing, a little swimming, and a lot of ogling of waterfront properties. This one had a lot of stairs down to the water's edge, while that one was part of a set of condos. This one had reinforced the hillside to add a pool(!), while that one had a deck over the boat slip. We were intrigued by the private Emerald Island--for sale for a cool $3.95 million. It has 2.5 houses, 2 covered docks, and $20,000 in annual property taxes. Maybe it won't be our next investment. On either side of collective napping, Dear Husband and I fed the group (mostly) vegetarian lunch and dinner: couscous salad and veggie pizza. Then there were margaritas and s'mores for dessert. I had wanted to use the fire circle, but because it was windy as the heat of the day lifted, we decided that wasn't safe and used the grill on the wrap-around deck instead. When the clouds cleared, we could see Ursa major and Ursa minor (the big and little dippers). It was so beautiful, that I felt like we should sing "This is My Father's World" or do some sort of reading. So I found this Iroquois tale about the hunters who chased the big bear up into the sky. His blood makes the leaves turn red and orange in the fall, so as we turn our sights toward autumn and the new academic season, it seems fitting. We return home on Friday to an exam, two concerts, a month working long shifts at the hospital, two short and one long presentation, and job applications. Fun and games are about to be over, at least for a little while.