The topic of lakes came up in a conversation with a friend recently, and it made me think about all of the “lakeations” I organized over the years.
My husband is the reason our family has traveled to so many beautiful and exciting places. Me? I introduced our kiddos to every interesting lake within about a two-hour drive of Wild Azalea Lane.
Those little trips created some of my favorite family memories. Here are the lakes we visited, roughly in order of how many times we returned.
Lake Norman
Lake Norman was the OG destination for our lake trips.
I found the perfect VRBO rental, and we visited it more times than I can count. It was paradise for the kiddos. The dock had an actual swimming-pool-style slide, and every visit began with us hanging a pirate flag to ward off bad spirits.
The lot sloped steeply down to the water, which meant more than 100 steps from the house to the dock. I turned those stairs into modified hill-sprint workouts. Meanwhile, my husband carried our puppy, Smooch, back up those same steps more than once after she decided she no longer had the energy to climb them herself.
The fishing was excellent, although I lost more than one fishing pole by leaving it propped against the dock while a fish decided to claim it. The catfish in Lake Norman are absolute beasts. More than one of them is probably still swimming around wearing expensive jewelry from my tackle box.
I also attempted open-water swimming during one visit. I had just completed my first triathlon and wanted to experience swimming outside of a pool. As I stood on the dock adjusting my goggles, one of my kiddos decided it was the perfect time to take the inaugural leap down the slide.
The splash startled a giant water moccasin that had been hiding beneath the dock.
It slithered straight into the lake.
That was officially the beginning and the end of my open-water swimming career.
One fall I decided to take separate trips with each kiddo. My trip with my son was back to Lake Norman, but instead of our usual rental we stayed on a houseboat. The owner was involved in NASCAR, so the walls were covered with race memorabilia, which made the trip even more exciting for him.
We caught a few smaller fish, but my son had his sights set on one of the enormous catfish that lived in the marina. He stayed out fishing long after my bedtime and finally landed one of those elusive monsters.
Mission accomplished.
Hyco Lake
Hyco Lake was probably our second most-visited destination.
We stayed in several different rentals over the years, but my favorite sat deep inside a quiet cove with wooded lots on both sides. It felt tucked away from the rest of the world. The mornings were peaceful, the water was calm, and it remains one of my favorite places we’ve stayed.
Lake Tillery
Lake Tillery became a family favorite in 2016.
We discovered a rental affectionately called The Lily Pad, located right beside the marina. The owner worked there, and during our first visit he mentioned business had been slow. He offered to let us take a pontoon boat out for an hour if we simply reimbursed him for the gas.
I had always wanted to drive a boat, so I eagerly accepted.
We slowly cruised around the lake, stopping here and there to swim, attempt jumps and flips into the water, and listen to whatever terrible music my teenagers loved at the time.
My son begged to drive the boat back to the marina. Since he was legally old enough, I agreed—with one condition: I got the wheel back before entering the no-wake zone.
The hardest part of the entire adventure wasn’t driving the boat. It was convincing Smooch to step from the dock into it. That tiny gap between the dock and the boat was absolutely terrifying in her mind.
I still remember trying to book The Lily Pad one year only to discover it had disappeared from VRBO. The owner had sold it to a developer planning to build condominiums.
I still miss that little place.
Mayo Lake
Mayo Lake became home to what my daughter still calls the best hamburger she’s ever eaten.
It was just the two of us on that trip.
We stopped at a rural Food Lion on the way because our rental only had a kitchenette. While shopping, I tossed a package of pre-made hamburger patties into the cart thinking they would make an easy dinner.
I cooked them on a tiny hot plate (not even a real stove or grill).
My daughter moaned with every bite. To this day she insists it was the best hamburger she’s ever eaten. Considering she’s quite the foodie, I consider that one of my greatest culinary accomplishments.
Watauga Lake
Watauga Lake was the only lake outside North Carolina that made our list.
The original dream behind all these trips was to find a lake where we might someday buy a second home after the kiddos were grown. Instead, this trip happened because my daughter had made an internet friend she wanted to meet in real life, and Watauga Lake was a convenient halfway point.
We visited in December.
The first morning greeted us with a light dusting of snow. Smooch and I wandered down to the floating dock with coffee to enjoy the quiet.
Smooch weighed well over 120 pounds. When she leaned over to take a drink from the lake, the icy dock betrayed her footing and she slipped right into the freezing water.
I remember pausing for just a second before taking off my glasses, preparing to jump in after her.
Fortunately, she resurfaced immediately, dog-paddled to shore, climbed out completely soaked, and looked deeply offended by the entire experience.
Not Every “Lakeation” Included a Lake
For me, the destination was never really about lakes. It was about being near water. That meant a few beach lakeations over the years, too.
One November I took my daughter on our mother-daughter trip. She wanted the beach, so I got creative.
The sand was too cold for bare feet, so we walked the shoreline in shoes. That evening we wrapped ourselves in blankets around a beach fire pit and watched the sun disappear over the water.
Walking the beach has always been one of my favorite things to do. The season never really mattered.
I also took Smooch on her one and only beach vacation. She was not a fan of the ocean. Every time a wave touched her paws, she ran away from it—only to look completely bewildered when another wave did exactly the same thing a few seconds later.
What she did enjoy was sitting beside me while our fire log glowed against an ocean sunset.
That part suited both of us perfectly.
The One Lakeation Fail
Every tradition has one memorable disaster. Ours was High Rock Lake.
The VRBO photos looked incredible. Reality looked…like the house from the movie It, according to one of my kiddos. The water level was so low there wasn’t even a usable dock. Reaching the lake required trudging through thick mud.
Hard pass.
We unloaded exactly enough to use the bathroom, sampled the snacks the host had left behind, packed everything back into the car, and drove home. Everyone was disappointed that I didn’t take any pictures.
Honestly, some places are better left undocumented.
Looking Back
When I think about these trips now, I realize they were never really about the lakes themselves.
They were about slowing down.
Fishing off a dock.
Driving boats.
Watching sunsets.
Building fires.
Cooking simple meals.
Making room for conversations that probably never would have happened at home.
My husband gave our family incredible adventures all over the world. I gave them lakeations. I hope, years from now, they remember both.
P.S. Writing this has inspired me to make a photo album of all our lake trips. I’m sure there are some gems in there … including the picture of my daughter climbing back into the boat immediately after I yelled, “Watch out for the alligator!” The expression she gave me still makes me laugh.