On Saturday I drove down to Smith Mountain Lake with a few friends for a little fun in the sun! My friend’s friend is a wakeboard instructor and lives on the lake, so luckily, we had the chance to go out on the water.
It had been years (7? 8?) since I’ve wake boarded, but I got right up and my body remembered what to do. No crazy jumps for this girl, but I had fun crossing over both sides.
We also got to take turns wake surfing! I had never heard of this before, but you load the boat with weight on one side and create a big wave, and then on a very short rope you ride the wave just like you would at the ocean. Once they’re up, experienced surfers can do this with no rope at all!
I was a bit nervous because as you can see there are no foot straps or boots, but getting up was actually the easy part : ) Staying up, however, was hard! There were so many opportunities to fall. Check out this slow-mo video I put on Instagram!
But man, when you fall into that wave, you tumble hard!
We had a late lunch / early cocktail hour across the lake at Portside Grill & Bar. I had shrimp, a grilled wing, and some chips and salsa. (I had already eaten a small lunch on the drive down).
How cool is this ice cream boat?! Just like a truck would circle a cul-de-sac, it circles the lake!
If I’d been a little less full of shrimp I would have bought something refreshing!
Back at the house we lazed around and enjoyed the sunset.
Storms rolled in and delayed us going out to dinner, which was of course only accessible by boat! Once the lightning storm passed, we hunkered down through the rain and arrived only mildly wet. Margs and fajitas for all!
Back in Cville, Sunday was spent prepping for the week and hanging with this guy:
Someone smart in the Whole Foods marketing department put the whipped cream next to the strawberries. That’s how they get me with the buf cheese too! Right next to the heirlooms. Sneaky!!
For dinner I made cheeseburgers, which I ate bunless because I ate so many sweet potato fries right off the sheet-pan! Plus, I also ate roasted eggplant and zucchini tossed in smoked paprika. To drink I had this new-to-me KeVita kombucha, which I loved!
Hope you guys had great weekends!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
How fun! Girl you are brave to wake surf! I am the biggest chicken!
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
Your lake day looks like so much fun. Brings back memories of summers spent on lakes here for me.
Alexa says
Where is that beautiful Virginia necklace from? Although I’m not a VA native, I’m five years, a house and two kids in, so I think it’s home now. =)
Also, great job on the water! That takes a lot of upper body strength to accomplish.
KathEats says
I bought it at Darling on the downtown mall. Sadly it broke yesterday!! (Not related to water sports). Gotta figure out how to fix it.
Kelsey says
I’m from that part of Virginia! Reading this post feels like a little tour of my home.
Karen says
Fun! As a Virginia resident (Fredericksburg), I really need to go there. Although, I won’t be wakeboarding. 🙂
Natalie Clark says
We love wake surfing! My husband is super good at it and can even launch off the back of the boat. Between being pregnant and having a baby, I haven’t gotten to do it as much and am still hanging onto the rope. Maybe one day I’ll be able to let go!
Laura says
The wake surfing looks interesting! How do you stand up on the board to get started?
KathEats says
Just like wake boarding – you put your heels on the top and pull it underwater a little. It’s a little harder, but not too bad! If you can wake board, you can do this. (I didn’t think I was going to be able to!)
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says
Looks like so much fun!! However shrimp with the head on totally freak me out my favorite food quickly becomes my least fav unless someone can peel it for me!
Erika says
Looks like a really fun weekend! I have never been wakeboarding so good on you!
Amanda says
What a wonderful weekend! I’ve never been wakeboarding, but it looks like a ton of fun. You had such a gorgeous day. We just vacationed to SML about 6 weeks ago and we thought the Ice Cream Boat was so creative!
Clare says
is that a Chili’s chip bowl and marg? i loooveee Chili’s!!
KathEats says
No it’s a Mexican restaurant on the lake
Sam @ Barrister's Beet says
Wake boarding looks so fun!! It must have been so hard to stay on the board. Requires a strong core lol : )
Lindsay says
Details on those cute shorts you’re wearing while wake surfing please!!
KathEats says
They are these! Great for swim sports.
Lindsay says
Thanks!
Cassie says
That’s my favorite Kombucha flavor! So yummy! The coconut lime flavor from Kevita is really good as well.
Laurie says
Honestly guys, I find wake surfing much easier and way more fun than wake boarding! I’m not a very good wake boarder so I fall a lot and it hurts!! When you fall while wake surfing,it doesn’t hurt at all!! I’m 55 and was able to get up easily on the wake surf and can even let go. The boat goes slower when you are wake surfing and there is no wake to cross . . . only a fun wave to surf! Go for it!!
Harley says
I ran across that Kombucha the other day and I can’t get enough!!! Best flavor hands down!
Amanda says
When we were in St. Maarten 2 weeks ago, we totally got ice cream from the ice cream boat. What a cool concept!