Halesford Harbour???

We vacationed at Smith Mountain Lake for years before moving here in June, 2000. On the drives here on those vacations, I always felt like I was “home” when we reached the Camper’s Paradise sign. I was sorry when it was sold but Dreamer and Wendell deserve some good times so…well…but I really hadn’t wanted that upscale Sunset Cay either.

How wonderful that Tom Buck and a group of investors have purchased the property and are renovating and expanding the motel to be open Labor Day weekend, will be reopening the marina, will be reopening the restaurant in January as Jake’s Place, and are reopening the campground as an upscale RV park with covered patios some time this fall.

I realize the new name is Halesford Harbour but they are going to have to go a long way before I call it anything but Camper’s! I think this is going to be a great addition to the Smith Mountain Lake community and for our visitors.

Fantastic Smith Mountain Lake Resource

I have been saying for a while that you can find ANYTHING on line and I bring you further truth of that!
Like most areas, we are plagued with having six or seven or eight different phone books to consult when we need something.
There is the Verizon book, the Century Link book, books for Roanoke (some of which contain the lake area and some of which don’t), books for Lynchburg, etc., etc., etc.
The book I reach most for first is the one put out by Womack Publishing that also publishes , our local weekly newspaper.
And now…at least the yellow pages are online and searchable! If you have any interest in the lake, add this one to your bookmarks! .

Brief SML Restaurant Update

Long time readers of the blog will know that the restaurant scene here at Smith Mountain Lake changes monthly…if not weekly. It’s been a while since a restaurant update so this will be brief and we will go in depth on some of the new ones when I’ve had a chance to sample!

At Lakewatch, no new restaurants but El Torito is now El Toreno with the same management…just a new name. Joanthan’s closed for awhile over the winter and remodeled its interior and its menu and is now reopened.

Poppy’s has opened in the old Fallon’s space (which long timers will remember as the old Pilot House space).

Waller’s has opened in the old Fins space at Crystal Shores Marina. This is owned by the same folks that used to run Small Plates.

And for all you beer lovers out there, all permits appear to be in place for a late summer groundbreaking for the new brewery on 122 in Westlake (by the cinema)!

Bad News…Good News

Last time I posted, I had a very unfortunate incident occur with someone calling me on my cell phone while I was out with clients screaming at me for one of the posts I had written about a certain restaurant being for sale. It really bothered me. That restaurant has indeed been sold and has reopened as another restaurant (review as we get there!). Hope that caller solved her problem.

The other bad news is that our car was hit by a falling tree during a severe thunderstorm last month.

The good news is that we can HIGHLY RECOMMEND Erie Insurance and even MORE HIGHLY RECOMMEND Phil Pierce and his crew at Absolute Collision in Westlake who did a fabulous job restoring our car and keeping us informed as we went through the process.

Smith Mountain Lake Landmark Stolen but Found

Now this is serious business. The Smith Mountain Lake CHICKEN was stolen over the weekend. We are pleased that it has been returned to its owner, Joe Altadonna, a little worse for wear and we are also pleased that it will be restored to its rightful perch on Scruggs Road. The story is HERE.
I’m going to go contemplate the fact that he has a back up chicken…hmmm….

Gorgeous Sunrise at Smith Mountain Lake

It was a very pretty sunrise this morning…unfortunately, neither of the cameras caught the turquoises in the sky along with the purples…but close observers can see the cut in the mountain at the dam…

Weather Report from Smith Mountain Lake

We survived the fifth coldest December on record…unusual to have that length of cold (many days where temps did not break freezing) without at least a day or two in the upper forties or fifties…the cold “broke” late last week…I even got out in the garden to do the last of the fall chores. The ice has started receding again in many of Smith Mountain Lake’s coves and shallows.

Today is in the low 40s and brilliantly sunny…a fine normal winter day. Wonder how many people are out fishing?

Couple of snow storms brewing…looks like the one for the weekend will miss us to the north again but the middle of the next week (around Jan 11-13 sometime) shows some promise on the models.

Yet another Smith Mountain Lake Restaurant Update

Some times it kind of amazes me how fast the restaurant scene changes here at the lake. It seems to me that I just updated the web page for restaurants and yet this morning I found numerous changes that needed to be made. Somehow I don’t think it all due to the economy…I think it is not being in tune with the people who are vacationing here AND the people that live here year round. In short, I wonder how many do the demographics work needed to find out what is successful. AND if they do those demographics, do they trust them? (We know of one developer that asked several of the Realtors around the lake their opinion of what they wanted to do and several Realtors gave them an earful about how that was NOT what was needed…or desired…here at the lake…Developer knew better…developer is no longer at the lake…developer’s project being sold by the bank that foreclosed…sigh…). Sorry, rant off!!! But please, leave a comment about what consumers think about the restaurants at the lake…

Let’s see…Old Oak is now offering dinner on weekends, Fallon’s has closed and is for sale (wanna buy a restaurant???), Casa D’Amici has closed, Fin’s has closed, and an interesting sports bar with virtual golf from some classic courses has opened at Celebration Square.

Making Smith Mountain Lake Affordable

We were pleased to see in the new Eagle that Ida and Scott Heath have had their plans approved by Bedford County for the Sweetwater RV Park on sixty four acres on White House Road near 122.

I’ve seen several of the homes that Scott has built and feel certain that he is very in tune with what people are looking for here at the lake. This ought to be a quality park making comfortable vacationing more accessible and affordable here at the lake.

Old Oak Cafe at Smith Mountain Lake

We’ve been to the Old Oak Cafe several times since it opened and we like it. It is only open for breakfast and lunch. When you try out a place for breakfast, one thing you want to know about is the coffee! The coffee they serve is wonderful and the wait staff is attentive about refilling your cup! Folks we have eaten with that have tried the decaf have nice things to say about it too. After trying several things on the menu, we’ve settled on some favorites…an omelet for the man and “eggs and cakes” for the lady. They are also accommodating to tweeks on their menu…I make the cakes…blueberry pancakes. The blueberry pancakes remind me of some I had YEARS (decades, actually) ago in Maine and are delicious. I like their sausage patties…just enough spice to not be boring but not too much that it overwhelms. The kitchen is attentive to getting things right and in fact, the first time I ordered my egg well done they asked me to clarify if I meant cooked long and hard or cooked until it was dry…
We’ve also taken friends for lunch. Nice, casual fare. They also have a soup and salad bar.
I was talking to a fellow Realtor about Old Oak the other day and she says she has been in and out of there at all hours that they are open because she likes to “graze” and there is always something good for her to eat! (I wonder if she’s tried the new tapas bar on the other side of the lake?).