September 3, 2009
I picked up a map of Virginia wineries the other day when I was out and don’t think I’ve mentioned that as An Excuse to Come to the Lake…if I have, then gee…this year’s vintage is an updated excuse to come to the lake.
Right in the lake area is Hickory Hill Vineyards on the Bedford side. Click on their name to be taken to their web site for directions, special events and an invitation to help them pick this year’s crop.
Closer to Bedford City is the Savoy Lee Winery which is an operating winery but is for sale if you’ve ever had an itch to own a winery!
The Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival is September 26 and 27…come join the fun!
August 29, 2009
Also this week, we were treated to a free lunch at Benjamin’s, the new restaurant at the Pointe in Mariner’s Landing. It was a welcome change from the last restaurant in there.
We both had burgers…they were delicious and cooked as we asked. Good waffle fries too (a cuple extra miles on the elliptical for those!). Car parking and boat parking! While we were there, someone had called in a take out order and came to pick it up…it occurred to us that you could do that on your boat…Smith Mountain Lake’s version of a drive through burger stand! The views are outstanding and if the weather cooperates and you want to eat outdoors, there are nice tables for that also. The menu is such that you could get a snack or a fancy meal…
The wait staff was very pleasant and efficient. In all, a good review!
August 28, 2009
We checked out FINZWednesday night with our restaurant testing buddies.
It is in the new Crystal Shores community being built on the old Smith Mountain Yacht Club site. FINZ is actually in the old marina store location. I am not sure what I expected…but I was lead to believe that it was a “restaurant” and somehow in my head that implies an indoor place to sit down at a table with air conditioning…hmmm…this is a whole other atmosphere!
There are tables outside and the inside is opened up to the outside with sliding glass doors all around. Make sure you get a table underneath one of the ceiling fans! Luckily it wasn’t too too hot on Wednesday or we might not have stayed. The tables are bar height and the chairs are wooden with no padding (if that’s important to you!).
They are on their shake down cruise and were out of a lot of menu items (some there were substitutes for…like no grouper, but swordfish). At our table two of us had “the special”…a New York strip and shrimp for $11.95 and one had the ribs and one had chicken. When the food came, it is all served in plastic baskets like you get a burger joints with plastic silverware…those of us with the steak looked at each other thinking we would have a hard time eating…but the steak was very very tender… Everything is grilled here (you walk by the grill if you come by car…smells good!)…even the vegetables. It was a pretty good meal. We realized in the car on the way out that no bread, or potatoes or rice were served…
I think it would be a great place to grab a burger or an appetizer from your boat…or with a designated driver to have a few beers…as a sit down, stand alone dinner…no…it will probably be competition for Portside at the Virginia Dare Marina.
August 18, 2009
Well, don’t really run to Smith Mountain Lake…but if you are a runner…you may want to consider the inaugural Blue Ridge Marathon that will be run on April 24,2010 that will be running through the Blue Ridge Parkway (yes, including the hills!). When you finish, THEN you can come to the lake to relax…
August 7, 2009
There are two islands for sale now at Smith Mountain Lake and they couldn’t be more different!
One is for sale for $2,970,000 (a bargain…that’s down from $3,700,000!). It has a new 3bedroom 2bath furnished house on it…an exquisite view of Smith Mountain and a parking area and dock on the mainland near Bernard’s Landing so you can get to your island. It is 2.38 acres above the 803 contour and has 1508 feet of waterfront.
The other is 80 acres. Well…not quite…only about an acre above the 803 contour. You may own those 80 acres but AEP has jurisdiction over the water over the 79 under water…and they take that very seriously! About 1200 feet of waterfront. No house but the foundation of a long ago cabin and a duck blind! As the listing says…no survey, no soil work, no AEP permits. Who knows at this point whether you could build anything on it??? But talk about a bargain…it’s only $200,000. It’s located off of Gross Point on the Bedford side of the lake.
These two islands are one of the reasons we enjoy selling real estate here at Smith Mountain Lake…it’s never boring!!!
August 3, 2009
Carillion has opened its new facility behind Kroger that has urgent care, imaging facilities, a sleep center, helicopter pad and offices for ob/gyn, internal medicine and cardiology.
This will be the largest facility at Smith Mountain Lake since Lewis Gale closed its urgent care and helicopter pad sometime in the 90s. It was located where real estate attorney Jim Gilbert’s office is now.
July 31, 2009
Many people make plans a year in advance to come to Smith Mountain Lake for the Home Tour weekend. The homes for this year’s tour have just been announced…the best place to see them is on the tour’s web site at www.smlcharityhometour.com. It’s nice to see some of the lake’s older homes being featured.
This year’s tour is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, October 2nd and 3rd. We usually have nice stretches of gorgeous weather during last September and early October and hopefully that will hold for this year’s tour.
July 29, 2009
There aren’t a lot of places that serve breakfast around the lake. The Westlake Country Club (restaurant open to all) is trying out a breakfast buffet this summer and seems to have hit a home run (or should that be a birdie or an eagle?). It’s $4.95 (drinks, tax and service charge not included and golfers get $2 off) for unlimited scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patties, sausage gravy, biscuits, toast, hash browns, and fruit salad. Real silverware! If you opt for coffee, they serve Douwe Egberts…which is some of the best coffee I’ve had since moving to the lake. Available from 7:30 to 10 on weekdays and 7:30 to 11 on weekends.
Where’s your favorite place to have breakfast at Smith Mountain Lake?
