I’m beginning to think you sometimes need extra days off just to get over a vacation. That’s certainly the way I feel after last week.
Evan Strickler decided instead of a traditional senior beach trip he wanted to rent a cabin on Watauga Lake. The timing was right so when he invited me to join this group of seven graduates and two adults, I couldn’t resist. Besides, I needed to get away. Looking back, I had a great time, but keeping up with a group of graduates was exhausting and I came away with a virus on top of that!
Pictures of the vacation are located here.
It’s great to live in a region where vacation spots are realistically within an hour drive. The mountains are host to great natural resources and one of my favorite showplaces in East Tennessee is Watauga Lake in Johnson County. It’s the first lake in the TVA Reservoir System and the third cleanest reservoir/lake in the United States. (An interesting side–note – there is only one natural lake in Tennessee. Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee was formed by an earthquake along the Mississippi. All other “lakes” as we call them are made-made.)
For the past several years, I’ve joined my second family (The Stricklers) for a week long escape to various rental properties on Watauga Lake. We usually stay at a private cove with 14 acres called “The View” near Iron Mountain, but this year, we selected a new destination called Casa Lago – a new cabin marketed by Nautica Cove. Nautica Cove is a real estate development community starting to break ground on several lakeside properties in Johnson County located 14 miles on Highway 321 from Hampton, TN.
There was a lot going on the week before the vacation, but when Saturday came, I was ready to go – my date – Chloe, a three-old Labrador was ready to hop in the passenger seat. She usually hates to ride in any vehicle, but this time, she seemed quite comfortable in my Jeep as long as there is a window open for her to take in all the scents along the way.
All the cars were packed with groceries we had bought the night before at the new Sam’s Club in Johnson City and other than a stop for ice we were at the cabin around 5 o’clock on Saturday.
Casa Lago is a new cabin built on a small lot in a cove on Buttontown road and it has a fair view of the water, but to its disadvantage, the dock for this property is at the bottom of 98 long narrow steps. That’s easy downhill, but the trip back up certainly made for a workout and a reluctance to visit the lake unless you really wanted to.
The cabin itself was a bit small compared to The View. There were three bedrooms, two baths, a large family room and a deck on the outside with a nice grill, patio table and chairs. The beds were a bit hard for my taste – we all commented on the board like mattresses, but overall it was a fair place to spend a few days.
One of the great things about Watauga Lake is the scenery. The water here fills in a mountain landscape and there are many tree-topped islands visible. Clearly one of the best ways to explore this natural setting is from a pontoon boat and those are available for rent from a number of marinas on the lake for about $150-$180 per day.
Fish Springs Marina is a nice spot on the lake near the 321 exit and because we had a private boat dock, that was one of the first things we accomplished once the food was unpacked. Tracy and I drove to the marina and grabbed the boat for overnight on Saturday and Sunday and we kept that till Tuesday – the day the rain set in.
David Hagy came up on Saturday too so we had a pontoon and a speed boat and the young guys were all ready to cruise around on a wake board they had brought. On Sunday though, Hagy’s speed boat was gone and they had to resort to the snail pace of 25 mph on the pontoon, but they were very creative even at the slow speeds.
The dumb moment of the week was the first morning when I got up to get the boat out and realized, we had run the battery down. I contacted the marina and tried to tell them where we were located, but it was almost 1.00 before Matt finally found us. I had given him the wrong directions, but nevertheless, he got the boat started.
I remember the excitement finally and also remember Danny looking at me saying, “whatever you do, don’t let it die.” The battery was weak, but when we got out in the middle of the cove, Evan wanted to ride the wakeboard. I turned the motor off and for the next few moments, I took the trophy for the foul ball of the day. It was amusing watching everyone swimming back to the shore and we had to call Matt again. We finally got on the lake around 3pm.
Sunday’s weather was gorgeous too. Near 90, the clouds and water of Watauga cast mirror-lake shadows all day as we cruised the Elk and Watauga Rivers over old Butler, TN. There are about 16 miles of rivers that merge into this lake and it’s easy to drift off in your thoughts as time seems to slow down with no cell phones, email or regular responsibilities.
My favorite time of the day is the “lavender hour” – the hour after sunset and one night, Abbi and Dawn came up to the cabin and we all took the pontoon boat out into the center of Watauga Lake and watched the sun set. Drifting quietly with 121 feet of water beneath us, we all were speechless as the sun slowly dipped itself behind the green canopy of islands that make up the Watauga landscape.
The night was even more spell-binding. Without any light pollution, the heavens opened up every evening with a stellar showcase and a distinct view of the Milky Way. Our specific frame of the universe was highlighted by Saturn and Sagittarius and while we all sat in darkness, with our eyes open to the stars, we were delighted to witness several shooting stars. One night, Evan, Dara and Scott joined me for a boat ride into the dark waters for a view of the entire sky and it was incredible. We sat drifting for an hour as we pointed out constellations and satellites.
One of the strange things about this place was the memory of silence. Usually, one would expect lots of crickets and frogs in a forest cove like Casa Lago, but instead, it was serenely quiet. While we were playing cards outside on the deck even the sounds from trees made us think of old horror movies, but when Chloe came out of the woods, it was obvious that there wasn’t much going on.
There was a party every night at Casa Lago. Lots of friends were showing up each night and we ate plenty of food as Tracy cooked up memorable treats every day and although the 98 steps were our workout, the only other thing we worked on was our appetite.
I wish I could have stayed up there all week, but Danny and I had obligations at work on Monday and Wednesday and we both drove back to Kingsport to work half day each day. That was kind of tough in the morning and the 60 mile trip was a bit cumbersome early in the morning, but it also gave us an opportunity to pick up supplies.
By Wednesday, the clear skies gave away to the partly cloudy weather that is normal for June in East Tennessee. Instead of blue skies, the days were overcast, humid and rain fell almost every few hours. That didn’t seem to be much a problem though. We had an Xbox, Playstation and Gamecube to keep us busy with hours of tournaments playing Guitar Hero, Halo, Full Auto and other games throughout the day.
The rainy days were nice and we had plenty of time for naps, but for the most part, we played lots of competitive video games and ate food round the clock. Brownies, watermelon, tenderloins, hamburgers, biscuits and gravy. I can smell the cooking now.
The young folks had plenty going on in their own circles and I was amused to watch the drama play out and talk to this new generation about the events that lay before them. I especially enjoyed getting to spend some time with Evan who hasn’t been around that much this summer and we had a great time every day.
The weather had turned cool, I got up early Friday to cruise around the lake for sunrise and got some decent pictures of the fog from the main channel. Later in the day, we would find ourselves trying to outrun thunderstorms, but for the most part, the last few days were spent inside.
On the last night Scott and Jennifer joined us for a long party through the night. The graduates had brought a unique liquor called AGWA and we challenged each other to shots of the thick drink that tasted more like herbal shampoo.
So, next time I plan a vacation, there’s a good chance there will be some buffer days because when I got back home, I had a bad allergy problem, my mind had flat-lined and the trek up and down the mountainside had taken it’s toll. Sure, it was still the weekend, but it’s always hard to get ready to put your mind back on the tracks, but I’ll always remember this vacation. I had a great time with some fine young people, my friends and we were successful in breaking away for a while. We used up just about everything we had, but it was great to be back home.