Kerr Lake – Rural Ris

My family just got back from the week we look forward to all year– the lake! We spend a week at Kerr Lake near the Virginia Border with our camper and boat. It is a chance for us to get away and get some family time in. We definitely learn to be close with 6 of us crammed into one camper for 7 days.

During the span of the week, a lot happened. There were the staples of hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire, hammocks, and fishing, but there was also exploring abandoned buildings, ripped bathing suits, chiggers, thunderstorms, and picture perfect sunsets. All in all, it was the perfect family vacation 🙂

Kerr Lake has been a family destination for my whole life, going back to even when my mom was a girl. With a view like that, how can you blame us?

The lake is the result of the John H. Kerr Dam. In past years, we have walked across the dam. On the other side is the Dan River.

Kerr Lake is filled with all sorts of wildlife. One of my favorites is spotting bald eagles soaring in the sky. While this is not a bald eagle (I couldn’t get a decent photo), the osprey is still an awesome sight!

Geese came right up to the campsite too. Gideon decided to chase them with the kayak once. They did not appreciate it at all.

A tradition that we always have is to visit the local marina, grab some ice cream, and feed the fish and the ducks bread.

This guy is just the coolest to me. Dad thinks he is fugly, though.

Afterwards, we go and look at all of the sailboats docked at the marina.

Of course with so much water at our fingertips, we enjoy it as much as possible. That may involve kayaking or swimming.

Although we fish every year, we almost never catch anything.

Except for the floating dead one.

We are all about some tubing and knee boarding . We can get kind of crazy on the tubes.

While tubing leaves me sore in the morning, knee boarding does it even worse. As you can see with the following string of pictures, wiping out is not always pleasant.

This picture cracks me up to no end.

During our water excursions, we typically stop off at different islands to explore. At one we found old abandoned buildings. It was quite mystical.

On our last night, we had a campfire. The boys are little pyromaniacs, but I think their favorite part is dumping water on the fire to douse it.

Frisbee, walks, bike rides and of course cooking out are all on the to do list.

Mom and I like to read and bask in the sun.

Dad and Alec are basically obsessed with their hammocks.

Poor Alec wasn’t just about relaxation. He not only ripped his pants, but he also got chiggers.

Grandma and Papa always bring Bojangles to us when they come back with the other truck to pick the boat up. It was so good seeing them, and homemade pineapple ice cream made it even better.