For the second year in a row the Zucaro family packed up for Lake Anna for a weekend on the water. The weather was fantastic and the water temperature wasn’t too bad. We enjoyed ourselves and the company we were with, and also did our fair share of chasing Layla around - she was much more mobile this time (she was only a few months old last year)!
A couple of takeaways for the weekend overall:
- This is the second time we’ve forgotten coffee and sugar. We need to remember this next year. I think each time we assume that the house will be equipped with that stuff, but in actuality our affection for coffee is quite unique. The most we find in these rented houses is Maxwell House Instant, which is gross. Thanks goes to Jeremy for bringing Starbucks Via (and for sharing) and the store down the road for having granular sugar among their limited inventory.
- Citronella candles would have been great to have, both for the light they provide and for their bug-repelling aspects. As it was we were mugged by mosquitos any time we were in the yard. Being that the yard had a very nice setup (firepit and picnic tables) it would have been nice not to be attacked constantly.
- In lieu of a full-on high chair we could have bought a booster seat. It would have taken up less space in the car while providing Layla similar comfort for eating.
- Someone brought a stereo with an auxiliary input. Not only was this perfect for outside (with an ipod/iphone), it was awesome connected to my computer as well. I fired up Amarok and we grooved out to some great music while we played 7-11-doubles.
- Speaking of 7-11-doubles, I need to codify the rules somewhere. People were doling out shots on snake eyes (double 1s) when they themselves should be drinkingon them!
- We really needed more utensils, plates, paper towels, and toilet paper. I have no idea why the house didn’t come more equipped with the latter item.
I spent most of the weekend relaxing, tubing, or watching Layla, so I didn’t have much time for photography. Here are some of the pictures I did have time to take:
Lake house pano
Rico hangs out in the yard 
Rico and Mama Hilary have a moment 
Phil inspects the peddle boat 
Layla uses the tripod-method to stand 
Rico is content to be wet near the dock 
Phil and Rico make their way back to the house 
Layla is up and ready to walk with Mom 
The crew hangs out in the lake house 
I catch Tommy off guard 
Stained glass leading to the back deck of the house 
Instead of heading straight home, we instead took a pit stop at Phil’s house. Unfortunately we found out the AC was out upon our arrival, so we took a trip to the nearby campus of The University of Mary Washington. Kristin graduated from there back in 2004 and it had been years since we’d seen the beautiful buildings.
The campus of Mary Washington
A scorching day on the campus of Mary Washington 
Graffiti on the Mary Washington campus 
Long hallway on Mary Washington 
Mary Washington's clock 
After grabbing some local coffee (and enjoying their powerful AC), we went back to the house and hung out. We were all exhausted from the weekend’s drinking, so we mainly watched TV and ate Hilary’s amazing food (pizza dip, yes please!).
Kristin, Hilary, and Layla surf 
Jeremy is sick of Paulener 
Rico takes a snooze 
Oops, I woke him up! 