Lake Anne

We just moved to a home near a place called Lake Anne. We knew there was a lake nearby, when we rented the house, because we could see the blue blob on the map. Our expectations ended at water, and maybe a place to launch a canoe.

Our first evening in town (the Tuesday of my birthday), before we even picked up the keys to our new place, we drove by the house to see it again, and then we asked our Garmin for "food". Garmin lead us to a little place the head of Lake Anne. This little place turned out to be an entire village (restaurants, independent groceries, a tax guy, a florist, a pharmacist, some clothing and accessory shops, a chocolatier...even an art gallery).

We were surprised by all the good stuff inside this little plaza and wanted to explore, but Holly was waiting in the car and we were tired, so we stopped at the first restaurant and ordered some food. Before we were finished dining, a storm rolled in: thunder (my favorite), lightening (Holly’s favorite), and rain. Rain like I haven’t seen in years, rain like I hadn’t been in my entire life. But we couldn’t wait; we had to get to our terrified parrot.

There was no chivalrous alternative; we both had to make the torrential run. By the corner of the building, Chris’ sneakers were well ahead of my flip flops. By the time I sunk into the first puddle, I realized that I was as wet as a person could ever be and I still had a parking lot to go, so I slowed to a shuffle. By the time I got near the car, the rain was pouring off my eyelashes with such force I couldn’t see the car, ran several feet beyond it, and had to circle back (Chris thought this was worthy of much teasing).

All was redeemed by the relief on Holly’s face when we were both safely in the car. (OK, for all you non-bird people, think: dog with ears pinned back, tail between his legs…turning into a dog with tail wagging and body wiggling. It’s basically the same thing. Cat-lovers: sorry, try to relate to a dog this time.)

We moved in on a Wednesday and made our second trip to the village center that Saturday to “check out” the farmer’s market. The weather was storybook perfect, and the farmer’s market was more than we expected. We came home with 6 bags full of veggies, meats, apple cider, and fresh goat cheese. Yes, we had just moved and didn’t have any food in the house, but it all looked so good we couldn’t pass it up for grocery store stuff! As a matter of fact, it was so good, we returned the next Saturday for more veggies, apple cider, and some fresh lamb.

The farmer's market ends in two weeks, and we're not sure what winter will bring (except for Santa-on-a-Barge in early December), but Lake Anne is a little gem we didn’t know we were getting when we fell in love with our rental and it make us even happier with our new home.

Here are some visuals to help you out...

It isn't much to look at in this direction (it's 30 years old), but look over here...

Moving

Lessons Learned...

...About Moving

• If you don't want the movers to load it, hide it at the neighbors.
  We ended up unpacking several things that belonged to the rental house in Virginia Beach. Luckily, our former landlord was cool about it.
• If you want the food in your refrigerator, it's best to load it in the car when you leave.
  We left all our condiments, olives, cheeses (even my prized Norwegian goat cheese), Chris' peppers, Mom's zucchini relish etc behind. Hopefully our former landlord found something he could use.

...About New Houses

• Just because you can open a door from the inside doesn't mean it's UNLOCKED!
  We learned this lesson two hours, a locksmith fee, and a new doorknob later.
• Just because there's a light switch, don't expect it to control a light OR a plug outlet.
  There are a few I just can't figure out. I think we're turning on the neighbor's disposal.
• Gravity makes moving things upstairs really hard.
  Moving into a 3-level home isn't easy, especially when it comes to moving stuff to level 3.