Twice makes it an official “annual” thing, right? If so, here’s a recap from our (second) annual trip to Lake Anna in Virginia – it’s a nice lake that’s only a 2 hour drive from the DC area!
(If you want to check it out, here’s last year’s recap: Week at Lake Anna, Virginia.)
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We go with both sets of grandparents – my parents and Matt’s parents – and we love going in early to mid September when the crowds have cleared out but the weather is still plenty warm to swim.
Week in Lake Anna, Virginia
We rented a different house this year vs. last year, just to mix it up, and it was great – we especially loved the spacious dock where we could all hang out and swim, plus access to a small sandy public beach area (pictured above) that was only a short drive away.
They even had a diving board and a water slide – what fun!
There was also a small sandy little “beach” area right next to our dock – Freyja the dog was living her best live getting all wet and then rolling around in the sand like crazy!
Lake Anna Water Sports
Like last year, we rented a boat again so we could all go out on the water together, and this year was extra awesome because we also borrowed a tube from a friend.
Riese LOVED the tube, and she was very brave the one time we fell in – whoops!
In addition to tubing, we also took the boat out a few times for happy hour + swimming with the whole family – Matt’s dad always put together a delicious spread for us!
One night we had an early dinner and took the boat out for a short spin after dinner to catch the sunset. It was gorgeous! Nothing like a sunset over water and the temperature was perfect, too.
Freyja (and Millee, Matt’s parent’s dog) enjoyed it as well:
Wes was intrigued but not sure about the whole thing. 😉
Other water sports from the week included some kayaking (Matt and I only made it out once due to baby/toddler logistics, but it was fun!):
Plus paddle boating! Again, just one trip out but it was nice.
As for meals, we had some really delicious ones! We cooked at the house every night vs. going out because it was so much easier logistically with the kids.
Here are some of the delish dinners we enjoyed – mostly thanks to Matt’s dad’s excellent chef skills! There was a grocery store nearby and we also all brought some food from home, too, to get the week started.
Vacation Dinner Highlights
Kebobs on the grill made using chicken thighs (more juicy/flavorful than chicken breast)! Plus grilled veggies, corn, and Greek salad.
Cedar plank salmon with fruit salad, grilled veggies (leftover from the night before), and rice.
Burgers + brats night with some salad on the side – I went back for the other half of the burger since it was so good!
We also had a taco night I seem to have forgotten to get a picture of, but I did get a picture of the pre-dinner appetizers that evening, which we enjoyed down on the dock!
Matt’s dad made homemade guacamole – so good. Plus margaritas!
Matt’s parents had to leave a couple days early, so the last two nights there were just the 4 of us adults.
I planned ahead and had our Blue Apron box (sponsored shout out, FYI) delivered to the lake house and changed to a 4 person serving (instead of our usual 2) which worked out great for those last two nights so we didn’t have to worry about grocery shopping or meal planning!
Both meals were really good. First we had an Asian salmon with rice and roasted string beans (it reminded me of my Maple Glazed Salmon with Veggies recipe, which we love):
And the second night we enjoyed a fun flatbread pizza with garlicky spinach and prosciutto. This was another crowd pleaser!
Plus some salad!
FYI that Blue Apron has a flash sale going on right now through October 11 – click here to use my affiliate link to sign up and get up to 16 free meals!
As for breakfasts and lunches, we kept them simple!
Lunches were either sandwiches, salads, or leftovers from dinner, and breakfasts were simple toast + egg + fruit type situations.
We did have homemade blueberry waffles (they had a waffle iron at the house, so we had to play with it clearly!) courtesy of Matt one morning for my father-in-law’s birthday, though!
It was such a lovely week – we were all sad to say goodbye! Until next time, Lake Anna. 🙂 (Which actually will be sooner than later because we are going there with Matt’s whole family for Thanksgiving this year!)
