A Few Final Tales of Lake Life
The tales of ordinary folks like you and me who have chosen to relocate to homes on the shores of beautiful lakes such as Smith Mountain Lake, are a never-ending parade of interesting snippets of life. Here are a few final stories to warm the heart and make us appreciate lake living. Again, thanks to Aida Rogers, Managing Editor of Sandlapper, The Magazine of South Carolina.
Dawn Strachan is looking forward to being around water again. “My parents worked for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and our family was really big into boating,” she explained from her home in Morrisville, near Charlotte. She and her husband, Jon-Paul are purchasing a home in Mackintosh on the Lake, near Burlington, and within six months they hope to be introducing their daughter, Isla, and their adopted greyhound, Jack, to Lake Mackintosh and the smaller, private community lake called Loch Ness.
Dr. Strachan is Scottish and is enthused about the Scottish theme throughout the community. He’s a chemist working in Winston-Salem, and although Mrs. Strachan has a Master’s Degree in chemistry, she’s currently caring for their daughter, who was recently diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
Later this year, the Strachans will travel to Scotland, to introduce Isla to the rest of the family. After that, they’ll be enjoying the sunrises, sunsets, and trails that meander through the community and by the lakes. Perhaps a boat is in their future. Their three cats will be making the move as well. For these felines, the lakeside lifestyle could be an adventure too, as they spend their days indoors, finding new splashes of sun for napping.
Over in the middle of the state, another couple has found the same contentment in a different body of water.
“I think we’ll probably live longer,” theorizes Priscilla Morgan, who retired with her husband John to Treyburn Country Club in Durham, North Carolina. Little River Reservoir is in their backyard, where Mrs. Morgan tends her roses and her husband tends his vegetables. Their stressful past as an overworked executive couple in New Jersey disappears.
“When people visit, the first thing they notice is the peace,” she observes. “You can meditate out here. You can let the world go by.
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| Larry and Jackie Kellough are originally from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, but since 1989 when Mr. Kellough attended a seminar in Charleston, the couple has been thinking about retirement. In 1992 they started looking, and while driving around Lake Marion, they got lost and stumbled into Wyboo Plantation.
“There was nothing but a trailer and some dirt,” Mr. Kellough explained from his Wyboo home. “But, we knew it would be a golf course community, and have lake access, and with those two amenities, we put a deposit on a piece of land.” They were the fourth family to buy at Wyboo, and in 1995, they built a future retirement home there. “We just fully retired less than two years ago,” he explained, noting that because they had been using their home as a vacation getaway a week each spring and fall, it felt as though they were simply coming home for good. |
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| The Kelloughs were self-described “off-and-on boat people” but now, they enjoy their boat at least four times each week. He fishes for largemouth bass, catfish, and rockfish. She fishes as well but frequently accompanies her husband to simply enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
“We enjoy the seasons here, but most important are the people,” she said thoughtfully. “Unless you’ve lived somewhere other than here, you’d never realize how unusual it is to have such friendly people around you – and we just love that.” All of these families have discovered how to enjoy lakeside living to its fullest. Now, they have the rest of their lives to enjoy the experience. |
