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canoe ride lake anna
September 28, 2020

Week at Lake Anna, Virginia

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We had a big treat last week – we spent Monday through Friday at a rental house at a nearby lake: Lake Anna in Virginia. 

I’ve been hearing about Lake Anna for years now from friends – it’s one of the closest lakes to the DC area (only 1.5 hours away) and I had heard it was quite nice, so it was a big treat to finally get to check it out. So nice it was such a short drive, too, especially with Riese in the mix!

I grew up swimming in lakes; my great grandparents lived in New Hampshire and we used to visit them in the summer when my brother and I were little and swim in the lake near their house, so lakes hold a lot of nostalgia for me. I love swimming and anything involving the water!  

canoe ride lake anna

Trip to Lake Anna, Virginia

We were at Lake Anna with my parents and Matt’s parents – it was fun to get everyone together, and Riese loved having 6 adults paying attention to her as you can imagine! We also had 2 dogs with us – Freyja plus Millee, Matt’s parent’s dog. They had a blast – Freyja especially was living her best life. 

dog swimming at lake anna

We lucked out with amazing weather – it was a little cloudy on our very last day, but otherwise it was absolutely gorgeous. We also basically had the lake to ourselves since high season is over – September was a great time to be there!

The week revolved around water sports, which made me happy. We rented a kayak, a canoe, and a couple paddleboards so it was fun to have lots of options. Riese came in the canoe with us but stayed at home when we took out the kayak or paddleboards!

kayaking at lake anna virginia

We also rented a boat for 3 days, which was a bit of a last minute decision but ended up being a really good call because it was something everyone could do together! We did happy hour on the boat every day which was lots of fun. 

appetizer spread on a boat

appetizer spread on a boat

We also did lots of swimming off the boat – Riese loved it!

on the boat

Hiking at Lake Anna State Park

We stayed at the house/in the lake the entire time except one morning when Riese, Matt, and I drove over to Lake Anna State Park with Matt’s parents for a little hike. 

toddler hiking at lake anna state park

We did a pretty wooded loop that took us along the lake. It was really pretty, and we had great weather for it – not too hot, not too cold!

hiking along the water at lake anna state park

Taking in the views:

taking in the views lake anna state park

We packed some sandwiches and other snackage to have a picnic lunch while we were out there (I forgot to get pictures) before heading back to the rental house for Riese’s nap (which ended up being a fail). She was fighting nap hard on this trip, probably because of all the excitement, but thankfully now that we’re home she’s back on the solid nap train!

Besides water sports, I also got in two runs – the first was with Matt and the second was solo. The road we were staying on was about 0.75 miles long and nice and wooded before you hit the main road, so we just ran up and down that a couple times. It was nice and peaceful!

running on a road in lake anna virginia

Lake Anna Meals

We had lots of good meals while at the lake, too! We cooked and ate at the house for all our meals. Breakfasts were usually hard boiled eggs with whole wheat peanut butter banana bread (we brought it with us). 

peanut butter banana bread with a hard boiled egg

Or sometimes egg sandwiches, either on toast or English muffins. One day we had egg BLTs, which is always a fan fave!

blt with a runny egg

Lunches were usually dinner leftovers or sandwiches – nothing super exciting so I didn’t get any pictures. 

As for dinners, we had a delicious variety!

Monday night, the first night we were there, was my birthday, so we had a little birthday party! My parents brought ingredients to do grilled steaks and taco salad, and for dessert we had some pastries Matt’s parents brought from a French bakery in Pittsburgh.

steak and taco salad with bread

On Tuesday night, I made us my Sheet Pan Mediterranean Chicken Thighs, which is always a big hit. 

mediterranean chicken with veggies

Served with some orzo and a stunning sunset view!

mediterranean chicken with roasted veggies and orzo

Wednesday night, Matt’s dad made his yummy cedar plank dill lemon salmon (<- similar to that recipe but grilled and minus the yogurt sauce), plus some roasted broccoli, microwaved sweet potatoes, and cornbread. 

cedar plank lemon salmon with roasted broccoli, cornbread, and sweet potato

Our final night, we had my Greek lamb burgers, but made with turkey instead of lamb since we couldn’t find ground lamb. Plus a delicious Greek salad on the side. 

greek turkey burgers with greek side salad

It was such a treat of a week – I’m already missing it! It was great to have a change of scenery, to get some time off of work, and to spend time with family. Lake life was very relaxing!

We were all very sad to say goodbye to the lake on Friday morning – Riese especially was really distraught saying goodbye to “Mr. Boat”, which she was a huge fan of. Meltdown central when the rental company came and took it away.

house rental view of the water lake anna

Until next time, Lake Anna – thank you for the great week!

- anne
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11 comments
  • Ana September 28, 2020 · 12:21PM:
    That looks lovely! I love lakes, so peaceful. Too bad you couldn't take the boat home, haha!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2020 · 1:20PM:
      I know, we wish!!
      Reply
  • Lauren k September 28, 2020 · 12:53PM:
    Sounds like a great birthday week!
    Reply
  • Roadrunner September 28, 2020 · 10:37PM:
    Wow, what an awesome week. Looks like a gorgeous spot, with exceptional meals, and lots of water and sporting activities. Glad you could all get away for it! Well done!
    Reply
  • Jen September 29, 2020 · 1:16PM:
    Looks like an amazing trip! Thanks for all the details for when we get to adventure to Lake Anna. Happy birthday ?
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2020 · 2:34PM:
      Thanks Jen :)
      Reply
  • JoAnne Owens
    September 29, 2020 · 5:41PM:
    My brother Denny and his girlfriend live on Smith Island. I've never been due to health issues and really no place to stay but it looks absolutely gorgeous. I would love to go and see him as we are up in years. I I miss him so very much. I'm soooooo happy that you and your beautiful family had such a great time. You truly are amazing. Happy belated birthday sweetie. Take care of you and your beautiful family. May God bless and watch over all of you. Thanks for sharing it really helped me alot.
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2020 · 12:54PM:
      Thank you JoAnne <3
      Reply
  • Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
    September 30, 2020 · 1:18PM:
    Looks like the perfect getaway! I'm glad you had such great weather and that the lake was so quiet! I also grew up going to the lake so it's my happy place. My parents have a beautiful lake home about 3 hours from us but we've only been up there once due to covid (with Paul in daycare and my parents being over 70, we've been very careful). I kind of doubt we'll be up there much next summer either as I'm not optimistic the vaccine would be widely available by then but we'll see! All that said, I'm glad you had a wonderful time away and got to soak up so much sun and time in/by the water!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2020 · 1:28PM:
      Thanks Lisa! I'm hoping by next summer we can all lead normal lives again, but who knows!
      Reply
  • George
    October 2, 2020 · 4:32AM:
    Great! Thanks for sharing your stories I hope your article gets a lot of visitors
    Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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