The top left view is of the back of the house with the deck and sunroom. The top center is one of the flower beds. The top right view is what we called our "swan patio" down near the lake. Bottom left is looking down from the back yard to the boathouse, pier, and boat. Bottom center is looking to the left out over the water from the pier. Bottom right is looking to the right farther up into the cove. These scenes will never change because the land on the shore across the water is a narrow peninsula that is part of the lake land which is a reservoir that cannot be built upon.
It was always very peaceful, very serene out there in the country by the lake. We heard the birds singing, watched the squirrels play, were visited by ducks and sometimes deer. And the fishing was excellent. It seemed very remote and was quite private, but was just about 20 minutes away from our church and about 10 minutes away from the grocery stores. Anything we needed was within 30 minutes of our home. In fact, if we decided to go to the beach we could be there within 40 minutes, to the Outer Banks within two hours, or to the historic Colonial Williamsburg area within 90 minutes. Yet we were far enough inland that we didn't have to worry about hurricanes or storms that might come to the Atlantic coast, and we were very high above sea level so we never had to be concerned with floods. The beauty of this place was truly spectacular. But, sadly, it came time to give up this lovely place and scale down to something easier to maintain and more agreeable with our ages, our medical and physical conditions, and our retirement income.
Here are some pictures of the home where we now live. We will replace these pictures with more up-to-date ones as we have them processed. We now have flowers blooming and a new detached garage for Don's boat and truck. We gave up the lake and it's beauty, but we feel blessed by the Lord for having this home that will be easier for us to maintain in our retirment years. We have a view of the river here, and Don can still go fishing. No matter where we live we know that the things of this world are temporary. And so we are thankful that our eternal home is with the Lord, who has prepared for us "a mansion over the hilltop."
