If you're lucky enough to be at a lake, you're lucky enough

Do you have a favorite place?

I have many.

And I was lucky enough to spend time over the weekend at one of my most favorite places of all.

Casa Del Lago is our friends' vacation home on Banks Lake in Eastern Washington.

Imagine yourself sitting in the sunshine on a deck, sipping a soda, listening to birds sing, all the while gazing out at the amazing lake vista just down the hill and you will understand why I love this place.

Our friends have put so much elbow grease into this home since they bought it five years ago and it has been an unbelievable transformation. New flooring, windows, bathroom, deck, and hot tub are only a smidgen of the changes they've made. Most visitors have to pick their bottom jaw up off the ground after walking through the front door. It's like the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog have come to life and you feel an instant calm and comfort come over you. It's beautiful.

I think Nick and Nolan will always remember the lake house as the place they grew to love being thrown out of a inner tube, climbing the sandy hill, searching for snakes, and buying some new treasure they can't live without at the tiny little book store down the street.

One of the things I love most about this place is it's isolation. For being such a huge 29 mile long lake, it's amazing how many people have never heard of it before. I'd like to keep it that way! When you're out on the boat you can see for miles and the next boat looks like a speck on the horizon. It's great for water skiing and inner tubing...that is if you can get up on skis. Maybe someday my rear will know what it's like to be out of the water. One can only hope.

Thanks Bill and Marianne, for buying this little piece of heaven and for letting our family invade from time to time. We love you guys!