This past week, I've spent my time at Smith Mountain Lake. I've been coming here since I was maybe six or seven years old, and, if there's one thing I've discovered in all my years of vacationing in all kinds of different places, it's that I'm not a beach person.

I've been to the beach, and, yeah, I have a good time, but there are a few things I absolutely despise. Number one, the sand. It gets everywhere: not just in your swimsuit or in your car but this stuff ends up in your bed, on your couch, in the kitchen, and just about any other place with a crevasse. Secondly, the crowds are ridiculous. It's so difficult to find a spacious spot that has a decent distance from the water. Then after about 20 minutes of debating whether or not it's actually worth it to camp out for the day, the spot isn't really what you had in mind. Another thing, when you go to the beach it's not just a come and go as you please— you have to camp out all day if you want to preserve your spot as the day goes on.

Now, being as pasty white as they come, I find it hard to enjoy my time at the beach because I'm more worried about what shade of red I'll be after the fact. I hate putting on sunscreen at the beach because guess what's already in it: SAND. To add to the list, I probably lose the sunscreen every time I'm at a beach. It's honestly so easy to lose stuff on the beach whether it's buried in the good old sand or in the ocean itself.

However, it's not impossible to have a good time at the beach and everyone has the right to disagree with me here. I've had a great time at the beach before, but just not as great as the time I have spent sitting on the dock at the lake.

Let me tell you not just why I'm not a beach person but let me tell you why I'm a lake person:

One thing, no sand. Enough said there. Two, generally, when you're at the lake, you have a lake house with a dock right there on the lake. There's no car trip to the water. There's no ridiculous expense to be paid by being on the water as opposed to being right on the beach. Everything you'll need is in one central location. You don't have to set up a tent or lay down beach towels or take chairs with you, it's already there. Three, it's so peaceful. There are the occasional people who will zip by your dock with their jet skis or boats, but there's no mass of people all screaming and talking at once. Four, there is plenty of land to goof off: play fetch with your dog or bump the volleyball back and forth. Lastly, the natural beauty of the lake is just amazing. Not every view is the same. It may be one body of water contained by a bunch of trees and wildlife, but it never fails to take my breath away every time I look outside.

It's places like Smith Mountain Lake that make me want to travel and explore the world. There's so much natural beauty to planet Earth and I want to see it all. Smith Mountain Lake has inspired me to try and find the most extraordinary places, without sand of course.