You might think it’s a safe bet to assume that the summer season here at Lakedale is when we work the hardest. With all of our guests enjoying outdoor fun, a full schedule of summer events and activities, and the general “busy-busy” that comes along with our peak season, who could blame you? So, yeah…uh…we won’t blame you! Really though, ask any musician or show director and they’ll tell you that rehearsals and preparation are where all of the work happens, and the show just kind of comes together at showtime. So, if the summer is our showtime at Lakedale, then the stretch from late fall to early spring is when we set the stage!
Lakedale is open year-round, and the fall and winter are perfect times to experience some quiet relaxation around here for sure, but it’s also the timeframe that we get to act on all of the “our guests would really dig this…”, and “wouldn’t it be cool if…” ideas that pop into our heads throughout the year. It’s also become a tradition for us to give our guests a little peak behind the curtain every year, and talk about some of the things we’re working on for you to enjoy during your next visit to Lakedale. So, if you’re ready, let’s go backstage for a bit!
Lots of Love for The Lake House and Log Cabins
Previously on “The Lakedale To-Do List”, we talked a lot about the myriad improvements we’ve made to the main Lodge building, and the upgrades to the Lodge Rooms inside. On this episode, the Lake House and Log Cabins are up for their share of the love. The Lake House and Log Cabins all received brand new pillow-top mattresses, and new bed frames and end tables from Stone County Ironworks to go with. We don’t like status quo around here, so we upgraded the bed configuration from Queen upstairs and Queen downstairs to King upstairs and Queen downstairs in the Log Cabins. The Lake House went from 3 Queen beds to 2 Kings and a Queen!
The new bedroom furniture was only the first act of the upgrade show for the Lake House and Log Cabins! New, larger smart TV’s and new Blu-ray players were installed for some extra indoor entertainment, to complement the natural outdoor fun you’ll experience at Lakedale. We also gave the Lake House some lighting upgrades, as well as table upgrades that will give our guests a better and brighter dining experience, in addition to loads of space for even the largest board games. Speaking of board games, have you seen our new collection of borrowable board games? It’s a real show-stopper…wait…or is it a show-starter? MOVING ON!
A New Chapter for Cool Climate Controls
It makes sense that you’ll usually find the best, year-round outdoor venues in areas that have milder climates. And while us San Juan Islanders are fortunate to experience a very mild climate throughout the year, it can still get chilly in the winter, and on the hotter side of warm in the summer. Because our Yurt Village is open year-round, we wanted to do something that would make the interiors of our seven Yurts even cozier, regardless of what the weather decides to do on the outside. Cumbersome and inefficient space heaters and fans got the old “Vaudeville Hook”, and wall-mounted ductless HVAC systems take this particular spotlight! Obviously, we know the new heaters work extremely well in the winter, because that’s when we installed them, but we think you should come out and test out their cooling ability in the warmer months for us, nudge-nudge wink-wink!
Making Outdoor Activity Awesome-er
Of course, the majority of Lakedale’s 82 acres are outdoor spaces, and so we couldn’t go an entire off-season without letting the upgrade dog off his leash to run around outside for a bit. We gave our campground shower house an almost total makeover: new paint, new stalls, new showers, and new exterior counter and sinks. We’ve also upgraded our activities area in front of the General Store with new utilities, and a nice concrete slab to accommodate the brand new, high peak Activities Tent that is on its way to us as we write this! As we previously mentioned, we LOVE games here at Lakedale, so it’s only natural that we would spend some time upgrading our current complement of outdoors games, and add a few new ones to-boot! A revamp of our beach volleyball court, our giant chess set bases, and the addition of at least two new games are all on the program. Most of this work requires better weather and ground conditions than we get in the winter, but we hope to have things done before the beginning of the 2022 summer show. Mother nature loves to toy with us every year, and watch us run around like chickens with only two weeks before the annual curtain drop. Talk about pressure.
We could literally go on and on about all of our exciting plans, and we’ve got a teeny-tiny piece of amazing news that we’d love to share with you now, but that’s going to have to wait until the next episode. You see, the director is telling us we’ve got to get back to it because the show must go on. We thank you for joining us for this little behind-the-scenes look at what we have in store for Lakedale’s audience in 2022. Enjoy the spectacle, and we hope to see you soon!
Kaia, the Canine Inspector, inspecting our new septic system!