Labor of love: Holiday patrons have a blast at area lake

The reason 8-year-old Olivia Storer was excited to be at Albemarle County’s Chris Greene Lake Park is “not rocket science,” said her sunblock-covered mother.
“I just like playing in the water,” Olivia said.

Some folks got drenched in water and soaked up as much sun as possible at Chris Greene Lake on Monday. It was one of many local places where Labor Day was the last day open for public swimming.
Michelle Storer, Olivia’s mother, likes living in Albemarle largely because of its natural assets, she said, and though she takes her two children to the lake about once every couple of weeks, once it closes she can take a short trip to the mountains and have fun with the family there.

“I think it’s so important to do things as a family,” Storer said, adding that living in Albemarle makes it easy.
Daniel VanRiper ran around with a mask on his face, as he celebrated his 4th birthday, and took it off long enough to reveal a massive smile.
Chris Greene was a good place for a birthday party because “they have water,” Daniel said.

That water — and lifeguards whom he’s fond of — is why Luke Hobson, 11, goes to the lake almost every day, he said.
Lifeguard Chelsea Masterson gave Luke swimming lessons for two weeks, he said. Now, he spends a lot of time swimming and sometimes goes fishing.
Some folks took advantage of the last day of the year to rent canoes at the lake for $5 an hour. Lifeguards said they usually rent anywhere from two to 10 canoes per day.
One group of people managed to flip a canoe over in the water and waited for lifeguards to turn it rightside up.

“Save a life, then you can be on the news,” Luke screamed and then laughed, as lifeguards paddled into the water.
It’s not a bad summer gig for the lifeguards, who said they were somewhat disappointed summer was heading toward a halt.
Heather Henderson, a 21-year-old student at Piedmont Virginia Community College, said she enjoyed looking after kids as they played in the lake and added that the lifeguarding was a lot different from working at the mall last summer.

“You didn’t get tanned there,” Henderson said.