"Welcome to Clarksville!"

That's the first thing we heard after we parked the car on Clarksville's main street. Being a TV reporter, I'm not used to being met with open arms -- it felt good for a change.

"Thanks for coming, we're so glad you're here!"

The voice belonged to Bobby Owen, the owner of Designs by Bobby, who had heard through the Chamber of Commerce that we would be visiting (note to the ladies: if you want a unique bag or adorable gift basket for a bridal party or your sister's birthday-check it out).

It was then that I realized Clarksville (and Buggs Island Lake) was the perfect place to start our One Tank Trip series.

Browsing the Virginia Tourism website, I stumbled upon the links for Buggs Island Lake and the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce. Being from the land of 10,000 lakes and growing up on Lake Superior, I consider myself somewhat of a lake expert, so for our first One Tank Trip I thought I would test the waters, so to speak.

We left Lynchburg at 8:00 in the morning and made it back by 6:00, and yes it literally took less than one tank of gas.

Linda Williams with the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce suggested a great itinerary for us: Occoneechee State Park, Clarksville Marina and Prestwould Plantation. But after seeing Clarksville, I definitely recommend making time to visit all of the shops downtown. I already mentioned Designs by Bobby, but also check out the Galleria, a beautiful art gallery featuring some local artists.

Another great thing about Clarksville is that once you are there, you don't have to do a lot of driving around to get where you want to go. Occoneechee State Park is just over the bridge from downtown. I'm not much of a "roughing it" kind of girl, so I was thrilled to check out the cabins at the Park. A family or a men's fishing group can rent out one of these cabins for the weekend and enjoy all the comforts of home, i.e. indoor plumbing, full kitchen and still take in the Lake air from the back porch.

A quick note about the lake itself: I know it's man-made, but the Army Corps of Engineers have done an impeccable job of creating natural wetlands. While we were there, we saw osprey, a blue heron and fish actually jumping-I imagine they were all trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame.

Heading out on the lake with the folks at the Clarksville Marina was a real treat. Beth Diamond and her nephew, Jonathon gave us a tour in a pontoon boat. It was nice to kick-back and relax -- it's times like that I can't believe I get paid for what I do. And what a quiet lake! Because its so large (50,000 acres) we only passed six fishing boats that afternoon.

 If I were to do the trip again, I would definitely spend more time at Prestwould Plantation. The grounds were lovely and the interior is so well preserved (and air conditioned!). Historians have used tax documents from the early 1800's to identify the original estate's furniture and recreate the exact layout of the house where Lady Jean and Sir Peyton Skipwith lived.

We left Clarksville exhausted and a little sunburned, but very happy. And I smiled when I thought about our meeting with Kevin Allgood, Clarksville's incoming Mayor. I thought, what a fitting name, Allgood-and a great way to sum up the trip -- All good.

Places to See, Things to Do:

Occoneechee State Park

1192 Occoneechee Park Road

Clarksville, VA 23927

434-374-2210

Prestwould Plantation

Admission: Adults, $8, Children $3, Seniors and Groups $6

434/374-8672

Clarksville Marina:

434-374-8501

www.clarksvillevamarina.com

Designs by Bobby

328 Virginia Ave.

Clarksville, VA

434/374-3331

www.designsbybobby.com

The Lake House Restaurant

355 Virginia Ave, Clarksville, VA

434-374-4646