Story by Scottie Vickery
Submitted Photos
When you’re an ophthalmologist in the business of helping your patients see better, it goes without saying that a clear, beautiful view is always the main focus.
It’s even more important when you’re also in the market for a house on the water. The good news is that David Lewis and his wife, Wendy, got exactly what they were looking for when they found their home near Stemley Bridge on Logan Martin Lake a year and a half ago. And these days, they enjoy captivating sights as far as the eye can see.
Whether they’re watching Fred, one of the two herons that regularly hold court on their dock, cheering for a child learning to wakeboard, or enjoying the antics of a family of geese, there’s always something that grabs their attention. If that weren’t enough, they get to enjoy both sunrises and sunsets from their vantage point.
“I can just get lost looking out the window,” Wendy said. “You never know what you’re going to see.”
They almost missed out on it all. “We passed on this house the first time we came through. It was dark, and we didn’t get to see all this,” Wendy said, gesturing to the great room’s wall of picture windows overlooking the sparkling water.
“We decided to come back one more time, and this time we came back during the day,” she said. “The second we opened the door, we were like, ‘This is it.’ It’s just so peaceful here. We have enjoyed it so much.”
The 3-bedroom, 3 ½-bath house is perfect for hosting family and friends with its open floor plan, expansive views, and outdoor living spaces that include a pergola and an atrium with a hot tub. David is an avid hunter and fisherman, so he keeps the freezer stocked with venison and fish, which makes entertaining easy.
“The Traeger is the best investment I ever made,” David said of his wood pellet grill. “You can just set the temperature, throw something on, and it does what it’s supposed to do.”
Making a house their home
The Lewises were living in Anniston when David decided in late 2023 to take a job with Alabama Vision Center in Pell City. They were excited for the career opportunity as well as for the chance to live on Logan Martin full-time.
“We’re water people,” Wendy said, adding that they have a place in Gulf Shores as well as a cabin in the woods in Heflin that’s on a private lake with property where David hunts and fishes. “Both of our families had places around Riverside, so we had a connection to the water and this lake.”
Although the Lewises did some renovations before moving in, the house had already been added onto a few times before they bought it. The house, originally a small guest cabin for the house next door, has come a long way since its humble beginnings.
It started out as a single-story home with two bedrooms and one bath, but the next owners built a two-story addition that includes the master bedroom and bath, the great room and a larger kitchen, as well as a shop, office and bonus room downstairs. They also added a porch off the kitchen. After that couple sold the house, the new owners enclosed the porch, making it a sunroom, and converted the downstairs shop into a Man Cave.
When Wendy and David bought the home in December 2023, they focused on cosmetic changes, replacing flooring and lighting throughout the house, brightening things up with paint, and remodeling a bathroom. They raised the roof on the house’s front porch and added beams and a tongue-and-groove ceiling to make it feel more like a lake home. Landscaping by OnPoint Land Management was the perfect complement, Wendy said.
They also updated the kitchen with new granite countertops and moved the doorway that connected the kitchen to the sunroom to the other side of the island so they could add double ovens where the door once stood. Removing a wall in the great room opened up the room even more, making hosting a crowd easier.
“This house is great for entertaining, and it’s made it a whole lot easier to host a fair number of people,” David said. Their house in Annison had a smaller kitchen, and the only seating area was the dining room table. Now, they have lots more counter space, bar stools at the island, plenty of seating in the great room, as well as tables in the dining room, sunroom and outside.
What’s cooking?
Although the Lewises love creating great meals together, their cooking approaches are a little different. “My husband is the better cook,” Wendy said. “He can go look and say, ‘I’ve got this, this, and this, so I can whip this up.’ I have to plan what I’ll cook, make my grocery list and go to the store.”
David said he mastered the basics in Boy Scouts, where “I learned to put food over fire,” and he later followed his mother’s example of “adding a pinch of this and two fingers of that.” He also picked up some skills during the nine years he lived in New Orleans while completing his internship and residency and working at his first job.
“Everybody cooks down there, and I got a little better,” he said. “I’m not a gourmet chef or anything, but I can put stuff together.”
In the summer, they cook a lot of fish, and they especially like blackened red snapper. “We like to cook in an iron skillet,” Wendy said. “That really helps with the blackening of the fish. And he can just come up with a sauce right off the top of his head, so he’ll figure out the sauce, and I’ll figure out which vegetable to put with it.”
Roasted potatoes are a favorite. “They’re so easy to do,” Wendy said. “I just dice them up, drizzle them with olive oil and put Cavender’s (seasoning) on it. You’ve got to be generous with your flavors.
In the colder months, they do a lot of venison burgers, as well as a dish that has become a favorite. “We call it Spicy Creamy Deer Pig,” David said with a laugh. “Roll up (venison) cube steak with cream cheese and jalapenos and wrap it in bacon.”
Being able to have the whole family over for the holidays, host a gathering for David’s office, or have friends over on a football Saturday is what the Lewises have loved most about their life on the water.
They also enjoy the quieter moments. “It’s just so relaxing,” David said. “We’ll take the boat out when I get home from work, and we just enjoy watching all the birds and schools of fish.”
Wendy said she couldn’t be happier with their decision to move to the lake full-time. “There’s not just one best day here,” she said. “Every day is the best day.”
Add cheese to top and return to oven until cheese is melted.
Blackened Red Snapper with Dave Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms
- ¾ of a bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- ½ to ¾ cups red wine
- 1 cup beef or chicken stock
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Oregano
- 2 tsp corn starch
- Red Snapper fillets
- Butter
- Blackening seasoning
Directions:
To make the sauce, saute onions, mushrooms and bell pepper for 7-8 minutes on medium/high heat. Add tomato, and after 3 minutes, add the wine. Let it reduce by half, then add stock. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Add corn starch. Turn down to simmer while cooking the fish. Add blackening seasoning to fish and cook in a skillet with butter on higher heat for 3 minutes on each side, or until flaky.
We like to serve fish with roasted Brussels sprouts and couscous.
Cajun Cream Sauce
Serve over Blackened Red Snapper atop a bed of asparagus
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, copped.
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cup white wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Cajun seasoning to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook tomatoes in olive oil over medium/high heat. Add the onions and bell pepper and cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic and chicken stock and allow it to slightly cook down. Add white wine and allow to reduce by half. Stir in cream and let it simmer while you add your favorite Cajun seasoning to taste.
Add parsley and parmesan cheese.
Rectifier Cocktail
- Irish Whiskey
- Baileys Irish Cream
- Kahlua
Add equal parts of each to a lowball. Stir well and serve with a sprig of mint or shaved chocolate.
