Courtesy photo

Lisa and Jon Dabareiner

Photo by Laurie Edwards

The Dabareiners' dock includes a slide and water trampoline.

Photo by Laurie Edwards

Jon and Lisa Dabareiner's dock in Grimes Creek near R39 was built in the 1970s and expanded 10 years ago to provide more entertainment space.

Photo by Laurie Edwards

The couple had a small building constructed up the stairway from the dock to house a composting toilet.

On Sunday nights, Jon and Lisa Dabareiner's dock apparently is the place to be.

"We live to entertain," said Lisa Dabareiner. "On Sunday, a bunch of people end up here and I make dinner."

The meal usually starts with appetizers served on the Dabareiner's dock in Grimes Creek near R39. The gathering typically moves up to the house where Dabareiner prepares gourmet meals.

Sometimes, they stay outdoors and boil pound after pound of shrimp over the fire pit located between the house and the dock.

Dabareiner said they don't spend much time on the dock during the week because they are busy with their jobs. Jon is a senior financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial; Lisa operates Fish N' Fun Farm, a horse breeding, training and showing facility on their property.

"We use it Saturday afternoon and Sunday, and that's it," said Dabareiner of the dock. "I don't even go down there during the week, so we pretty much blow it out on the weekend."

The weekend crowds can get pretty substantial, said Dabareiner. And the darker it gets outside, the more precarious it becomes to have guests walking the many steps to the house to use the bathroom.

The Dabareiners found a solution through their friend Tim Gardner: a composting toilet. Gardner sells the toilets, which turn human waste, with an additive, into compost that can be used as fertilizer.

The toilet was installed inside a small building a handful of steps up from the dock above the 800-foot contour. The toilet is not secured to the flooring, allowing it to be removed for disposal.

Dabareiner said they pushed to get the toilet installed by June 5 when they hosted a graduation party for their daughter Marli, 18, who graduated from North Cross School in Roanoke.

"It did unbelievably well with 60 people here," said Dabareiner. "It's the coolest thing."

While it's not connected to the dock, the building that houses the toilet was constructed where the walkway to the old party deck is. The dock was constructed in the 1970s, said Dabareiner. It had a large party deck on top that made her nervous.

"When you got people on it, it moved," said Dabareiner.

They had the party deck removed and the lower deck expanded 10 years ago, before Appalachian Power's Shoreline Management Plan went into effect, for Dabareiner's 40th birthday.

The dock has three slips. One houses two personal watercraft, the other two house the couple's 28- and 33-foot Donzis. The Dabareiners drive one of the Donzis each year in the Tom Maynard Memorial Poker Run. Dabareiner strings up the numbered bibs, which are hung in front of the dock's cabana.

Dabareiner said one of the dock's most-beloved features is the water trampoline. They've had various water trampolines over the years, but this year's Rave Aqua Jump Eclipse surpasses all others they've owned, she said.

"This year, he [Jon] got the bigger one with all the attachments," said Dabareiner.

The Aqua Log serves as an inflatable, slippery balance beam. The Aqua Launch is a small platform that, when jumped on, puffs up and launches its occupants into the air.

"This one has been so much fun," said Dabareiner.

A small slide connected to the dock also offers entertainment. Dabareiner said it's not sturdy enough to handle adults, but visiting children enjoy it.

Jon and Lisa Dabareiner

Home: Hardy, located on Grimes Creek near R39

Occupation: Jon, senior financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial; Lisa, owner Fish N' Fun Farm

Family: daughter, Marli, 18

Dock size: more than 2,000 square feet

Date built: original dock built in the 1970s, addition constructed in 2000

Amenities: three boat slips, one for each of their Donzis, one for two PWCs; slide and water trampoline