Once again, it was time for our annual family event.  Each year, on the weekend following the Thanksgiving Day weekend, our family comes together at the Eagle Cove Resort on Dale Hollow Lake.

With the lake located at roughly the mid-point of the North – South border of Kentucky and Tennessee, it is a convenient location for most of the family, a 2 or 3 hour drive.  The 27,000 acre lake is a popular fishing and boating destination.

We always occupy the two “Big Foot” chalets, side by side with 5 bedrooms each.  The chalets have plenty of room and allow us to easily move between the two units.  We plan the menu and each family is assigned food and other household items to bring.

This event allows us to enjoy each other away from the usual distractions of every day life.  At this time of year we are usually (perhaps not surprisingly) the only visitors to Eagle Cove.  It is very quite and tranquil.  We also use this as our group Christmas celebration, but at a time that is more convenient and not pressured by other commitments.

This year, we had pretty good weather, a little cold initially but we then had some very “spring like” conditions with temps rising to the upper 60’s.  We enjoyed really good food prepared by many different family members.  Of course, there were our traditional favorites: buckeyes, carrot cake, derby pie, country ham and the many wonderful breakfast casseroles.  And the annual White Elephant gift exchange provided another year’s worth of laughs and memories.

It’s an annual event that we all look forward to and cherish.  Next year’s trip will be November 29 through December 2.