Thanksgiving Day, 2014…

 November 27, 2014.

Thanksgiving Dinner Venue.

THANKSGIVING DAY. At Thanksgiving, we enjoy a delicious meal, create new memories and give thanks for a year that’s coming to an end. It’s appropriate to reflect on all that’s occurred in the past twelve months and how we’re going to prepare for the new year that’s coming.  We give thanks for all the things that have happened and for how they found their way into the puzzle of our lives.

We awoke to bright sunshine and a crisp, clear day here in the Texas Hill Country. Fall colors are in their full glory. Orange and red foilage dots the hillsides but winter is approaching fast and  leaves are rapidly falling from many of the trees here in the park. The gardeners and groundskeepers work all day raking, blowing and collecting the leaves as they fall in an effort to keep everything tidy and neat. They do a terrific job…the grounds are always beautiful and immaculate.

Thanksgiving dinner tables in the barn at Buckhorn.

DINNER IN THE BARN. Although I ordinarily make a big whoop-de-do about personally cooking a full traditional turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day, this year we decided to attend the dinner party in the Red Barn here at the resort. It’s a pretty big deal in these parts. People rave about it and return year after year to partake. The resort typically fills for the holiday weekend each year and this year is no exception. There isn’t even a sliver of a space left in the entire park. I’ve never seen so many beautiful high-end Class A motorhomes assembled in one place at one time. Although we’ve been here for over a month, today was our first visit to the Red Barn for a meal. It has a full catering kitchen and the resort’s chef prepared turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy for the entire group. Everyone who attended brought a side dish or dessert to share. There were probably 250 people in attendance and the buffet table went on and on! We sat at a table for six, and met two delightful couples who “gave us the inside scoop” on the park and all of the things to see and do in the area. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to spending more time with our new friends Robin, Dan, Annie and Roger. In fact, right now we’re headed to a campfire in the yard by Annie and Roger’s rig, Here we go…

The Thanksgiving buffet table.

Care for a dinner roll?

THIS COULD BE HABIT-FORMING. Coming here for the holidays could easily become a tradition for us, as it has for so many other folks. What a nice holiday dinner! For a “wanna be chef” and occasional caterer like me, it takes quite a bit to really “wow me.” Jen and the staff at Buckhorn did it! The decor was tasteful, the food was well prepared and hot on the serving line, and the staff moved several hundred people through the dining area with next to no congestion. Everything…literally everything… was perfectly executed. And the whole affair but for the pot-luck contributions was “on the house.” Nice. Really nice. Thank you, Buckhorn!

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER. In a few days, all of the Christmas lights and holiday decorations at the resort will finally be activated. The staff has been busy for weeks stringing lights and setting up other holiday displays. And lots of the coach houses in the area where we’re staying are beginning to boast decorations as well. It should be quite a show. Clark Griswold probably won’t be on hand to throw the switch, but no matter who does the honors, I suspect there will be lots of “oohs” and “aaahs.” We just couldn’t have picked a better place to spend the holidays. Everything about Buckhorn Lake is tasteful and first class!