Memorial Weekend in Hochatown
Lake Days, Grocery Pickups & Family Under One Roof
Every year our family tries to do something together on Memorial Day.
Our tradition when my husbands grandparents were alive to go their house on the river. It was like camping for the long weekend except we got to sleep in the air conditioning and have beds and a shower. It was great!
They lived right along a river. So we would float the river, which would take several hours. Then we would have a big fish fry that evening. It took several hours to prepare as well but it was always well worth the wait.
Our family always took time during the Memorial Weekend to go to the cemetery that was near their house on the river as well. We would go and put out new flowers on the graves of the family that had already passed on. It is always a good time to “remember” them.
But the family members are getting older, the kids are getting older and so sometimes traditions change. Going to the river has changed to heading to the lake.
There’s something about Memorial Weekend that feels like the official beginning of summer. The lake gets busy again, grills start firing up, kids practically live in swimsuits, and cabins that sat quiet all winter suddenly fill with laughter, groceries, towels, sunscreen, and family.
For our family, Memorial Weekend starts before we ever pull into Hochatown. It starts at home with lists, coolers, grocery pickups, and trying to remember who was supposed to pack the coffee.
Tuesday usually becomes prep day. We do a grocery pickup and divide all the food by meals and days so life feels easier once we get there. Vegetables and fruit get washed ahead of time, pantry items are gathered up from home, and somehow there’s always one random thing everyone forgets until the last minute. This year it may or may not be the bay leaves.
By Thursday night, we’re finally loaded up and headed toward the lake.
Planning to stop and eat somewhere in Hochatown as we roll into town is a must! There will be no cooking the night we arrive. Thursday night is for unpacking, reorganizing and already prepping for the next day meals. Everyone gets a free pass from cooking the first night!
Slow Mornings & Easy Meals
One of my favorite things about being at the cabin is how simple meals somehow taste better there.
Friday morning starts with bacon, biscuits and gravy, jelly, coffee, and sleepy conversations around the kitchen before everyone fully wakes up.
Lunch is easy BLT’s with chips and HTeaO while everyone figures out the day’s lake plans.
And honestly, Friday night usually becomes “everyone’s on their own.” Some people snack all evening, some want takeout, and some are still full from lunch because summer schedules are never really schedules at all.
Saturday mornings are made for pancakes and sausage before heading outside. Then lunch becomes simple chicken salad sandwiches on croissants with avocado and chips because nobody wants to spend all day cooking when the lake is calling.
Saturday night feels more like a full family dinner with French dip sandwiches and crack corn salad gathered around the table after a long day outside.
The Best Meals Are Usually the Messiest Ones
Sunday may be my favorite food day of the whole weekend.
Monte Cristo pastries with jelly and ham rolls for breakfast somehow feel fancy and casual at the same time.
Lunch is lighter with grilled chicken Caesar salads because by this point everyone has probably eaten too many snacks, chips, and desserts.
Then Sunday night becomes the big cookout meal:
- BBQ chicken legs
- Corn on the cob
- Salad
- Homemade ice cream
And if you’ve ever made homemade ice cream at the lake, you already know the kids hover around waiting for it to finish while someone inevitably says, “I think it needs a little more rock salt.”
Those are the moments people remember years later.
Not the perfect table settings.
Not matching plates.
Not whether everything went exactly as planned.
They remember homemade ice cream melting too fast, kids running in and out barefoot, and everybody being together under one roof.
Memorial Weekend Means Summer Is Finally Here
By Monday morning, everybody moves a little slower. Blueberry muffins and coffee replace the excitement of arrival, and conversations start turning toward heading home, laundry, and real life again.
But Memorial Weekend always feels like the reset we all needed.
The beginning of lake season.
The beginning of slower evenings.
The beginning of summer memories being made again.
And honestly, sometimes the best weekends aren’t the extravagant ones. They’re the ones filled with simple meals, full kitchens, tired kids, late-night laughter, and the people you love most gathered around the table.
That’s what makes Memorial Weekend in Hochatown feel special every single year.
