Oh, how traditions change. There was a time--a long time ago--when I thought I'd NEVER be in another town for Thanksgiving.

UPDATING MY TURKEY DAY TRADITIONS

And then my Owensboro family met my New Mexico family halfway, in Dallas, for an amazing weekend of Cowboys football, shopping, and, of course, a huge Thanksgiving dinner...at a RESTAURANT. And that's where it started...the loosening-up of my holiday concepts.

Now that we've moved our Turkey Day dinners to the previous or next weekend, I've HAD Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant on the big day and I like it.

LET KENTUCKY DO THE COOKING

And I gotta tell you, I'm not sure how long this has been going on, but our amazing Kentucky state parks serving Thanksgiving dinner is a tremendous idea. I mean, those BUFFETS are ridiculous! My mouth is watering just thinking about them right now.

If you have no interest in cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, and you don't expect a lot of company--or none at all--then load up your car, van, truck, or SUV and head to a Kentucky state park. They'll be waiting for you with open buffets. And if you know what I mean when I rave about state park restaurants, you know there will be no arm-twisting necessary.

A KENTUCKY STATE PARK THANKSGIVING WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS

Keep in mind, not ALL Kentucky state parks will be serving traditional Thanksgiving dinners on November 25th, but four of them that are within a 90-minute drive from Owensboro WILL BE.

The steam tables will be fired up at Rough River Dam State Resort Park, Pennyrile Forest State Park, Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, and Barren River Lake State Resort Park. By the way, as you might expect, reservations will be required. You may dine in or carry out, and the menu will be traditional.

I love Thanksgiving food and I've dined at three of those parks, so I'm pretty sure you'll be doing yourself a favor by going easy on AT LEAST two meals prior to the one you'll enjoy at any of them.

Put away those pots and pans and relax. Let Kentucky do the cooking.

National Retail Stores in Owensboro Closed on Thanksgiving Day 2021

There will be no point in rushing through Thanksgiving dinner in 2021 since many of your favorite stores will NOT be open until Black Friday.

LOOK: Here are copycat recipes from 20 of the most popular fast food restaurants in America

More From WBKR-FM