Houseboat Trip at Dale Hollow

A bucket list item of mine (Kathy) was to stay on a houseboat. When I was in my early 20's (a very long time ago),  my boss owned a houseboat at Lake Cumberland and one of our employee benefits was to be able to use it for free for a week. At that time, I wasn't really sure what a houseboat was, figured I couldn't drive one anyway, so I never took him up on his offer. I quickly regretted that! 

July 24, 2021 I got to cross a houseboat off my bucket list! And drive it!
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Bobby has been to Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow on houseboats with his family growing up. A co-worker of mine vacationed at Dale Hollow yearly, and I was interested to see why she loved this lake so much. We booked a houseboat at Dale Hollow through Hendricks Creek Resort for July 24 - 28.

We have a Freshman in high school and thought the last week of July we were football free but the schedule changed and we did miss one optional summer practice. Typically, I do not allow my kids to miss their commitments, but I think COVID has changed a lot of how I now live my life and how I parent. There is a definite need for balance and taking care of your mental health. Listening to your mind is just as important as listening to your body. 

The break was much needed and not having cell service made it even more rejuvenating. I don't think the kids liked not having cell service at first, but as we settled in to living on the water, the fun took over and they didn't even seem to miss it. 

Dale Hollow is on the Kentucky and Tennessee border. It is about 5 1/2 hours from Columbus. There is a very interesting history about Dale Hollow. It was a town, Willow Grove, that was purposely flooded. There is a school under water that we drove the boat around - you aren't allowed to drive 'over it'. 

A couple cool facts about Dale Hollow - Luke Bryan filmed his song Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset there and the WORLD record smallmouth bass was caught at Dale Hollow. 

We had a pontoon in addition to the houseboat so we could fish. The houseboat uses too much gas to move and you can't go in to a lot of good fishing spots, so a fishing boat or pontoon is necessary when on the lake.

Our 14 year old caught a 9" bluegill. Tennessee state size is 10". Almost a winner!

Leading up to the trip, we joked to the kids about the Copperheads we would run into. Needless to say, Bobby bought fake snakes to hide on the boat. When we docked look what was there!!!!

This was a trip to remember, and the lake was stunning! Will be a keeper on our least. 

One of the experiences I wanted for my kids was for them to bathe in the lake and rough it a little :) Ivory soap floats and is biodegradable. We didn't get pics of the rest of us in the lake bathing (thank goodness!).