There And Back Again: Thanksgiving in Alabama, Year 2
Same as last year, Ian and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his parents in their condo right on the beach in Orange Beach, Alabama -- although just about twenty feet from the Florida border. Unlike last year, Ian's brother and family joined us for the visit, and that was simply awesome. We had six adults, and Ian's niece (11) and nephew (10) all crammed into the two-bedroom condo. Ian's grandmother lives across town (hence the setting for the whole affair). What a wonderful thing it must be to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with your great-grandchildren. Ian's parents said that his grandmother seemed livelier and more animated than she has in ages. We were all pleased to get together for her in particular, but we all enjoyed the visit.
Memorable moments include the entire family taking turns at putting together a jigsaw puzzle with the kids. We had no idea that would be as entrancing as it was, or such a family activity. WIN.
Late Friday afternoon, the boys and the young niece went off to play Lasertag. Ian's mother, my sister-in-law and I decided that we felt like chilling at the condo instead. We opened a bottle of pinot grigio at which we made a valiant stab, and we sat around first on the veranda and later in the living room for female bonding. Since we have four last names among the three families, we borrowed the name of a local bar right across the state borderline, and termed ourselves the, "Ladies of the Flori-bama." Good times! I really like all of Ian's family, but in particular I thoroughly enjoy the company of my brother- and sister-in-law. They're just great people, and I always hope we can enjoy a closer relationship with them. Here's to hoping we move near them in Maryland when our next move comes around!
Rather by accident we ended up partaking of the Black Friday sales -- an act which would only happen by accident in this family, I assure you. We are not people who enjoy shopping. Ian's brother wanted to buy a new, larger TV for their grandmother. We also bought her some picture frames for the pictures we had developed from Thanksgiving Day. All this brought us to Walmart around noon on the dreaded shopping day. Somehow they managed not to sell out of Playstation 3s before that time. Although their sale officially ended at 11:00 am, they agreed to honor the price for the bundle when we asked. We got the Playstation for Ian as his main Christmas gift at its regular price. Thrown in for no extra charge in the bundle were 2 games he actually wants to play, and 1 Blu-Ray movie. So that's cool!
Meanwhile, I also found a gift I wanted for my mother. I had planned to buy her a cupcake carrier which retails for about $20-$25. Walmart had one not advertised on their website which is round to accommodate pies or cupcakes (and with a third tray for holding deviled eggs, though I'm not sure Mama will use that). Black Friday price - $4.50. AWESOME. I got something even more useful than what I wanted, and for no more than 25% of the price I thought I might have to pay to get it.
The trip was scenically beautiful and emotionally fulfilling, but exhausting, of course. We covered 1500 miles in the car since Wednesday. Traffic was awful on the way there, and that leg took about 14 hours. Our trip home was much quicker, but no less tiring. The last 200 miles had virtually no sit-down restaurants, not even a Cracker Barrel to be found! It was a long haul pulling back into Austin last night, and the tacos at journey's end never tasted so good! I force a tradition of keeping a travel diary whenever we take roadtrips. Every time we stop the car, we have to record the name of the town, and any incidents during the stop -- and there are always amusing anecdotes from every stop! I have a friend in the Air Force on active deployment right now. She's roadtripped with me before, and knows of this tradition. Ian and I recorded our adventures in the form of a letter to her along the way so she could share the journey with us from afar. Hopefully that will bring her a few laughs when she receives that in the mail!
Mama took good care of the kittens while we were away. Here it is not even 24 hours since our return, and they've already started speaking to us again. They're not ones to hold a grudge for too long.
Saw "Ninja Assassin" today. Got everything we wanted from that movie. Consider that plot holes only provide the necessary shadows in which ninjas hide with their throwing stars.
Trace
Memorable moments include the entire family taking turns at putting together a jigsaw puzzle with the kids. We had no idea that would be as entrancing as it was, or such a family activity. WIN.
Late Friday afternoon, the boys and the young niece went off to play Lasertag. Ian's mother, my sister-in-law and I decided that we felt like chilling at the condo instead. We opened a bottle of pinot grigio at which we made a valiant stab, and we sat around first on the veranda and later in the living room for female bonding. Since we have four last names among the three families, we borrowed the name of a local bar right across the state borderline, and termed ourselves the, "Ladies of the Flori-bama." Good times! I really like all of Ian's family, but in particular I thoroughly enjoy the company of my brother- and sister-in-law. They're just great people, and I always hope we can enjoy a closer relationship with them. Here's to hoping we move near them in Maryland when our next move comes around!
Rather by accident we ended up partaking of the Black Friday sales -- an act which would only happen by accident in this family, I assure you. We are not people who enjoy shopping. Ian's brother wanted to buy a new, larger TV for their grandmother. We also bought her some picture frames for the pictures we had developed from Thanksgiving Day. All this brought us to Walmart around noon on the dreaded shopping day. Somehow they managed not to sell out of Playstation 3s before that time. Although their sale officially ended at 11:00 am, they agreed to honor the price for the bundle when we asked. We got the Playstation for Ian as his main Christmas gift at its regular price. Thrown in for no extra charge in the bundle were 2 games he actually wants to play, and 1 Blu-Ray movie. So that's cool!
Meanwhile, I also found a gift I wanted for my mother. I had planned to buy her a cupcake carrier which retails for about $20-$25. Walmart had one not advertised on their website which is round to accommodate pies or cupcakes (and with a third tray for holding deviled eggs, though I'm not sure Mama will use that). Black Friday price - $4.50. AWESOME. I got something even more useful than what I wanted, and for no more than 25% of the price I thought I might have to pay to get it.
The trip was scenically beautiful and emotionally fulfilling, but exhausting, of course. We covered 1500 miles in the car since Wednesday. Traffic was awful on the way there, and that leg took about 14 hours. Our trip home was much quicker, but no less tiring. The last 200 miles had virtually no sit-down restaurants, not even a Cracker Barrel to be found! It was a long haul pulling back into Austin last night, and the tacos at journey's end never tasted so good! I force a tradition of keeping a travel diary whenever we take roadtrips. Every time we stop the car, we have to record the name of the town, and any incidents during the stop -- and there are always amusing anecdotes from every stop! I have a friend in the Air Force on active deployment right now. She's roadtripped with me before, and knows of this tradition. Ian and I recorded our adventures in the form of a letter to her along the way so she could share the journey with us from afar. Hopefully that will bring her a few laughs when she receives that in the mail!
Mama took good care of the kittens while we were away. Here it is not even 24 hours since our return, and they've already started speaking to us again. They're not ones to hold a grudge for too long.
Saw "Ninja Assassin" today. Got everything we wanted from that movie. Consider that plot holes only provide the necessary shadows in which ninjas hide with their throwing stars.
Trace