TRADITION CONTINUES

I'm in a hotel in Williamsport, PA as I write this; I've been at this hotel over Thanskgiving weekend for a number of years now and in Williamsport for almost every Thanksgiving of my life. It's tradition.

We left on Wednesday and actually got to leave earlier than we ever have - 6:45 or so when we hit the road. It was nice to make the drive during the daytime and we made good time. It was weird to be among the first members of the family to arrive rather than the last. I stayed up too late that night visiting with my cousins but I just went to bed earlier last night.

We had 21 people at the dinner yesterday, ranging in age from my 98 year-old step-grandfather to my 9 year-old son. The food at the restaurant was very good as usual - I had a cup of creamy pumpkin soup, a fantastic house salad with blue cheese dressing, and a main entree of horseradish-encrusted prime rib, mashed potatoes, and broccolini. I didn't have dessert there because later on in the evening we had our traditional homemade ice cream and pie (I had a piece of shoofly and a piece of apple crumb). Good food and good company.

Today the men and the women separate for lunch and there will be various shopping excursions (Jill and Grant are on one now) and more euchre later on (I haven't gotten any in yet!). It's a nice relaxing day. I just finished reading a story (in book #36) and am listening to KEXP. I have to call soon to make the men's lunch reservation and I'll probably swing by the local comics shop later. I can see down into the hotel pool. The sun is shining brightly. Hope everyone else has had a good weekend so far and that it will continue.