Thanksgiving in Boston

On an afternoon hike this fall, our family decided that we should make a trip back east for Thanksgiving. This was where we really wanted to be on this special holiday. As it turns out, all of Laurie's family would be there and that hasn't happened in a LONG time. Beverly and Arthur even drove back up from Florida for the occasion.

So on Wednesday, November 26, we flew to Logan and then rented the worst rental car of my life. As it turned out, the exhaust system needed a major overhaul and we put up with a loud, vibrating car for the next 3 days. Ridiculous! And it was a Hertz no less!

We stayed at Laurie's sister Doreen's house on Wed. and Thur. nights and the cousins were very excited to hang out again.

On Thursday morning, with an eye toward the thousands of calories we'd be enjoying later, Laurie spearheaded a trip to Deer Island where Doreen, Laurie and I actually went for a run in the brisk November air. It really did feel good to do something active and it was a beautiful sunny day.

Doreen and Laurie before the big run; Boston skyline in background

As some of you may know, Deer Island is the location of the monstrous wastewater treatment facility for Boston. They really planned it well though, incorporating a nice path all the way around the facility. The views were fantastic and the smells of the ocean always bring up distant memories for me. There were many other people out and about this fine morning -- others who were trying to make some room for all the stuffing, potatoes, gravy, turkey, and squash dishes they would surely be eating later in the day. We probably should have done two laps around the island!!

Running on Deer Island

Upon returning to the house, I sat down to enjoy one of my favorite Thanksgiving rituals - The Detroit Lions on TV. I didn't enjoy it for long though as they got severely trounced by Tennessee. It wasn't even a contest.

Rather than continue to watch the miserable Lions, I decided to check out the real game that was going on in the streets of Winthrop. It was far more competitive. All the cousins and some of the uncles played a little football on the pavement. I'm not sure who won but it was a lot more fun than the debacle unfolding in Detroit.

Colin goes deep for a pass from Uncle Dave

Somehow we managed to wrangle up all the cousins for a nice portrait. This was a rare occasion that they were all together.

Chelsea, Lucy, Colin, Harry, Max (back row); Matty, Jack, Anastasia (front row)

After the big game, we sat down to a fantastic Thanksgiving meal. Nice job, Doreen! Wow. I managed to NOT overstuff myself this year but it did take some willpower.