Thanksgiving 2005
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The last great day before the rains come to the Bay Area made for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Got in an early morning hike with our friends Steve and Vicky. Got to Ohlone Parking lot around 8:30 for the 90 minute hike to Mission Peak. Great morning for a hike. Not too cold and not windy at all. And party cloudy, which made a bit cooler as we hoofed it up the back side to Mission peak. The plan was to walk off some of the thanksgiving meal we were going to eat later in the day. Maybe an extra piece of Pumpkin pie. It was a faster than normal pace. Vicky and Steve are in great shape so it was a challenge keeping up with them. I think we all worked up a bit of a sweat by the time we got up top. Had our customary snack and enjoyed the Thanksgiving morning views of the Bay Area. Great Hiking with Steve and Vicky. We enjoy their company and always are comfortable around them. Being a Holiday, most everything was closed. We were lucky enough to have one of the few Starbucks in Fremont open just across from Ohlone College. We celebrated the hike, the holiday morning and our friendship with a hot coffee. Does it get any better? Nothing like having a hike under your belt when you have the biggest meal of the year just ahead of you.
Back home and showered, it was time to start cooking. Did some prep work yesterday so it was a lot easier than starting from scratch. It was going to be just us for Thanksgiving, but we were lucky enough to have Barb’s nephew Jeff come down from the gold country and join us. Having Jeff there made the day even more special. The Thanksgiving menu consisted of a rotisserie turkey (set it and forget it!), homemade stuffing, sweet potato soufflé, sour cream mashed potatoes (thanks Kelly), wasabi string beans (thanks Mando), fresh baked biscuits (thanks Kate), and all the trimmings. Pumpkin or pineapple pie with vanilla ice cream for desert. OH MY!! What a feast. Everything was wonderful. I think we will have leftovers for a week!As another year comes to an end we pause at Thanksgiving to reflect. Our family continues to grow. Kate and Kelly are becoming great young adults. We are so proud! Barb and I have never been better. 20 years and counting, and nothing but good time ahead. Of course, its not all good all the time. But God never gives us more than we can handle. and what we do handle only makes us stronger.
