Thanksgiving

For the first time in more than thirty-five years, Laurie and I did not host Thanksgiving dinner, which also meant it was the first time in decades that I was not up in the middle of the night dealing with the cooking of a giant turkey.

Some months ago, Rebecca's parents, Jim and Debbie, asked if we would be willing to transplant the event to their home in Fairfax, Virginia, because their son and daughter-in-law were able to join the festivities. They graciously invited our other Turkey Day regulars, my brother Richie's family and the Greenbergers, so that we could all still be together.

In the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning, Laurie and I headed off. We stopped in Jersey City to pick up Chuck and Rebecca and then headed south. Shortly after noon, we rendezvoused with Sammi at the motel we'd be staying in; she had made the trek from her home in southeastern Virginia. After checking in, we drove to Jim and Debbie's house.

As always, there were large quantities of food (and many pies) and everyone ate heartily.

Alas, one Thanksgiving tradition that did not translate to the new location was the visit of Sammi's friend Karl to join us for dessert. His arrival is always greeted with a "Cheers"-like shout of "Karl!"

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Our Friday plans were for sightseeing in nearby Washington DC. Laurie, Sammi and I took a tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We've all been in printing plants plants before and I'm happy to report that printing money is not all that different from printing comic books.



Rozaki in Washington DC

Chuck and Sammi recreate a pose from a visit to DC twenty-five years ago. In the original, they are much shorter and you can see the Capitol behind them.

We then met up with most of the clan -- eleven of us in all -- and quickly realized that everyone had different things we wanted to do. Laurie, Chuck, Sammi, Bob, Debbie and I went to lunch. Chuck and Sammi split off to visit the Aquarium and tour the monuments. Bob and Deb and Laurie and I hiked across town to the Library of Congress and Supreme Court, then split up as there was only time to visit one and each couple had a different choice. After our tour of the LoC, Laurie and I then walked back to where we'd parked to meet up with Chuck and Sammi.

Following dinner at a Tex/Mex restaurant, we reconvened with the clan for a family karaoke that Chuck has coordinated. Among the highlights was Jim and me reprising our rendition of "Sunrise, Sunset" that we first sang at Chuck and Rebecca's wedding.

On Saturday we headed home, but, unlike the drive down that had been virtually traffic-free, we crawled on a long stretch of the Jersey Turnpike. Overall, it was a nice change of pace for us, but I look forward to a return to tradition next year. If nothing else, I miss having all the leftovers...