Thanksgiving

A family tradition is for us all to gather at my aunt’s place in Stowe, Vt. This year, via Amtrak and Albany, travel went fairly well. I have to say, the more I take Amtrak, the fewer times it is late. Guess I had bad luck before.

Anyway, we squeezed four humans and two dogs into a Subaru Impreza (a small hatchback) for the trip up. The destination was well worth the trip. The food was the fantastic favorites of past years. My aunt said she was able to use Hounds in the Kitchen for everything she made. I love the food at Thanksgiving, I’d name a favorite but it is all so good I can’t pick just a few things, though a highlight were Mal’s Pecans.

Even better is seeing my aunts and cousins. The majority of the family made it this year and we had our 2nd annual cribbage tournament (it is becoming the only time a year I play cribbage). I was roundly beat by Eddy but enjoyed catching up with my opponents. Eddy had some amazing shots of bald eagles from his summer working a fishing vessel in Alaska. They were fantastic. He also did a pretty good eagle impression.

The next morning I got a tour of the barn Heather bought and is fixing up across the street from her home. Jake is doing a lot of the work which includes replacing major support beams of the century plus old dairy barn. They left a few of the old stalls the cows used to be housed in. Turns out some of the working dairies I visited as a vet in upstate NY are still using the same style of stalls and headlocks. I’m not sure if that means this barn was way ahead of its time of those dairies are a bit behind the times.

Thanksgiving is always over too soon. Due to commitments we were in the car the next day headed south. We had a new short-cut via ferry that turned out to not save time but led to some adventures. Rip made a run for freedom from the back of the car as we waited for the ferry. He then realized he had no idea where he was and waited while we leashed him back up. We then made our crossing (complete with car) over Champlain on a 100 year old ferry (yes we made it, the Adirondack is still working hard. Interesting fact, the Adirondack was piloted by the first female captain on Champlain at one point. Wonder what the retirement plan is after 100 yrs of working). Dogs and people made it home and I made it to the city the next day. I am already looking forward to next year.

Quote of the Post:

Thanksgiving provides a formal context in which to consider the instances of kindness that have enlightened our lives, for moments of grace that have gotten us through when all seemed lost. These are fine and sentimental subjects for contemplation.
- Jon Carroll