Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Polarfleece is not flattering in pictures.

Sunday was our last day in Central Pennsylvania, and it started out pretty quiet. I did a morning assignment while Dad was at church.

Then The Gryphon and I drove to a local convenience store, Sheetz, to get him a sandwich.

I still had half a panini left over from a couple days ago. I also got myself some fruit salad, a bag of Baked Lay's (to share) and some flavored water.

We ate our lunch back at Dad's and then took the dogs outside.

Then we watched the DVD extras for Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. We had gotten through most of them when the dogs got all excited. My sister and her husband had pulled into the parking lot.

They were in town to visit and to pick up their dog, Emma. They watched the rest of the DVD extras with us, and then we watched the extras for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. My sister had already seen them, since they rented it once before. She recommended Marvin's Hangman, but as a group we kind of sucked at that.

Then she showed me the digital pictures she took of the Thanksgiving experience, which included checking out the new Native American museum at the Smithsonian. From the pictures, it looks like a lot of other people had that same idea.

I had my sister's husband take a picture of The Gryphon and I, since I hadn't taken many pictures at Thanksgiving and had none with me in them. But I hadn't counted on the fact that my big, bulky polarfleece top would make me look a lot wider than I was, so I had him take another one of me and my dog, Una, after I took it off.

Though it was early, we decided to get some dinner so everyone who needed to could get on the road at a reasonable hour. Dad's first idea was a restaurant just outside of town which is also a tavern, but it turned out they had no smoking section and the place was choked with smoke.

My Dad suggested a restaurant that just went in at a place that used to be sort of a roadside bar. But as we drove up the driveway and saw two hand-lettered signs with American flags on them, my sister put her foot down. She said she didn't want to eat there because she had no faith the food would be good. We told Dad he's welcome to try it on his own and if it's good, let us know.

Then it was my turn for a suggestion. I suggested a local hotel where we often go for special occasions. It was just down the road, and since it was early there was no waiting for a table. We were the first people seated, but by the time we left, the restaurant was full.

Both my sister and I ordered the crab cake dinner, which was delicious. I had a baked potato and vegetables with mine. At dinner, I asked my sister about something I'd wondered about. She's a couple sizes smaller than me, and I've noticed that sometimes even I have trouble finding things that fit me properly, because sizes aren't standard. She said it's occasionally a problem but she's learned which stores to frequent where she can usually find something.

After dinner, we loaded up the cars to head out. Una plopped down on Dad's couch and refused to move. I think she thought Emma was staying, and she didn't want to leave her. But we coaxed her down and got her loaded up in the car, gave Dad a hug and headed out.

Although it was supposed to be one of the busiest travel times in the year, it didn't seem that bad, probably because people left at different times, unlike Wednesday when it seems everyone got on the road in mid-afternoon.

It was noticeably warmer by the time we reached Philadelphia and would stay unseasonably warm until this morning, when the cold weather returned.

More from Thanksgiving 2005:

November 28, 2005 - Turkey Day

November 29, 2005 - FedEx Adventure

November 30 , 2005 - Shopping Excursion

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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