The Reifschlagers Go to Virginia for Thanksgiving

If two years in a row make for tradition, then we carried on with our family tradition of spending Thanksgiving with our daughter Shani in whatever locale she happens to be living. (Actually this was our third Thanksgiving with her, just not consecutive!) Shani lives in a lovely neighborhood in Great Falls, Virginia, where she shares a house with a family.

We flew out early Wednesday morning and landed on time without incident in Baltimore. We picked up our rental car and I navigated and Ken drove as we headed into D.C. to meet Shani for some sightseeing. First, we headed over to the Lexington Market in Baltimore to grab those famous Faidley's crabcakes! Then we met Shani at the National Mall, which surprised Ken and Reid to find out that the mall was not a shopping area but a National Park between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. Having only about two hours before the parking meters expired, we selected the National Gallery of Art to browse for a short while. Not that any of us are that interested in art but the architexture is lovely and the museum is full of art treasures that one has surely heard of and ought to view if one has the opportunity. The tour provided some quirky photo ops for us plus we were inspired merely by looking at something that was so very old and so well preserved. Next we took a quick trip inside the Museum of Natural History to view the giant squid and, of course, the Hope Diamond. Then it was time to head back to those parking meters.

We also discovered that the District of Columbia is absolutely serious about having your car off certain streets by 4:00 p.m. so that the throughfare is clear for commuting traffic. No worries. Our cars were not towed but several unlucky folks were to begin their holiday searching for their cars in the city tow lots. There was clearly no mercy.

We headed on to Shani's house where we settled in to visit and cook! Shani and I baked the pumpkin pie and Shani's roommate Marie had already done much of the prep work for the rest of the meal. Then we bundled up and headed out to eat at the mall and see the lasted Bond flick. (Check out my other blog for the movie review.) After the flick, back to the house to visit and to bed to rest for a busy holiday.

Thursday morning, we began cooking the feast. We decided to have our meal in the evening to accomodate Marie's daughters who had their first Thanksgiving meal at noon. We prepared the bird using the Chef on a Shoestring recipe which worked successfully for us last year. Then came stuffing, hashbrown casserole, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, corn casserole, baked artichokes, homemade cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Yes, a little heavy on the casseroles but everything turned out well. After dinner, Shani performed EKGs on everyone, and Adrianne, a medical student, checked blood pressures, and John did card tricks for us. A very good time was enjoyed by all.

Friday morning was a chance to visit with Shani a little more. We went to the mall (this time, a shopping mall!) to see her Coach store - as if she isn't busy enough, she's working at Coach for the holiday season! Those discounts are just too hard to pass up! Then it was time to head to the airport. It was sad to leave Shani and it was such a quick trip but it has been a busy season for us all. And it was a good reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.