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Delectable Days of Driving and Dining

11-22 (Tue)
After class it takes me an hour anda bit to get home. Summer and I secure the apartment and hit the road. 200 miles later we arrive at Skidmore College, home of Alex. His dorm room is like Nero's golden palace. We watch some hilarious tv, eat snacks, and go to sleep.

11-23 (Wed)
Morning is here and we've overslept a bit, missing the continental breakfast. That's ok; we hit the road again and stop for delicious delicious Cinnabon. Mmmm. Later we get a rest stop lunch, and make it to 210 Aronimink Drive by around 2:30 in the afternoon (325 miles or so total). The rest of the day? A little cranberry-grinding, a little pie-baking, a little steak-eating, and some good, old-fashioned hanging out.



Yeah yeah.

11-24 (Thu)
It's Thanksgiving! The day kicks off with some cinnamon muffins. Soon enough we're on the road to the Lockart residence at 1418 Bucknell Road for some pleasant conversation and cider and then to the Greene residence at 106 Rockingham Drive, where the festivities are to take place. We spend some quality time with little cousin Emma, who is in love with Alex.



Thanksgiving progresses as usual, with much chilling out and lounging about. Summer and I take a little walk to get out in the fresh air, returning for the onset of snacking. The snacks manage to tide us over until the embarrassment of culinary riches that follow--fruit cups, then turkey, of course, and stuffing and mashed potatos and gravy and delicious brussel sprouts in cream sauce and mushrooms and cranberry sauce and cranberry waldorf and peas and probably even some other stuff I can't recall. Next comes coffee, then pies and pies and pies--five of them. Summer and I also got a little taste of Christmas, receiving some bags of wrapped sundries as well as a framed, autographed Bill Bergey (note the reference to coaching) photo for me and a necklace for her, o kind family members. Thoroughly stuffed and having revelled in the company of family, we return to 210 Aronimink Dr. This particular evening Alex and I stomp our mother and Summer at pinochle in spectacular fashion.

11-25 (Fri)
Summer and I are on the road again, heading down to Bethesda to see Summer's uncle Marc. 100 miles pass and we arrive in the nick of time, to sit in the kitchen and observe cousin Katie's gourmet dinner prep. As other folks arrive we move to another room for snacks and champagne, then an early dinner of hearts of palm, roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and green beans, finished off with a honey-pecan tart with a chocolate glaze and a side of ice cream:



Wow. The gathering is merry, and between the snacks and the courses of dinner Marc provides a tour of his mother's (Summer's grandmother's) art. Details of her life emerge from the paintings, and it turns out she was quite an interesting woman, and a good artist. Four of her pieces now adorn the walls of our apartment:









When the festivities drew to a close, Summer and I engaged Summer's cousins and their aunt Josie in some Michigan. With other spots wandering through various player substitutions and eventually running out of chips, only Marc and I remained at the end, and with that it was time to move to something else. In this case, that something else was a viewing of Fellini's Satyricon, which was sufficiently bizarre and interesting. I would write a review but I don't think I could. Anyway, after that it was bedtime.

11-26 (Sat)
Saturday and time for buckwheat pancakes and a stroll in the park--Great Falls National Park [Service Site], on the Potomac. Quite a nice place, and a lovely morning for a wander. We got back to Marc's house for some leftover roast beef sandwiches and tasty lentil soup, wrapped up the selected artwork, and left the Allen/McFadden clan to rake their yard. We did manage to get a few pictures first:





So 100 miles later we were back at 210 Aronimink Drive, and with the opportunities for football-playing and matinee-going having passed, we did what any sane people would do and played some pinochle. Alex and I managed to further extend our series lead to something like 847,329 to 2. A tasty ham dinner followed, and after that Summer and I hit the town, heading up to Wilmington to see Mike, Rose, Jeff, and Sam. It was good catching up but the night was short as the morning promised the start to a long drive.

11-27 (Sun)
Sure enough, Sunday was all about a long drive. About 11 hours in all, and 550 miles. After a morning coffee-and-bagel with the 'rents to say goodbye-for-now, Summer and Alex and I were on our way to Saratoga Springs to deposit Alex before continuing on to Providence. We got delicious Taco Bell for lunch, received a small campus tour including a viewing of Alex's artwork when we hit Saratoga Springs, then sat in traffic in Massachusetts before finally getting home around 8:30 or so. The rest of the evening involved Desperate Housewives, homework, and hanging art.

11-28 (Mon)
Lots of work on the big Legal Methods paper, some class, and a Criminal B+ (and final grade extra credit on the optional memo). A bit of shopping around, for running shoes, falafel, and groceries, and after more paper-working and a shower, sleep.

11-29 (Tue)
Is today. I have spent more time than I ought writing here, and must eat some lunch and do my Civil Procedure homework. Thanks to all Greenes, Lockarts, Allens, McFaddens, and unenumerated family and friends who made some 1500 miles of driving this past week much more than worth it. I, for one, had a fantastic break.