Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008

Some pictures from our overland sojourn to Brick, New Jersey, to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mike's extended family at their amazingly huge house known as The Compound.

Well, not from the journey, actually, more like pictures once at the destination, but I'm trying to keep to the theme of TRAVELmonkeys and I didn't think to bore you with pictures of us while on New Jersey Transit. But I will say that at 45 minutes from Penn Station, it's a super-easy trip.


And New Jersey Transit is perfectly happy to transport well-behaved dogs (unlike those idiots at Amtrak), so Baci was able to join in the fun.


As promised, we played a LOT of Rock Band. Pictured above are Mike and Mary's cousins--Dave on the drums, Kris on the bass, and Kris's son, Conner, on the guitar.


And this is Kris's husband, Martin, and his dad (also Martin) DEEP-FRYING the turkey! I have been hearing about Americans burning down their decks/garages/homes using this dangerous method for the past five years, but after having tasted the results, I have to say: the risk is worth it. And it only took an hour to cook!


There were almost as many dogs as there were people. This is Pat, a friend of the family, with her dog Snickers, brother to the other dog, Sammy, who lives at The Compound year-round.


And this is Thelma. She and Baci hit it off immediately.


All the dogs stayed close to Aunt Angela, who was prone to THROWING MEAT at random.


The humans stayed close to her as well, because she was prone to THROWING 5 KINDS OF PIE and 3 KINDS OF STUFFING at us.


The next morning, even more family came to visit, including their Aunt Marianne and Uncle Cook. Uncle Cook's signature contribution is the sign, which he makes new for each family occasion and which they've been holding up in family photos since 1973.


All in all, a wonderful time with wonderful hosts and much, much to be thankful for.

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