Tom had class on Wed. morning so we got away around 10:30 AM. We had decided to drive straight through so with audio book (Don Rumsfeld's Known and Unknown), my ipod and Tom's school books and laptop, we were set. I drove the whole trip while he studied with only stops for gas, potty, caffeine and dinner. We arrived in NJ about 3:30 AM, fell fast asleep as soon as we hit the bed at Marie's (Tom's sister) and slept until 9:30. When we got up, Marie left us a note that she had gone to pick up their mom and would be back shortly. We cleaned up and got to spend the rest of the morning visiting with them before we headed to Thanksgiving dinner @ 3PM.
We had reservations at a great restaurant in Margate called Steve & Cookie's. We arrived a little early so took a drive by the bay. Tom's dad had a landscaping business and flower shop when they were growing up so Tom used to work with him taking care of the beautifully manicured lawns in this very upscale part of town outside Atlantic City. We met everyone else at the restaurant which had a set menu and everything was served family style. Delicious!
Dinner was great, as was the company. Marie and her friend Victor, me, Fred (Karen's dad), Karen and Joey (Tom's brother), Tom and his mom.
Joe and KarenThis was the first Thanksgiving we've ever spent with Tom's side of the family so it was very nice to have a chance to celebrate with them.
We all headed back to Marie's for MORE pumpkin pie that she had made and cheesecake that Fred had brought. Needless to say, we were all stuffed! But if that wasn't enough, Marie had already planned a whole other meal for the next day as well.
Marie and I spent the morning prepping food for Thanksgiving meal #2 while Tom studied. Their mom needed a bunch of paper products so after the turkey was in the oven Tom, Marie and I headed over to the local warehouse store (BJ's) to check out their prices. We don't have that store here and Marie had never been there before so we opted to try her 60 day freebie membership. By the time we left with a cart full of supplies that should keep Eleanor in good shape for some time, Marie had purchased the membership.
It was nice to have everyone together again (though we missed Karen's dad who had headed back to New York) over another great meal. There was plenty to go around and then some so Marie loaded up some leftovers for us to bring home.
Tom's mom will be 88 years old this Saturday. She's a little wobbly so gets some help with a cane. Her memory isn't what it used to be so needs some occasional prodding but overall she seems very healthy. She knows her kids and can pick me out in a photo by name but I'm not positive she knew who I was. We're just glad to be able to spend some time with her. She still calls Tom "my baby".Marie had mentioned she hadn't had her tree up and decorated for the past few years so after dinner Tom brought her tree up from the basement and while he & Victor watched TV and Marie put things away I decorated her tree for her. Tom's dad worked part time at the Lenox factory after he had retired so we all have beautiful items that he collected while there. Marie had a combination of pretty Lenox ornaments along with some blown glass ones so the tree was simple but nice.
We decided to break the drive up into two days on the way home so after a leisurely Saturday morning at Marie's we took off around 11 am and while Tom studied I drove us as far as Knoxville, TN. We arrived around 11 pm, settled into a very reasonable and comfortable Super 8 and happily had a much shorter but rainy drive home on Sunday after a hot waffle breakfast. It was a quick trip but definitely worth it to get to see everyone.
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