Thanksgiving

Linda and I left Mocksville on Wednesday morning and went to see Linda’s kids for Thanksgiving. Hung out with the kids and grandkids, and had Thanksgiving at her daughter Laurie’s house. The new hardwood floors got installed just the day before so they actually could have the meal in the dining room. The appliances, in the kitchen, aren’t installed yet so she couldn’t cook the meal but we did have a table to sit at. She had ordered two family meals from Cracker Barrel and we stopped to pick them up on the way from Stephanie’s house to Laurie’s. The lady at Cracker Barrel took the list and double checked it (so she said) and loaded the box full of food and put it into the trunk. We arrive at Laurie’s house and unpack it to find no meat. There were a couple of slices of ham but no turkey and no stuffing. She calls Cracker Barrel and they are very apologetic but it doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a 25 minute drive (each way) back to Cracker Barrel to pick up the forgotten items. Off Stephanie and Jessie go to pick it up. An hour later we all sit down to our Thanksgiving meal. To show their remorse, the manager sent a chocolate pecan pie and a Coca-Cola Cake with the missing ham and turkey. My, they sure know how to make you forget about their silly mistake. I can still taste that cake…yum yum !
While in Norfolk, we took all of the dogs to the PETA dog park. Boy, is it a nice park right on the water’s edge. There is a ramp that goes down into the water so the dogs can swim if they want to. This park is actually one that was built with funds donated by Bea Arthur, from Golden Girls. I know Boomer had a blast swimming and running. PETA monitors activities in the park via surveillance cameras. Anyone seen being mean to their dogs can be kicked out of the park or fined.

On Friday night, Matt (Laurie’s husband) remembered that the light show at the Botanical Garden was going on so we went. It’s called “Garden of Lights” and was really cute. It is a drive through exhibit and in one part, the lights are synchronized to the music playing on FM 94.5. That was pretty neat. All sorts of scenes set up…one area was like driving under the sea with a fire breathing dragon, coral, fish, etc. The kids really had a great time looking at all of the characters and lights.






On Wednesday night when we arrived, Stephanie and Jess had tickets to watch Old Dominion University and Vermont play basketball. I’ve never been to a game other than a high school game so it was fun to see all the hype, theatrics, TV cameras,etc that goes along with big time basketball.
Such a close game too…it ended up going into overtime and each fought to stay ahead but in the end Vermont won by 2 points. Wow, it was exciting.
There was a little girl sitting in front of us that had a little cheerleader outfit on. Every time the cheerleaders got up to do their thing, this little girl would stand on her daddy’s knees and try to do the cheers along with the team. At the end, she’d jump up in the air and her father would catch her in his lap, just like when the girls come down from their pyramid. It was so cute and we got a kick out of it every time she did it.



Had a great time with the family. Lots of great memories to cherish until we get back this way next year to make some more. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with the ones they love.