Thanksgiving with the Joneses

We all got up bright and early Wednesday morning to squeeze in the car with all our stuff. After about eight hours of Over the River and Through the Woods we arrived in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where we met up with Chad’s parents and his sisters’ families. Being the first to arrive, Gavin and Arwen spent the first hour running between the three floors of our rented condo and turning the remote control gas fireplace on and off. Once the stragglers emerged from Washington, DC Thanksgiving traffic, our kids disappeared into the swarm of happy cousins.

Thursday was spent in catching up with each other while prepping all manner of celebratory dishes. I peeled, cubed, and spiced sweet potatoes, then rolled out five dozen rolls while Chad made pies with his own home-prepped out-of-the-pumpkin pumpkin. Gavin slaved over a hot stove, stirring a chocolate concoction for cocoa pies topped with whipped cream, of which he proved to be the greatest fan.

As you can imagine, with that kind of offering from just our family, we ended up with a pretty tasty spread – and one extensive enough to last the next two days. I think we made it out of the house toting only one of the original nine pies, and we all got to take home turkey and gravy leftovers (yum!). Between Chad and me, I’m sure we’ll polish off the rolls before we make it home tonight.

But enough about the food – what fun to see grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! There was much game playing (Dominion, Bohnanza, Uno, Lord of the Rings, Scrambled States of America, Millebournes, and Lego Harry Potter) and much visiting during our time at the condo. Thursday morning (before my head cold set in with a vengeance) I stole away for a country walk, during which I passed a series of fishing holes, crossed the Mason-Dixon line, startled a deer, peered in the windows of a log church/schoolhouse, and spotted a young boy skulking around a thicket with a rifle.

Friday all 12 of us piled into two cars and drove an hour and a half to Gettysburg, where Chad led us on a first-rate tour of Civil War history. Our first stop was the spot where Buford set up his defense on the first day of battle.

Next we drove along the Confederate battle lines and scaled the tower for a view across the battlefield. (Gavin wants to be sure I don’t miss his purchase of a die-cast cannon pencil sharpener during our stop at the visitor’s center.) At Little Round Top we heard the stories of the courageous defense staged by the 20^th Maine and climbed the ‘castle’ monument of the 44^th New York regiment.

At the National Cemetery Grandma read the Gettysburg address from the same spot where Abraham Lincoln delivered it 148 years ago, then we saw where all the Connecticut soldiers were buried.

The final stop of the tour was a reenactment of Pickett’s Charge – in contrast to the real thing, it was cold, muddy, and dark. All in all, it was a very historic day.

Our final day in Mercersburg started with breakfast in pajamas (in honor of Arwen’s missed pajama day at school), and lots of games. After a late afternoon walk (we just had to cross the Mason-Dixon line again) and another round of leftovers and pie, we finished our time together with some words from Grandma, a prayer for cousin Zach in the hospital in Argentina, and a Primary-inspired, ukulele-accompanied family sing. How grateful we all are to have spent the holiday together!