Thanksgiving With MAE and Then We're Westward Ho!!

     Oh yea....I remember now why we chose this nomadic lifestyle.  I'm pretty sure the main reason was to stay away from this!!!  But the plan is to make sure we're with one of the kids on the important holiday, and for now Thanksgiving is with MaryAnne in Plattsburgh.  Actually, it probably worked out pretty well for me.  It was a good reminder for Debbie on how nice it is to be chasing 70 degree weather around the country.
    But we've had a fantastic time wandering around the South, and enjoying the sights and sounds that we've been lucky enough to encounter.  Seems like there's a new adventure around each corner.  A little tidbit I just picked up on Mayberry, the site of our recent visit.  Do you know the reason everyone was so happy in Mayberry?  It was because they were all single!! Andy, Aunt B, Barney, Goober, Thelma Lou, Floyd, Howard, Ernest T Bass, the Darlin Family, Clara.....everyone!  In fact, the only one married was Otis, and he was the town drunk!!!  But I digress....
     We arrived in Plattsburgh without any incidents, after driving 2 days in a mild snowstorm.  Just below Albany, we broke out of the nasty weather, and sailed north on I-87.  Of course we were pretty anxious to get together with MAE, since we didn't get to really say goodbye when we left in such a hurry to get out of town.

     We had a great time meeting her new beau, Tony and his son Gage.  We probably should have borrowed a 6 year old for MaryAnne years ago....they seemed to get along splendidly, and she now has someone to play with while Tony makes dinner and does the dishes!!  Kinda reminds us of Bernice!!!

     During our visit, Debbie and I drove up to the lake and checked camp, and swapped a few things out that we wouldn't need the rest of our trip.  We had a nice visit with the neighbors, picked up MAE's Christmas tree, and took a few last looks at the lake before heading back.  It sure looked cold!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                   

We certainly are fortunate being able to travel as we do.  It will look much more inviting in about 6-7 months.  Back down through Chazy, we picked up a few quarts of maple syrup from Angela and David Swan who run the business Homestead Maple.  They weren't around during our visit, as they have an "honesty bucket" in their sugar house, and trust all their customers.  I would much rather deal with Angela than with Dave, when they're figuring out the bill!.                                                                                   

     Tony treated us to some homemade spaghetti sauce, which we enjoyed tonight as I was writing this blog in Tennessee.  As a payback, I showed him how to fry a turkey.  MAE picked up a nice 12 lb Butterball, and when Tony got in from work, it was just about ready to go.  I injected it with some Cajun Butter to give it some pop, and just a little seasoning for color, and it was ready.  

        From the table, and into the fryer, and then the technical stuff goes on which guarantees a perfect turkey.  That amounts to grabbing a cold beverage, and monitoring the temperature of the oil.  Pretty technical stuff.  

     In the end, a wonderful Thanksgiving meal was enjoyed by all, and MAE put together quite a day.

Mimosa to start the festivities, and to get us through the parade, and a delicious pumpkin pie to finish us off.  

      On Saturday we said goodbye to Plattsburgh, and headed back to Staunton, VA, where we had left Big Red.  We had been forced to winterize the RV because of a cold front passing through, and we wondered if we had done everything correctly.  Upon arrival, we gave Big Red a quick check and everything looked fine.  Today we drove over into Tennessee, putting about 300 miles behind us.  Two days of holiday traffic, sharing the road with a bunch of NASCAR drivers, can certainly wear you out.  The rest of the trip should be a cakewalk.
     We have a little over 2200 miles to go before arriving in Santee, CA, and seeing Liam and Jamo......and Joanne and Ben.  Looks like we've got a pretty good weather window in front of us, so we shouldn't have any weather problems.  I know Debbie is getting pretty excited!